Different varieties of bamboo produce different thicknesses of canes - it may be that your particular variety is one of the thinner ones.

bamboo is definatly write but also if you have thinner stems and you think they could be thicker try cutting out all the thin canes and just leave the usefull ones and even dress them as in strip the leaves of of the stems you are keepind so its easier to do the first job . this premotes the growth of thicker stems and they grow quicker . the type used for canes,nets etc are a veriaty of yellow bamboo which can grow canes up to about 2" across . there are thousands of grasses and or ban bamboo .its not worth it over winter as there dorement .

If the canes aren't so much too thin as too soft, there are a couple of thing that you could do. Try feeding the plant a feed rich in potash--the last number in the label--which helps the canes to become thicker and stiffer. And/or wait to harvest the canes until their second year--they continue to produce more fiber cells through their first year.

bamboo doesnt thicken anymore than when it is first seen unlike wood that swells with growth . i think you should ask if you have the right type of bamboo vier a photo first and formost . you dont want to take either some of my advice or and tugbrethil . personaly id take it if your in a hurry im sure x.i just feed my plants the smallest pond pellet size and not much very often and there fine .ow i use pond water to feed them then top the pond up .

True, Np, the "wood" doesn't get thicker with age, but it will get harder, stronger, and denser. There is also a slow curing process, if you want to use them for construction material or high-end fishing poles, but it's usually not needed for plant stakes.

your so right tugbrethil . if you look at the yelliow bamboo i have it looks like the canes you buy with leaves on it .bamboo is all to some men and something to all men .