Chinese Bamboo Tree You take a little seed, plant it, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and nothing happens. The second year you water and fertilize it, and nothing happens. The third year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens. How discouraging this becomes! The fourth year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens. This is very frustrating. The fifth year you continue to water and fertilize the seed and then sometime during the fifth year, the Chinese bamboo tree sprouts and grows ninety feet in six weeks!