To clarify what I mean, I'll add if someone gives me one rhizome or root, I will give $2 or $3. I hope that's fair. I ordered some seeds on ebay too. It's a Fargesia yunna-something. I also wondered about the Giant reed grass. I can always order them, but they are pricey.

I don't have the clumping bamboo you are looking for, but if you mean arundo donax for giant reed grass we have tons invading from the neighbor's yard. It's very invasive - not sure if that's what you would want since you are looking at a clumping bamboo... What state are you in?

I am in SW Pa. I was looking for the Arundo Donax reed grass, however if it is greatly invasive maybe I should not plant it. I have lots of room in my yard but if it is like running bamboo I don't want to have problems. I have gotten seed from ebay for the clumping bamboo, I hope they can pretty easily be grown from seed. It is Fargesia Yunna-something, can't remember the last part of the name. Thanks for replying, I'll just forget the reedgrass.

poaky1-
FYI, Arundo Donax is not like bamboo...it's far worse. Unlike bamboo it can regenerate from small pieces of root left in the ground. Once its established, you will have great difficulty in keeping it from being a hard-to-remove nuisance.

In addition, although I wish you well with your seeds, bamboo are fairly difficult to grow from seed. In addition, if you succeed, it will take in excess of 5 years before the bamboo is as tall as you...maybe longer.

I know that you can get a variety of bamboo seed on eBay, usually from foreign sources. However, it is often not fresh (bamboo seed loses its viability quickly), and it may not be what is advertized (most bamboo only produce seeds once every several decades to once every 100 years or so). The last person I know who bought "bamboo" seed on eBay ended up with a nice bunch of sprouts of standard grass seed. Finally, be aware that it's a violation of federal regulations to import bamboo plants, rhizomes, or seeds without a year-long quarantine.

I was unaware of the quarentine issues and seed issues.I thought I could get some bamboo on the cheap, it was $4.00 or close to that. They have African source bamboos listed, I don't think the seed was from Africa but it is still from another country anyway, Germany I think. I will just have to buy a plant. I wanted Fargesia robusta "Campbell". I may get it from Plantdelights. They've been mentioned on gardenweb as sources for palms, bamboos among other plants so I think they must be reputable. Thanks for the insight I've never tried bamboo before. Someone offered me a root of running bamboo and I after some thought declined.

poaky1-
I grow many kinds of bamboo, and I've grown it from seed (U.S. sources!), and from rhizomes. Both of these methods work, but you end up waiting for years to get a decent size plant. That's why it's generally more satisfying to buy a potted bamboo where you know its size, and you know it will put out even bigger growth in a year or two.

I am going to try the seeds (if they don't get confiscated by customs) and still order divisions of Fargesia robusta. I like the look of running bamboo more than clumping but don't want to have to deal with new shoots spreading each spring. No big deal now, but in 10 years and up I will not want to do the work.

If you are in the northern parts of PA, some running bamboos will be very limited in the amount they spread, and even if they do spread past where you want them to go, it is pretty easy to rhizome prune them right after shooting season when the rhizomes are at their weakest. Rhizomes don't get very deep.

Also if you are in zone 6, fargesia robusta probably won't be hardy enough to grow as it is nowhere near it's rated hardiness. Try fargesia rufa, denudata, or scabrida which are related species, but they are also about 15 degrees hardier than robusta.

I am in SW Pa about 15 minutes from the WV border, but still zone 6. We have been having zone 7b winters for several years now though. I know, don't get too used to it. I will do some searching for images of the other Fargesias that were just mentioned. If I put a large "container" with drainage holes in the ground with the top of it above ground will they come through the drainage holes and spread? I know there will be only a couple shoots at first but eventually if I let some grow each one that grows will have a few new shoots and on and on........right? If I can find a big container of sorts I will try running bamboo. I will stick to clumping until I find a approx 12+ inch deep tub, even stainless steel livestock water tub and put some drainage holes. The big oval ones and partially bury it and leave part of it above ground. I'll have to price those etc. Sorry for rambling.

If you are in SW PA, then you might have a climate about 7F warmer than here so they might be able to spread a lot more than they do here. Running bamboos are know to escape out of their drainage holes as I've seen it many times. If you are worried about spread, I would suggest creating a raised mound 6-12 inches high for trying running bamboo. This way, when rhizomes do start running, you will be able to see them when they get to the edge of the mound to snip them off. It is also possible to reduce the number of culms to slow down rhizome growth.

