30 Years of experience in planting bamboo in Germany. Successes and challenges
After completing my training as a gardener, I was sent by my employer, which had already specialized in bamboo at that time, to Carasco near Genoa in Italy for two years to set up a bamboo nursery with the aim of propagating bamboo that would then be sold in Germany. After two years in Italy, I studied landscape architecture at Weihenstephan University. At the same time, starting in 1989, I planted over 70 different species and varieties of bamboo on my parents’ agricultural farm. Some bamboo at this location near Freiburg has reached a height of 13 meters with a diameter of up to 9 cm, which I didn’t think was possible before. I then wrote my diploma thesis on “The use of bamboo, including its combination with other plants – particularly with regard to experiences and findings at the Mengen location near Freiburg”. Meanwhile, a bamboo forest has developed on an area of about 1.5 hectares, which was also used as an exhibition site, for vernissages, and other events by artists from 2010 to 2015.
In my lecture, I will present bamboo species and varieties that, based on my experience, are very well suited for cultivation in Central Europe and perhaps beyond. There are almost no limits to the possible uses of bamboo, be it as food, as sprouts in spring, or as a building material e.g. Anyone who would like to see the bamboo forest in quantities near Freiburg is cordially invited to do so. The address and directions, as well as my contact details, can be found at www.bambutopia.de You are welcome to make an appointment with me for a tour of the bamboo forest.
