Desert Bamboo

[ahosey01]

I don't know much about bamboo.  However - the southside of my house gets roasted all day and I'd like to plant something that will grow fast, block the sun and not mind getting fried for 12 straight hours.  If I can get a plant to absorb the heat from the sun and drop my summer energy bill by a good 50-60 bucks a month, I'll be a happy camper.

Is there some species of bamboo that will fit this bill?  Soil on that side of the house is clay-ish but drains decently well and is alkaline.  Stays moist though.  We're not that far above the water table either.  Summer max extremes are usually 110-115 and we'll drop to 17-22 a couple times a year as an overnight extreme low.

I see some types of bamboo growing around here, but I don't know the first thing about it.  Some have naturalized on the banks of the river nearby.

Let me know!  Thanks!

Edited December 11, 2020 by ahosey01

[Silas_Sancona]

11 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

I don't know much about bamboo.  However - the southside of my house gets roasted all day and I'd like to plant something that will grow fast, block the sun and not mind getting fried for 12 straight hours.  If I can get a plant to absorb the heat from the sun and drop my summer energy bill by a good 50-60 bucks a month, I'll be a happy camper.

Is there some species of bamboo that will fit this bill?  Soil on that side of the house is clay-ish but drains decently well and is alkaline.  Stays moist though.  We're not that far above the water table either.  Summer max extremes are usually 110-115 and we'll drop to 17-22 a couple times a year as an overnight extreme low.

I see some types of bamboo growing around here, but I don't know the first thing about it.  Some have naturalized on the banks of the river nearby.

Let me know!  Thanks!

Would direct you over the list provided by the Bamboo Ranch, down in Tucson but looks like they are in the process of upgrading their site atm.. Grow some pretty surprising stuff for the desert..  I myself prefer the native/near native ( Mayan Silver/ Mex. Weeping Bamboo.. ) Otatea sp. that have no/ fewer issues w/ our heat/ drought over non-natives, though there are some great choices -in that category- as well.  Pretty sure he's available this time of year for inquires about pricing, ( seemed pretty fair last time i'd inquired ) growing preferences, scheduling a time to visit/purchase, etc. Feb. - early April would be ideal planting time though.

Avoid any of the "Running " Bamboo like the plague While usually slower here, toughest can become a nightmare in the right spot.

[amh]

On 12/11/2020 at 11:03 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Would direct you over the list provided by the Bamboo Ranch, down in Tucson but looks like they are in the process of upgrading their site atm.. Grow some pretty surprising stuff for the desert..  I myself prefer the native/near native ( Mayan Silver/ Mex. Weeping Bamboo.. ) Otatea sp. that have no/ fewer issues w/ our heat/ drought over non-natives, though there are some great choices -in that category- as well.  Pretty sure he's available this time of year for inquires about pricing, ( seemed pretty fair last time i'd inquired ) growing preferences, scheduling a time to visit/purchase, etc. Feb. - early April would be ideal planting time though.

Avoid any of the "Running " Bamboo like the plague While usually slower here, toughest can become a nightmare in the right spot.

On the subject of heat hardy bamboo; are there any clumping types that will handle a temperature range of 13 to 110F?

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, amh said:

On the subject of heat hardy bamboo; are there any clumping types that will handle a temperature range of 13 to 110F?

Regionally native Otatea, and some of the Bambusa sp./ vars. that tolerate zone 8 would be worth further research/ a starting point, for clumpers anyway..  Wish Bamboo Ranch had their list up since he had cold tolerance listed for everything he grows there. Think i have seen some of the Bambusa textilis varieties offered in nurseries here, so would imagine they'd tolerate heat pretty well.

[amh]

Thanks, most of the clumping types that I look at will only handle one end of my temperature range. The running varieties grow great here, but I do not want the liability.

[Swolte]

The Textilis will like the heat but may have some difficulty with the 13F. I have read reports that once they may return from roots during such temps. Listed as 8b by most growers here in Texas (I have one but first year in the ground so is struggling a bit now with the cold in a very exposed spot). 

[amh]

11 minutes ago, Swolte said:

The Textilis will like the heat but may have some difficulty with the 13F. I have read reports that once they may return from roots during such temps. Listed as 8b by most growers here in Texas (I have one but first year in the ground so is struggling a bit now with the cold in a very exposed spot). 

I'll have to look into the textilis. I don't mind if it freezes to the ground as long as it comes back every year. It reaches 8F about 2 out of 12 years for me, but 13F seems to be the normal.

[amh]

Has anyone grown Fargesia dracocephala. I'm looking for a clumper for shade.

[Merlyn]

The best general purpose bamboo info place is http://www.bambooweb.info/SearchBambooPlants.php

You can sort by size, culm diameter, clumping vs running, etc.  I know there's a guy in Texas who is one of the growers/experimenters, and he has a good list of TX bamboo here:

http://www.boonut.info/bamboo.html

[amh]

4 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

The best general purpose bamboo info place is http://www.bambooweb.info/SearchBambooPlants.php

You can sort by size, culm diameter, clumping vs running, etc.  I know there's a guy in Texas who is one of the growers/experimenters, and he has a good list of TX bamboo here:

http://www.boonut.info/bamboo.html

Thanks, I'll have to check it out.

[ahosey01]

On 12/14/2020 at 9:23 PM, amh said:

On the subject of heat hardy bamboo; are there any clumping types that will handle a temperature range of 13 to 110F?

Sounds a lot like my house, LOL. 19-119 pretty much every year.

[amh]

6 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

Sounds a lot like my house, LOL. 19-119 pretty much every year.

Luckily I don't experience too many days above 102, but the winter radiative cooling is nuts.

[ahosey01]

38 minutes ago, amh said:

Luckily I don't experience too many days above 102, but the winter radiative cooling is nuts.

Same here.  Was 25F this morning, now 70F.  Will likely be back to 30F tonight.

[amh]

4 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

Same here.  Was 25F this morning, now 70F.  Will likely be back to 30F tonight.

My high temps are about 58 to 61F, but I was 21F the other morning. I will luckily be above freezing tonight.