The main purpose behind getting a raised mound instead of an enclosed container is because it will allow you to take divisions, or remove plant material since bamboos can get root-bound in a tub after a few years which will lead to soil that dries up very fast, and a reduction in vigor as it is much harder to dig out some of the root mass if rhizomes are wrapping around a container. There are also slow spreading running bamboos.http://www.bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5525

Even if you get 7b winters, robusta may be a very marginal bamboo, but you can tarp it over with an overwintering blanket during the coldest months.

Here is a link that might be useful: How some of my running bamboos grow

I received the seeds I ordered yesterday and I was surprised, I hadn't ordered bamboo seed after all. I had ordered the arundo donax, and it was from Pa. I had been looking at the bamboo seed and thought I had ordered that. So I have the invasive reed grass seed not bamboo. I have found a clumping bamboo but forget the name. When I get some extra cash I am going to buy it. Stevelau, your running bamboo doesn't look too invasive but you don't say how long it's been there. If I get a running bamboo, my moms friend has a bunch of them and they are very hardy, they are probably the Michigan bulb catalog bamboo hardy to zone 5. I am a bit afraid to get running bamboo though. Thanks for sharing your pics etc.

The biggest ones have been in since 2008, and some of the newer ones which look a lot shorter were added last year. I've found that some species such as any of the aureosulcatas, bissetii, or rubromarginata will spread as much as 3ft per year, and also put out an abundance of culms. I really don't like the screening bamboos that spread rampantly so I got rid of those, and keeping a potted specimen of each, but some species such as Dulcis, propinqua beijing and atrovaginata have only shown the ability to spread around 1ft per year, sometimes less which makes them look like clumping bamboo.

You really don't have to get any extra cash if you are able to find bamboo collector in your area. I think there are at least 5 people in PA on bambooweb forums who might consider lending you some bamboo for free.

Here is a link that might be useful: An older blog from July of last year

Instead of going on bambooweb which I looked at, I will try my luck on this site first. Would you be interested in sending me a root or 2 if I pay the postage and maybe a few bucks extra? My moms friend just has the one type of bamboo and doesn't know what type it is but it is a running type by the looks of it. The fargesia rufa is the type I would be interested in. There is a nursery that has the "green Panda" Fargesia(?) but they want $50.00 approx. Which is more than I want to pay if I can help it. I have found out that the running types can be controlled by stopping the shoots from growing in the spring, which sounds easy if your grove isn't massive. I just worry when I get really old, keeping up with it! But as long as I can ride the tractor around and cut grass I should be okay, IS This true, or do the shoots pop up far from the plant? It's a bit confusing that there are so many different clumpers to choose from. Out of your pics the fargesia rufa looks the closest to the best formed bamboo. Let me know Steve if you want to share a root of Fargesia rufa for postage and a few bucks for your troubles?

I think all i have left as far as bamboos is 1 very small fargesia rufa, and 3 phyllostachys parvifolia whip shoots which might all fit into a medium flat rate box. parvifolia is however a more aggressive grower than most of other running types I grow in the ground, but it's not a rampant runner like the aureosulcatas, bissetiis, or rubromarginata. Some of my other runners would take a few months for me to get a viable division, perhaps through airlayering a shoot bud into a nursery pot.

I don't mind sending a box of plants as long as you pay for the shipping and $3 for gas, but I don't have of a large variety at this point in time. I also have some neighbors with claims already on the next division that some of my bamboos produce.

It is possible to mow around and step on shoots to control them if you have lots of space, but the rhizomes will still keep advancing a bit farther each year and it is possible for shoots to pop up over 10ft away from the main plant. Thinning out culms will tend to discourage this type of behavior, and using a shovel to dig a round the circumference of the grove right after shooting season will kill off and rot all the unwanted rhizomes that don't have any attachment to a culm because their starches will be depleted right after new shoots are done branching out, but not leafed out yet. I still haven't had to do any form of containment, but I'm in an even colder climate than you, and bamboos require warm soil temperatures to spread well.

I would be willing to pay for the Fargesia Rufa root/rhizome. If you don't mind sending out one. Even the smallest peice that will produce 1 plant is good enough for me. My email is topaz01@atlanticbb.net. I will give you my address to send the plant and you can let me know where to send the payment, or put a returning address on the package you send. My zone is still zone 6 ish. It is colder than the zone 7 average temps in the winter, but hasn't gone below 0 F in many years (at least 8) the ultimate low has been 11 F each of the last 8 winters in my yard, possibly more than 8. I know I've read somewhere about a slow spreading running bamboo and feel like a bubble head because I can't remember what it was, but I've been reading so much about bamboo in different places I can't keep it all straight.The Fargesia Rufa is definately one I want. Hope you can part with your Rufa. Thanks

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