I only say PARTIALLY because a friend of mine (claiming no more time for plants ((makes NO sense to ME, either))) gave me these bamboo seeds (he was unsure of specie) which had “sat around” for a few years...
Yeeah.. why not try..
So I tried said seeds (in the 50 - 75 range)... and two ended up sprouting..
So I will document THEM and other bamboo projects I may have going, in this thread.
I'm compelled to drop some advice before Leo chimes in!
- Don't think that bamboo isn't sensitive just because it grows so rapidly. It can be finicky stuff that doesn't handle repotting well.
- Watch out for suckers/rhizomes; once these take hold in your garden, you can't EVER get them out. They will try and they will succeed! The key is to dig out the suckers entirely, completely, and some inches of dirt around it. The neighbors can make you pay for them having to dig up half their garden to get rid of bamboo. It's a common dispute around here. Best to prevent that entirely!
- Hardiness can vary a great deal. I assumed Moso Bamboo was hardy, it wasn't in a pot.
- Razor blade foliage is going to cut you if you move too fast. And those cuts, just like corn leaf cuts, don't heal well due to their serrated nature.
Also take care when you invite chefs to your home. They'll eat the fresh shoots while you're not looking and then act as if nothing happened. Feed them well directly when they arrive, and make sure you hide your bamboo well.
I need two new tatts as well.. (annnd i gotta draw the final design)... buuut as I’ve said before.. I only get basement tattoos from artist friends.. it’s a matter of principle.
I'm compelled to drop some advice before Leo chimes in!
- Don't think that bamboo isn't sensitive just because it grows so rapidly. It can be finicky stuff that doesn't handle repotting well.
- Watch out for suckers/rhizomes; once these take hold in your garden, you can't EVER get them out. They will try and they will succeed! The key is to dig out the suckers entirely, completely, and some inches of dirt around it. The neighbors can make you pay for them having to dig up half their garden to get rid of bamboo. It's a common dispute around here. Best to prevent that entirely!
- Hardiness can vary a great deal. I assumed Moso Bamboo was hardy, it wasn't in a pot.
- Razor blade foliage is going to cut you if you move too fast. And those cuts, just like corn leaf cuts, don't heal well due to their serrated nature.
Also take care when you invite chefs to your home. They'll eat the fresh shoots while you're not looking and then act as if nothing happened. Feed them well directly when they arrive, and make sure you hide your bamboo well.
Don't want to steal the thread but I do know how to completely eradicate bamboo. Its a bit of work though and takes 2 people.
You can send me a PM if you have the problem.
Don't want to steal the thread but I do know how to completely eradicate bamboo. Its a bit of work though and takes 2 people.
You can send me a PM if you have the problem.
I need two new tatts as well.. (annnd i gotta draw the final design)... buuut as I’ve said before.. I only get basement tattoos from artist friends.. it’s a matter of principle.
Thanks for the sudden burning sensation of guilt. I have a couple of unfinished designs that I promised to do for friends. Motivation tends to drop if you're not charging 50 bucks an hour.. But hey, I'm saving them a lot, they should be thankful that I didn't quit the game entirely.
Thanks for the sudden burning sensation of guilt. I have a couple of unfinished designs that I promised to do for friends. Motivation tends to drop if you're not charging 50 bucks an hour.. But hey, I'm saving them a lot, they should be thankful that I didn't quit the game entirely.
OK, now this works. I was a landscaper for eons and I used this method many times successfully.
Takes two people because it is time sensitive, and it is so very common sense easy.
During growing season, one person cuts stalks close to the ground and the other follows behind with a paint brush and full strength concentrate round up. Paint it on the fresh cut right away, I have always tried to do it within 5 minutes.
It is possible you might get a tiny bit of regrowth from roots that didn't get zapped, but unlikely. If you do, it will be very small patches you may need to repeat
and that's it.
I could show you some places where there used to be well established bamboo.
I don't care about the science of what round up does and does not. I know this works and it works well.
OK, now this works. I was a landscaper for eons and I used this method many times successfully.
Takes two people because it is time sensitive, and it is so very common sense easy.
During growing season, one person cuts stalks close to the ground and the other follows behind with a paint brush and full strength concentrate round up. Paint it on the fresh cut right away, I have always tried to do it within 5 minutes.
It is possible you might get a tiny bit of regrowth from roots that didn't get zapped, but unlikely. If you do, it will be very small patches you may need to repeat
and that's it.
I could show you some places where there used to be well established bamboo.
