Sow now. Bamboo seed does not have a long period of viability. Keep seedlings indoors over the winter and move outdoors to shady/protected area next Spring.

I have 12 lako seedlings that have sprouted so far after about a week. They have a high percentage of success around 75%, and maybe the remaining 4 seeds I have will sprout within this week. I used a 3 liter sterlite container filled with half perlite half peat. I moisted the mix and placed the seeds in neat rows. Once I covered the box with the lid, I placed it in an 85 degree room. Within 3 days you should see the first sprouts. My largest lako is 1.125 inches tall, and one of the sprouts is red/pink.

They seem to grow slower than my Dendrocalamus asper 'Betung Hitam' (D. asper grows at about 1/32 inch / hour). My largest asper is 2.125 inches. 50% germination after a week.

B. bambos 9 seeds out of 60 after a week. Largest is 1 inch tall.

As for moso, about 14 out of 60 have sprouted after 2 weeks. largest one is about 1/2 inch tall, but the roots on these guys are CRAZY long. I would recommend placing moso seeds at a 45 degree angle, fat end first, a cm into the mix for best results. Good luck

Thanks for your advices. I just sowed all 30 seeds last night and cross my fingers. I am very excited and can not wait to see them sprout. I'll post the result and pix later.
I am still on my quest for the Sunburst clumper.

Dzguy

well, My hopes are with my seeds od dendrocalamus stricta, and Phillostachys Pubencen ( moso I think), I sowed 100 seeds of each one last night too.

wierd thing i've noticed after reading some posts in this forums, is that in the instructions of the seeds I bought, it says that I may have to wait within 6-12 weeks to germinate, but most of you have the seeds germinating in 2-3 weeks..

The seeds I germinated last year started literally within the first week with most germinated by the fourth week. I had one species in which I received zero germination...can't recall.

Well! After one week, there is no sign of life yet. I still cross my finger and pray. The chance is getting worse since the last couple of days, since the temperature drops to 60 degree. It will get cooler next Monday. I wonder should I take the sowing tray inside and put it under the light?

I had Bambusa lako germinate in less than 1 week while under shoplights indoors.There was 100% germination success.The seedlings are 3 inches high now and doing good.I prefer to start my seeds in a controlled environment indoors.Thosy nasty little chipmunks outside wreck havoc with seeds outdoors...

Move them indoors for a more constant temp.

good news, one D. Strictus seed and one D. calostachys germinated in 5 days, Im hoping to have more babies in the next days, but since I kind of new in growing bamboo from seeds i need info about what kind of cares i need to take in order to have this boo growing and growing

this is a D. Strictus
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this is D. Calostachys
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and since I started them in this cheapo dome trays I dont know how much time can they be in there or should be transplanted
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as always your help from your mexican amateur will be apreciated

Looks good, what I'd like to know is after how long do they send up a second culm? My largest D. asper is 6.5 inches tall with three leaves at 3 weeks.

After more than 2 weeks, in door at night and out door during the day, thanks to your tips, 24 of 30 seeds germinated. That's very high percentage and far exceeds my expectation. Some put out the first leave, yahooooo! I'll post the pix as soon as I learn how.

steelhorse-
I used the same type of setup as you did for my moso seedlings. I peeled off the netting and put the peat ball and seedlling in a larger pot after about a month. Disturb it as little as possible.

By the way, did you use any bottom heat? And what were the light conditions?

kudzu

how much bigger was your "larger" pot you used to transplant your seedlings, a gallon size or half gallon per each?

I didnt used any kind of artificial heat, in mi zone the actual highs temps are from 85f to 90f, and for light conditions the pot is located in the front patio for full shade, after two weeks I have only 12 seedings but they are so big that I have to take off the humidity dome that comes with the pot. (Im aware that is a low success ratio but since my seeds were storage for about 2-3 years in a wood box in the garage I was expecting 0% germination)

steelhorse-
I went to 4" rectanular pots first, and then 1 gallons or larger as they grew. I had a lot of germination, and knew I'd be mailing some of them off, so I didn't want to go to really big pots immediately.

As for your germination rate, congratulations...I agree, it should be zero!

