This is always an interesting time around here when the bamboo shoots start coming up. This particular grove is about 6 years old and shoots are getting as big as 4 inches in diameter and reaching about 40 foot tall. At full maturity and optimum conditions, the shoots (culms) can potentially reach 6 inches in diameter and 60 feet tall. As long as I can keep the squirrels out of them. They have destroyed many of the new shoots over the last couple of years. But it looks like the \\\"shotgun solution\\\" may have helped that considerably this year.