I don't care about the science of what round up does and does not. I know this works and it works well.
@Wires_Guy_wires and @penumbra
Herbicides, applied to cut ends of culms does indeed work. Often 2 or 3 years of re-cutting and re-application are required if you don't get the herbicide painted on immediately after cutting the culm.
A well groomed bamboo grove is a thing of exquisite beauty. But a grove that is neglected, can suddenly become out of control. It doesn't get out of control instantly. Usually you plant it, forget it, and then 10 years later, it suddenly dawns on you that you should have been taking out the "out of bounds" culm some 5 years ago.
@HorseloverFat
Your bamboo seedlings could be any of several hundred species. Those seedlings are so young they do not have any identification traits. My first guess would be genus Phyllostachys, or possibly Pleioblastus. Both genera are temperate climate bamboo, mostly from China. I am certain your seed is NOT Fargesia. With Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus in mind, this bamboo will not be winter hardy in your climate. Most Phyllostachys & Pleioblastus do best in zone 7 winters. There are a few specific species that are winter hardy in zone 6. I have a few species that are hardy, in the ground at my zone 5b home, but none of them are likely to be available from seed. So plan on your seedlings being winter hardy to only zone 7. At the small seedling size, you might want to avoid letting the pot and soil freeze at all for the first few winters. A light frost is okay, but don't let the roots freeze solid.
I wrote a lot about bamboo over the years. Use the site search function to find posts about bamboo, authored by me. A couple of note are
I've acquired a bamboo plant. It was given to me. The thing is, I don't know what sort of bamboo it is and if it is suitable for indoor growing. Does anyone know anything about bamboo? Here's what it looks like.
www.bonsainut.com
A discussion of @AlainK 's Pleioblastus (the name I consistently misspelled through the post)
I was given this plant that looks like a small bamboo. It's been in this little pot since the spring and is less than 10 cm tall (4 inches). I also don't know if this plant is hardy, or not. If it's not, it could be a Pogonatherum. I've often seen it as an accent plant but can't find the name...
@HorseloverFat
Your bamboo seedlings could be any of several hundred species. Those seedlings are so young they do not have any identification traits. My first guess would be genus Phyllostachys, or possibly Pleioblastus. Both genera are temperate climate bamboo, mostly from China. I am certain your seed is NOT Fargesia. With Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus in mind, this bamboo will not be winter hardy in your climate. Most Phyllostachys & Pleioblastus do best in zone 7 winters. There are a few specific species that are winter hardy in zone 6. I have a few species that are hardy, in the ground at my zone 5b home, but none of them are likely to be available from seed. So plan on your seedlings being winter hardy to only zone 7. At the small seedling size, you might want to avoid letting the pot and soil freeze at all for the first few winters. A light frost is okay, but don't let the roots freeze solid.
I wrote a lot about bamboo over the years. Use the site search function to find posts about bamboo, authored by me. A couple of note are
I've acquired a bamboo plant. It was given to me. The thing is, I don't know what sort of bamboo it is and if it is suitable for indoor growing. Does anyone know anything about bamboo? Here's what it looks like.
www.bonsainut.com
A discussion of @AlainK 's Pleioblastus (the name I consistently misspelled through the post)
I was given this plant that looks like a small bamboo. It's been in this little pot since the spring and is less than 10 cm tall (4 inches). I also don't know if this plant is hardy, or not. If it's not, it could be a Pogonatherum. I've often seen it as an accent plant but can't find the name...
In general, bamboo likes a moderately moist soil, much like the mixes that a maple or beech or hornbeam would be happy with. The pH should be mildly acidic, pH 5.5 to 6.8, with 6.0 to 6.5 being more or less ideal. Both Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus are running bamboos. They expand by horizontal underground rhizomes that may run several feet from the original culm. Terminology Culm is the correct name for the "cane". The new culm emerges in spring, this is the "bamboo shoot" that is a culinary delight from certain species. The culm will grow to full height in just a few weeks. That is it, the culm will not increase in height after that initial growth. Most bamboo are evergreen, the foliage will survive the winter. In subsequent years, the culm will add branches and smaller leaves each subsequent year. Your bamboo will be healthiest when you have several culms on a length of rhizome. Repot once every 2 years, or once a year if the pot gets root bound. I repot late summer, but you can repot in early spring before new growth starts.
Seedling bamboo does best with half day sun, afternoon shade is best. Mature bamboo of Pleioblastus likes half day sun, Phyllostachys usually wants full sun.