Make sure you mist them after removing the dome. We lost quite alore of our moso because we didn't "ween" them from the moisture.

Your seeds were 3 years old? Wow! I would've expected zero also.

Heres a picture of my lako, asper, and bambos seedlings.
{{gwi:419641}}
The furthest back is lako, then asper, then bambos up close. Poor albino lako...

Finally got my Lako and Asper seeds last week. Using the same procedure that I followed for my Strictus and Moso seed in 2004 I sowed them last Friday. Today several of each species is almost 3/4" tall! I sowed them in one of those Folgers plastic coffee cans so I shouldn't have to transplant them for a while.

post pics webgator

specially for that setup you used

When you see my setup you will see it is nothing fancy, just a 50/50 peat/perlite mix moistened to the point of when you squeeze a handful it drips. The mix was put into a Folgers plastic coffee can, the seeds sowed right below the surface, then covered with some of that sticky Glad cling wrap. The cans were placed on the dining room table with room temp ave 78 degrees F with only natural light coming from the window.

I will post pics tomorrow since I am at work right now.

B. Lako seedlings
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D. Asper "Betung Hitam" seedlings
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The setup

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nice, you have nice touch for seeds, not all people have success growing any plant from seeds.

that last pic remember me my setup in cuttings, same sticky Glad cling wrap as cover.

My Lako seedlings are about 2" with couple of leaves now. When should I feed them with fertilizer? I'll keep them in the garage with light through out the cold season.

"When should I feed them with fertilizer?"

very easy to burn young plants with fert.

Assuming you have good, rich, light, well-draining soil kept moist, I'd just wait.

UnAutre,
Thanks for the warning. Is the worm casting fine for the young ones, otherwise I'll keep giving them organic compost.

I think the secret must lie in those Folger crystals.

You all got me so excited...I just purchased 45 Bambusa Lako seeds from the girl in Germany on Ebay. Hopefully, I will be half as successful as you all (and then I'll be soooooo happy!)

wanna_run_faster-
Just so you know...it's illegal to import bamboo seeds into the U.S. without a permit, so, if they are confiscated (probably not likely, but possible), that's why. There are some USDA regulations relating to disease control that have been on the books for many decades and they even applies to species that are already introduced into the U.S. I'm not trying to chastise you; just letting you know that it's a potential problem.

Hi Kudzu,
thanks for the heads up. I purchased addendium and plumeria from China and Singapore and all came with a phyto certificate (wasn't specified in the listing). Who knows, maybe these will too? I guess I will ask first next time!

wanna_run_faster-
Very interesting. Who issued the phyto certificate? If it's a bona fide certiifcate, that's a positive, but technically I don't believe that's enough to prevent seizure if the shipment somehow came to the attention of USDA or customs inspectors. I've been sorely tempted to buy from out of the country, but have resisted so far. In any case...good luck.

The certificates were issued from the originating countries. The one from China was in Chinese so I couldn't read that one. The one from Singapore just gave inspection dates, species information, location of the nursery etc. Both envelopes were labed that they contained seeds and could be opened for inspection. This, of course, may mean nothing to the USDA or customs. I know nothing about any of this (obviously) but someone told me that if the envelope is correctly labeled with a phyto certificate and the quantity is small (for personal use) that unless there are visually obvious signs of infestation or the plant is not allowed (?), it will usually get through. Again, I'm only going by hear say.

wanna_run_faster-
I think you've got it sized up properly: it's a hit-or-miss thing. I'd be interested to hear what happens...

Kudzu,

I can live with the hit or miss thing. The thing that upsets me, especially living in a state were invasives have disrupted our ecosystems...is that I would hate to think my lusting after bambusa lako or whatever would lead to something invasive or harmful being unleashed on our little part of the world. :(

Hopefully the seeds from Germany will come properly labeled, packaged, and inspected...but we'll see.

Ok I have one question. When do you plant them outside once you have started them from seed?

Well...my luck with seedlings is I didnt go outside directly with them... I potted them up into a bit larger planter and they stayed in the sunroom for the season. 2nd year my moso was looking real nice and healthy...potted them up again and moved them outside.
It may depend alot on the variety too... I dont know about seedllings of your type.
Best of luck