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suzeprich

Anyone in N/Central NJ w/ Black Bamboo Cuttings?

suzeprich
14 years ago

I am in Plainfield, NJ looking for someone who wants to share Black Bamboo cuttings. Based on everything I've read it seems like a great addition to my sideyard. I want to grow a wall of it to deter the deer off their current path. I have no other bamboo, but have other stuff to share if you want.

Comments (8)

  • kudzu9
    14 years ago

    Just so you're aware, you can't grow black bamboo from stem cuttings, but you can grow it from rhizome (root) cuttings. However, the success rate can be fairly low, and, if it grows, it will be at least 5 years before it is any appreciable height. If you want to grow black bamboo, it would be best for you to start by buying or trading for a complete plant. Also, although it will make a nice addition to your yard, it will probably not deter deer: they won't eat it, but they will be able to move through the grove as the bamboo culms have irregular spacing and will leave big enough gaps for passage in some places.

  • suzeprich
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks Kudzu! I just want to have some sort of pretty barrier because right now its a deer highway. I know they wont stay away, but I was hoping they would at least choose the neighbor's yard more often. Would you suggest another type over black bamboo? I just love bamboo, especially the black type & I have never planted it.

  • kudzu9
    14 years ago

    suzeprich-
    I agree that black is a great looking bamboo, but I am a little worried about your planting it in Zone 6. The hardiness rating of black bamboo in the ground is about 0 F, and you will have leaf and culm damage in the winter before it gets that low. You might want to consider planting a species that is hardier, like Phyllostachys nuda, which is hardy to about -20 F. There are also several Fargesia species that are that hardy, too, but they are clumping bamboo and you would have to plant individual clumps wherever you wanted the bamboo to be as clumpers don't spread like the runners do.

  • subtropix
    14 years ago

    Unfortunately, I am not parting with my Black Bamboo. I've been growing it for about 15 years now. A couple of years ago when I moved, I took a clump of it along with several other species of Phyllostachys (aurea, vivax, viridis, and nidularia). I like black bamboo (P. nigra) and P. viridis "Robert young" best. The latter has very colorful, sulfur yellow culms. And although both are runners, neither seems as aggressive as P. aurea (common "Golden bamboo"). Nigra may show some leaf burn in your zone, especially the first year or two before it really gets established but in my experience this lessens with the passage of time and as the grove establishes itself and expands (creating its own little microclimate almost). Fargesia rufa and other species are locally available and cultivated but as zudzu says, they would have to be planted as separate clumps (and the expense of that really adds up). But to be frank, I really don't think any bamboo is going to deter the deer (which they NEVER seem to even consider eating). In fact, if I were a deer I would seek out the quiet shelter of an established grove of bamboo (how cooling on a hot summer day). Good luck with your grove! P.S. I also live along area dense with deer.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    14 years ago

    I must add my agreement, regarding deer.
    I'm way out here in northern California, in an area rife with blacktail deer. While the deer have even eaten my horsetail rushes (which must taste awful), they don't seem to bother the black bamboo at all - not even to rub their antlers. I've put up stakes to keep them from stepping on new sprouts, but that's been the extent of the protection I've had to provide.

    Josh

  • suzeprich
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well, My cousin in CA had a potted P. Nigra and he cut out a few shoots and lots of crazy looking roots and sent it to me - well packed in spagnum moss. I dug a giant hole, removed a lot of the clay and added back in the soil that was there, some topsoil, some peat moss and a lot of compost. I dusted the roots with rootgrow and added mulch to the top of it. It looks ok now, although the canes that were black with green on the inside appear a bit brown. I have watered it well. Any tips? {{gwi:409650}} and {{gwi:409652}} and {{gwi:409655}}

  • kudzu9
    14 years ago

    Just keep it well watered. Otherwise, you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. Usually a bamboo transplant does best if you have a large, undisturbed rootball that includes soil, so the odds are 50-50 whether this one makes it. However, if it doesn't survive, it won't be due to any failing on your part. Good luck.

  • suzeprich
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    thanks a lot kudzu! I appreciate your words of support... I was having "dreams' last night about it drying out, so sweet dreams tonight :0