How fast does bamboo grow?

While trees grow mostly from the end of their branches, bamboo is actually a grass, so it grows very differently. A bamboo shoot is split into segments which can all host cell division (ie growth), allowing the bamboo to extend a bit like a telescope.

Equally vital to its record-smashing growth rates (60 centimetres/24 inches per day) is the plant’s rhizome, an underground network of roots connecting a cluster of canes. Like all plants, bamboo gets its energy from photosynthesis, but the rhizome enables it to distribute nutrients and water where they are most needed.