Sunday, November 07, 1999
Unlikely bamboo crop thrives on Morrow farm
Man grows, sells 45 species
BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MORROW — Welcome to the bamboo capital of the Midwest.
A few miles outside this Warren County village, Jerry Burton grows many varieties of bamboo on a 30-acre farm that looks more like a shrine to Asian culture.
Massive granite foo dogs from China guard the gravel driveway. Black and white swans glide across his silver lake.
“Bamboo has taken over my life and affected my family's life,” he said. “It's so bad that we only use paper towels with a bamboo print.”
By day, Mr. Burton operates an insurance agency in Centerville. By night and on weekends, he oversees Burton's Bamboo Garden, which sells bamboo plants and promotes them on the Internet.
“I just shipped two plants to Alaska,” he said. “I get calls from people all over the region and e-mail from China, Egypt and other countries. People in the Midwest have finally realized that there's someone who grows and sells bamboo.
“There are 1,200 different varieties of bamboo, from one foot to 100 feet tall, and from pencil-thin to 12-15 inches in diameter. I specialize in the hardy types that will tolerate our Midwestern winters.”
To grow properly, bamboo plants must have good drainage and an area free of weeds. Mr. Burton knows how to grow them; he has a grove 30 feet high near his house. It's 25 years old.
Mr. Burton's plants range in price from $35 to $90. They come in green, black, yellow and striped.
Growing bamboo takes a little thought, however.
“It won't take over the world,” he said. “It's controllable. But you have to know its habits. It can make a great living fence.”
He first obtained a bamboo plant about 1974 but didn't start the business until after President Clinton announced his proposal for a federal health-care plan in the early 1990s. Mr. Burton sells health insurance.
“I began to look for a cottage industry, in case I was put out of business,” he said. “I thought bamboo, the fastest-growing plant in the world, was the answer. I already had some plants. Few people knew anything about bamboo. Now, six years later, I have 45 species.
“Two years ago I went on the Internet. It has added the dimension I was looking for. It's hard to get the word out. The Internet has really helped me expand. This year, I've had more than 18,000 hits on my Web site. I ship all over the country.”
On weekends and by appointment, he waits for the customers to arrive. They drive down his long lane, past several emus and 25 peacocks standing near long, tan stalks of bamboo.
Mr. Burton loves to talk about bamboo. He knows its scientific names and habits. He said every continent has native bamboo, except the polar regions and Europe. Even our area has native bamboo, called switchcane. It grows around rivers, he said, and was used by Indians to make pipes.
Growing up in Arlington Heights in the 1950s, he knew little about bamboo. Eventually, he went into the insurance business, and moved to his Warren County farm about 1974. That's when he obtained his first bamboo plant.
The farm is now a place of total relaxation for him and his customers.
“He's one of the few people who sells bamboo,” said customer Sally McGinnis of Anderson Township. “My daughter and I are writing a book about children in Japan. Our research led us here. I always thought bamboo was such an exotic plant. In Japan, they use it for everything from building homes to food.”
When she told Mr. Burton her plant had died, he gave her a new one — and instructed her how to grow it properly this time.
IF YOU GO
• Burton's Bamboo Garden is at 7352 Gheils-Carroll Road, Morrow, 45152.
Reach owner Jerry Burton at (513) 899-3446 or on the Internet at www.burtonsbamboogarden.com.
He is open by appointment after 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.
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