Bamboo's a Growin'

[Scott]

Now that the weather is turning reeeaaal nice, the bamboo (Oldhamii) is starting to get underway

I know they say "The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps".

Well this stuff was planted late August last year. That year one plant put forth 3 new culms much larger than I am tall.

That same plant has a new one starting to shoot. The middle plant has a culm that last week was about 1' tall, today is 3' tall! More! I want More!

Plus all are putting forth new leaves.

[Scott]

Here's the one that's 3' tall now...

New leaves abound...

[Scott]

a couple general shots....

My third plant, however, is still just two green sticks in the ground. They are very wide at the base, so I figure it has alot more roots, big rhizomes to establish before I can expect to see that puppy put forth.

Hopefully it won't be too long before a wall of shade will be here in which to plant some of my more sun-sensitive palms in

[paulgila]

its looks good!the only thing i don't like is the constant leaf litter...

[Scott]

Thanks Paul, You're right about the leaf litter. Keeps me busy! But I try to congregate it around the base to add the silicone into the soil. Apparently this tuff loves it.

[Peter]

Nice Scott!  My Bambusa lako is alive after a tough winter.  Freeze dried leaves, but I noticed a few new leaves emerging from the lowest nodes today-whew!

[JakeK]

Looks like it is growing very well for you out there Scott. Bamboo can become an addiction as well.

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

My Dendrocalamus Gigantea is putting on new leaves after being defoliated this winter. I had no idea that bamboo did that. Now Scott's got me looking for "artillery shells" coming out of the ground (D Gigantea is the worlds biggest...12" culms)

[doubravsky]

My Gigantochloa Atroviolacea (the other clumping black bamboo) is starting to re-grow leaves after completely defoliating. I thought it would be a goner...

[ron@springhammock]

(STEVE IN SO CAL @ Mar. 16 2007,16:47)

QUOTE

My Dendrocalamus Gigantea is putting on new leaves after being defoliated this winter. I had no idea that bamboo did that. Now Scott's got me looking for "artillery shells" coming out of the ground (D Gigantea is the worlds biggest...12" culms)

Don't take a nap under your bamboo!

[doubravsky]

Here's my Bambusa Oldhamii... from a single culm division three years ago this June. You can see... last year's shoots grew a lot!

[junglegalfla]

Doub,

Aren't you worried about planting it so close to your home? Typically here they will form a mound about 10-15 ft in diameter. One of the culms could push on your eves and break it!

Here is my oldhamii. It's been in the ground about 2.5-3 yrs now. All the culms are now as tall as the loner in this picture.

[doubravsky]

Actually I am worried about that. I figured any shoots that come real close to the house I'll break off. I didn't think about the eves though.

The place I bought it from said that the shoots wouln't hurt the house foundation...(concrete).

[Kris]

Dear Scotty  

lovely bamboo's,but i had to cut off all the indian varities_

yellow stemed,green steamed,green stemed fully filled_

i.e if you cut the stem section nothing hollow at all.

these were removed to dig huge pits to accomodate CIDP,

Jubea's,tail pot palms,bizie lady..etc.

now there is a slender looking bamboo,budha bamboo,

yellow bamboo in pot & fortune bamboo in a small container

with water in it.

when all members interaction in this post is over,i will

bump this thread with my stills of what bamboos that are

remaining at present in my house.

Thanks guys for all the lovely stills,

Love,

Kris  

[Kris]

Now let's go and see some of my existing bamboos that

are left from felling !

i call the baudha bamboo_

[Kris]

some close up of that same bamboo_

[Kris]

One more angle_

[Kris]

this one is a different Sp..stem is slender and leaves are also

small, goes well as fence or partition or screen !  

[Kris]

now to fortune or lucky bamboo_from korea & tiwan..

[Kris]

When i felled some bamboos,this one looked so sweet that

i kept i section of a root ball with one samll stem,got it repotted in a circular cement container.

this one is yellow stemed variety but the stem center section

is hallow !

here is a still for you_Scotty  

Love,

Kris  

[Scott]

Kris - it never ceases to amaze me the variety of your garden! Thanks for the beautiful pictures. Especially the last. That's a real beauty

[Kathy]

(krisachar @ Mar. 23 2007,10:52)

QUOTE

now to fortune or lucky bamboo_from korea & tiwan..

Kris, beautiful photos as always.

You do know that "Lucky Bamboo" is not a true bamboo, but a dracaena?

--------

Does anyone know the ultimate footprint of Bambusa lako?  And I hear Thyrsostachys siamensis (Monastery bamboo) has a very tight footprint?  The oldhamii sounds like it will require more space than I'm willing to give it.

[Kris]

Dear Scotty  

thanks man !

some more are there i must search them in my jungle  

Dear Kathy  

thanks for the info on lucky bamboo  

And Kathy are you a botany student ? since i was told zac is a

botany student.till pre collegue i was a scinece student too.

prepared for medicine.but dint qualify in the entrance exams.and the cut off marks for forward community is 91%

i got just 74% so i was denied a seat in medicine.So i

grudegingly took arts in collegue.and learnt one very useful info_history repeats itself for men never learn...

Thanks & Love,

Kris

[doubravsky]

The monastery bamboo does have a nice small footprint... but the ones I've seen around here tend to look really poor throughout the winter. You'd definitely want to have it in a protected spot.

[Kathy]

Kris, no I'm not a botany student except in the layman's sense!  So sorry you missed out on the medicine career.  But it seems you have found your place in the world.

