Giant cane, *Arundinaria gigantea*, or American Bamboo is a tall, invasive perennial grass found from Florida to New York. It spreads through creeping rhizomes and rarely, seeds. This cane prefers moist soil and can form very dense clusters, but in colder areas, the foliage will die off in the winter, and the root system will survive to regrow when the weather gets warm again.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Arundinaria gigantea is a species of bamboo known as giant cane (not to be confused with Arundo donax), river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas and as far north as New York. Giant river cane was economically and culturally important to indigenous people, with uses including as a vegetable and materials for construction and craft production.
Arundinaria gigantea and other species of Arundinaria once grew in large colonies called canebrakes covering thousands of acres in the southeastern United States, but today these canebrakes are considered endangered ecosystems.
This bamboo is a perennial grass with a rounded, hollow stem which can exceed 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter and grow to a height of 10 m (33 ft). It grows from a large network of thick rhizomes. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. The inflorescence is a raceme or panicle of spikelets measuring 4 to 7 cm (1.6 to 2.8 in) in length. An individual cane has a lifespan of about 10 years. Most reproduction is vegetative as the bamboo sprouts new stems from its rhizome. It rarely produces seeds and it flowers irregularly.
R.S. Cocks writing in 1908, stated that certain clumps of bamboo near Abita Springs, Louisiana had been blooming annually in the latter part of May for nine years. Sometimes it flowers gregariously. Some types of non-native bamboos are confused with this native cane. Today river cane patches are significantly diminished from their previous size and extent. Before European settlers colonized North America, Native Americans used fire to encourage the growth of river cane, and canes at this time could reach three inches in diameter.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Succeeds in full sun or dappled shade in warm, humid, damp conditions
Watering
Giant cane is a tropical plant that thrives in wet and humid conditions, so it is important to try to mimic its natural environment. In the spring and summer, often water to make sure that the soil is moist at all times. In the winter, water the plant only when the top layer of soil has completely dried out.
Fertilizing
Giant cane benefits from a mineral fertilizer applied one to two times a month in spring and summer. Select a fertilizer high in phosphorus and nitrogen to encourage leafy growth. More mature, established plants rarely need fertilizing. No fertilizer is needed in autumn and winter.
Transplanting
The optimal period for relocating giant cane is during early spring (S1) to late winter (S2), when dormancy aids in limiting transplant shock. It thrives in humid, shaded locations with well-drained soil. Remember, always water giant cane thoroughly post-transplant for improved root establishment.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
This large bamboo can reach impressive dimensions and is highly decorative. Due to its mighty, lush growth, it is a great choice for a screen, a dense hedge, a background, or an intriguing plant accent. In some cases, it can help stop soil erosion. Giant cane will naturally spread via rhizomes, but this can be discouraged by building soil barriers or planting in dug-in large pots.
- Wildlife uses
Giant cane has been documented as providing food and shelter for 70 species, including six butterfly species that depend almost exclusively on it for food. An example of a butterfly that requires cane as a food plant is the southern pearly eye. Canebrakes are an important habitat for the Swainson’s, hooded, and Kentucky warblers, as well as the white-eyed vireo. The disappearance of the canebrake ecosystem may have contributed to the rarity and possible extinction of the Bachman’s warbler, which was dependent upon it for nesting sites. Giant cane was also one of three major sources of food for passenger pigeons, and the disappearance of canebrakes may have helped cause its extinction.
Giant cane may be prevented from growing by invasive plants like quackgrass that spread horizontally, but tall native plants such as big bluestem and ironweed have been reported to have a positive effect.
- Other uses
There are many human uses for the cane. The Cherokee, particularly the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, use this species in basketry. The Cherokee historically maintained canebrakes with cutting and periodic burning, a practice which stopped with the European settlement of the land. The elimination of cane habitat has nearly resulted in the loss of the art of basketmaking, which is important for the economy of the Cherokee today. Canebrakes have been reduced in area by at least 98% and cane may take 20 years to grow to a sufficient size to be used for traditional basketry. Because of this, Cherokee basketmakers nowadays often do not have access to the traditional material for making Cherokee baskets, which are considered some of the finest in the world.
The art of river cane basketry is also important to the Choctaw, whose artisans have faced similar problems due to the increasing disappearance of canebrakes. The cane was also used by groups such as the Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw to make medicine, blowguns, bows and arrows, knives, spears, flutes, candles, walls for dwellings, fish traps, sleeping mats, tobacco pipes, and food. River cane is an important symbol of the Choctaw nation because its significance to the nation’s history and the numerous ways it provided for the survival of the Choctaw.
In 2022, the Cherokee Nation signed an agreement with the National Park Service to allow collection of 76 culturally important plant species in the Buffalo River National Park in Arkansas, including A. gigantea.
Giant cane is of interest due to its extraordinary capability to reduce both sediment loss and nitrate runoff when planted as a “buffer” between waterways and agricultural fields. A giant cane buffer zone can reduce nitrate pollution in ground water by 99%. Stands of cane are superior even to forests as protective buffers around waterways, absorbing sediment and nitrate pollution and dramatically slowing the rate at which runoff enters the stream or river.
Find Where to Buy the Best Giant Cane (Arundinaria gigantea)
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