How to Read “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro”
Ki shichi take hachi hei jūrō
Meaning of “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro”
“Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro” is a gardening teaching that shows the best times to transplant plants. Trees should be transplanted in the seventh month of the old calendar, bamboo in the eighth month, and hedges in the tenth month.
These times were chosen based on plant biology and weather conditions. The summer heat fades and temperatures become ideal for root activity. Plants also have enough time to establish roots before winter dormancy begins.
Trees and bamboo especially suffer damage during transplanting. Choosing a time when they recover easily is the key to success.
This principle still works in modern landscaping and gardening. However, you need to account for the difference between the old and new calendars. In practice, late August through November is the best working period.
This proverb teaches us how important it is to choose the right timing when working with plants.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is a gardening teaching made into an easy-to-remember phrase. “Trees seven” means transplant trees in the seventh month of the old calendar. “Bamboo eight” means transplant bamboo in the eighth month. “Fences ten-ro” means the tenth month is best for making hedges.
The exact first written record is unclear. But people likely passed down this practical wisdom orally in farming villages since the Edo period. People back then understood the relationship between the calendar and plant growth cycles through experience.
They created memorable words to pass this knowledge to the next generation.
The expression “fences ten-ro” is especially interesting. “Ten-ro” personifies the tenth month. Instead of just listing numbers, making it sound like a person’s name helps people remember it better.
This wordplay technique was wisdom for spreading knowledge even to people who couldn’t read.
The seventh and eighth months of the old calendar fall around August to September today. This is when the heat begins to fade. Our ancestors’ keen observation is embedded in this proverb.
They chose seasons when transplanting puts less stress on plants and they root more easily. This is a practical saying rooted in daily life that combines usefulness with memorability.
Interesting Facts
Bamboo transplanting in August relates deeply to the bamboo rhizome’s activity cycle. Bamboo sprouts as shoots in spring and finishes growing in summer.
Around August, above-ground growth settles down. The plant enters a phase of storing nutrients in underground rhizomes. Transplanting during this time gives the best chance of successful rooting.
“Fences” in “fences ten-ro” refers to hedges. October is the ideal time because deciduous trees begin entering dormancy. Water evaporation from leaves decreases, so water stress from transplanting is minimized.
There’s also the advantage of securing time for roots to establish firmly before spring budding.
Usage Examples
- My gardening master taught me “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro,” so I’m planning carefully not to miss this timing.
- I found the phrase “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro” in a gardening book and was impressed that ancient wisdom is still accurate.
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro” contains the importance of living in harmony with nature’s rhythms. Humans sometimes try to push things forward based only on their own convenience.
But nature has its own time. If we ignore it, we won’t get the results we want.
This proverb has been passed down for hundreds of years not just to teach gardening techniques. It holds deep wisdom that applies to all of life: the value of waiting and the importance of timing.
Transplanting a plant puts great stress on its life. That’s why we choose the time when the plant recovers most easily. This is the very attitude of caring about the other’s condition and finding the best timing.
In human relationships and work too, waiting for the time when the other party or situation is most receptive leads to success.
Our ancestors observed nature, accumulated experience, and discovered optimal times. Their wisdom is also a quiet warning to modern people who rush too much.
Everything has “its time.” If you hurry and force things, you’ll fail. This proverb teaches us that respecting nature’s rhythms is actually the most efficient and reliable method.
When AI Hears This
Behind the numbers seven for trees, eight for bamboo, and ten for fences lies what biology calls the trade-off between growth rate and structural strength. Trees grow slowly while thickening their cell walls, so even in seven years they acquire density and strength for practical use.
Bamboo adopts an energy-saving design with hollow structure. It grows fast, but takes eight years for the balance of flexibility and strength to stabilize.
What’s interesting is that these years aren’t just about size. Biological growth involves not only cell division speed but also bonding strength between cells and tissue maturity.
Think of tree rings. Layers formed each year don’t just stack up. They bond firmly with previous layers while increasing overall strength. This “bonding maturation” requires minimum time, which appears in the number seven.
Even more noteworthy is that fences require the longest time at ten years. A fence is a composite structure combining multiple bamboo pieces. In other words, individual materials must mature, plus time is added for joints between materials to stabilize against environmental changes.
This resembles the time needed for symbiotic relationships in ecosystems to stabilize. It demonstrates the principle that optimizing an entire system requires more time than just maturing individual elements.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of “the ability to recognize proper timing.” We emphasize efficiency and speed so much that we forget things have “their time.”
When starting something new, building relationships, or making important decisions, there’s an optimal timing for everything. If you rush and force things forward, you often invite failure instead.
Just as plants have suitable times for transplanting, various life situations have “times when things are receptive” and “times when things bear fruit.”
Modern society often demands quick decisions. But the more important something is, the more value there is in waiting patiently for the right time.
Wait for the other person to be ready. Wait for your own heart to settle. Wait for the environment to align. Such “courage to wait” ultimately becomes the most reliable path to success.
The phrase “Trees seven, bamboo eight, fences ten-ro” should give you the wisdom to learn from nature’s rhythms, not rush, yet act without missing the moment.
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