Dave, thanks for the info.  I kind of figured that any bamboo up here is going to look a bit ratty in the winter, but that's OK.   How much space does your Gigantochloa require?

Any other bamboo recommendations for good tall screening with not tons of space requirements?  (Prefer over 15 feet to hide neighbor's house.)  Love how bamboo hides stuff, but don't want to give up a 10 x 10 ' space! Wish Dypsis lutescens grew here to screen for me.  (Scott, are you cool with oldhamii's space needs?)

[junglegalfla]

Kathy,

I've done some research on lako. I have a 15 gal I am debating on planting. I've read that it's not a tight clumper but a wide sprawling clumper instead. They mentioned a 14' radius. Oldhamii is a very tight clumper out of the timber boos, I'm not sure you'll find a better match. I grow the weavers fern leaf (bambusa textilis) and this is a very tight clumper, excellent screen boo.

[BobbyinNY]

I planted the golden variety (Phyllostachys aurea) last spring - 3 plants about 3 feet apart, and I'm expecting anyday now to see some new shoots coming up.

[doubravsky]

I think the Gigantochloa will use a good 10-12' eventually..

I would second the Weaver's .. Bambusa Textilis. I have two clumps that act as a screen on the side of my house..  they are as tall as the house now.. and haven't spread much. There is also a variation that is pretty... the Bambusa Textilis Gracilis.

And they took the 24f cold streak in January without defoliating at all...

Here's a pic from a year ago... hard to see in the background to the left of the house

[junglegalfla]

Bobby,

I take it the Phyllostachys isn't a runner up in your zone? Down here in FL, 3 clumps of the stuff planted out would be a jailable offense (tongue in cheek) & taking over the county!

JG

[Scott]

Kathy - Yeah I'm good with Oldhamii's space requirements. I figure 10 to 11' in diameter one day. It's on the side yard, and I have about 14' width to play with.

I love the stuff. There's always something new

There's always confinement - you could try. And if the odd culm comes up where you don't want it, You could 'snap' it off.

[Kris]

Dear Dave  

Your garden looks preety neat and the stone work on the

house walls & the fence area simply rocks !

and the house paint color looks gentle on the eye.

Thanks & Love,

Kris  

[Kathy]

Dave, Scott, Junglegal, appreciate the input!  It actually just hit me yesterday that I could go ahead and use a barrier for a bigger clumper, but then I know it wouldn't get as tall as it should.  I wonder if using a barrier would cause a clumper to look less than healthy, aside from just being shorter?  I would love to put in a number of species -- black and green and striped and bulging -- they are just so exotic looking and look great with the palms.

Bobby, you are brave!  That stuff becomes a forest, even here in NorCal!  Not in Long Island?

[Peter]

Junglegal,

B. lako is a tight clumper with a vertical aspect, not a sprawler.  Here's a 3 year old clump at the LA Arboretum last summer:

[Scott]

Peter - Very nice!

[junglegalfla]

Peter,

Beautiful photo but 3 yrs old isn't really an established planting. I know it's a very upright growing boo but I swear I've read that this is a more open clumper than oldhamii and some of the others.  Let me see if I can dig up my source again, it's been a a while since I looked into this.

[Peter]

Junglegal,

I'd love to hear more about B. lako.  I'm certainly no bamboo expert so any info is greatly appreciated as I'm growing it myself and have only had it in the ground for a year.

[doubravsky]

I checked with Jim Rehor, a bamboo nurser from the Chino Hills area. He's my local source for bamboo and very knowledgeable.

According to him... a good size for a mature Oldhamii clump might be 15-20 ft.

Gigantochloa Atroviolacea, one of the two medium size black clumpers, has a tight clump and may top out at about 8 ft diameter.

Bambusa Lako, the other black, has a more open habit and will be a good few feet wider.

He also mentioned that any clumper will continue to grow and will need to be managed... ie.. cutting away the inner, older culms...   You can also kick over new shoots that approach the limits of your area, and you can dig up and rhizomes that get near the edge as well.

A growth example... I saw a clump pf Gigantochloa Atroviolacea at Bamboo Bobs in Vista, CA. It was on top of a septic tank leach line, so it got tons of free water and fertilizer, and it was HUGE!

ps... Krisachar.. thanks for the kind words! I can't take credit for the house (bought it that way).. only the plants!

[waykoolplantz]

OldHamii is the first of over 60 species i have planted...and its easily 40 ft high after 7 years

[ron@springhammock]

Bambusa doesn't start shooting until well into summer down here, but my moso have just started.  This is one Phyllostachys I feel safe growing.  It only puts out a few shoots a year and so is easy to control.  Only problem is I'm never really sure where it will pop up.  It has a nice  satiny silver culm that wears into a dark olive green over the years.  The surface is not a chalky coating, but actually a velvety surface that is slow to wear.  

This has been a slow grower for me, barely gaining a 20% increase in culm diameter with each season.  It's now at a solid 2 inches in diameter, so still has some growing up to do.

[ron@springhammock]

I would have to vote Bambusa oldhamii as the all around best timber bamboo for my area.  It takes hard freezes without a blemish, grows straight and clean so takes minimal space for a giant bamboo and seems little bothered by pests.  I started my B. oldhamii at the same time as my Moso, both as 1 Gal mail order plants and the B. oldhamii culms are well at double the diameter of the Moso; coming in at 4 inches.  

Only problem I've had with these is since they shoot during the summer, I've lost several of the tender new canes to hurricanes.