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poaky1

My bamboo (Steve Lau) and anyone-pics.

poaky1
11 years ago

These are 2, I forgot to photograph the other one. I got these last spring from Stev{{gwi:425211}}e Lau They are small but doing good Thanks Steve!

Comments (35)

  • kudzu9
    11 years ago

    What species?

  • kentuck_8b
    11 years ago

    Are those bananas in the background? Zone 6?

    Kt

  • stevelau1911
    11 years ago

    Looks like it could be fargesia rufa.

  • User
    11 years ago

    KT,
    yes they are Musa Basjoo.
    Hardy to zone 6 when mulched good.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    They are Fargesia Rufa, I have 1 other Fargesia that I forgot to photo, it's slightly taller than these 2. That is Musa Basjoo. I tried it for the first time this past season. There is also a Eleph. ear plant to the right of the Banana. There are 3 palms that are supposed to be hardy here with protection, but they are very small.

  • miketropic
    11 years ago

    what type of palms are they?

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Miketropic, the palms are needlepalm and 2 others that I forget the name of. They are those of the few that are zone 6-7 hardy. I left the tags on I believe. It looks as though they are going to shed thier leaves or whatever they are called and replace with new leaves. I will look for tags tommorrow when it is daylight. I bought 2 of them in North Carolina at a WAL_MART and one mail order, can't remember what nursery.

  • miketropic
    11 years ago

    the needle palm should be alright mine is wrapped up in its winter hut right now. as long as the others got established there are 5 or 6 that are zone 6 hardy with some protection.

  • stevelau1911
    11 years ago

    For all my palms, I simply stick a filled leaf bag over it, and they are protected for the whole winter.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Just wanted to add that I have added Fargesia Robusta " Woolong". I took the chance because we are haveing zone 7 winters as far as the minumum temps go. I got them cheap because they are tiny divisions.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry I never replied about the palms, I forgot all about it. One was Saw Palmetto, Needle palm and the other may have been another Needle palm. I've recently got Fargesia Robusta Campbells form. I know nobody was really holding their breath for my reply. I saw the post tonight so I'm adding to it, yes things are boring in Pa tonight :)

  • gardener1
    11 years ago

    You must be patient with Fargesia Rufa it takes a long time to mature. Here is mine after 5 years. And this past year it's still only about 4 to 5 ft tall but I love the look of it. check out the link it may help you.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My Bamboo Grove Info

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Gardener1, Thanks for the pic and info. I don't mind slow bamboo. I have Phylostachys Nigra on order. I will be glad for my Fargesias being slow to spread. I also have Fargesia Robusta " Campbells form" on order. I am searching for some sort of "Encloseure" for the Black bamboo. I have an area that may be okay. I will have to remove the plants already growiing there though. It is surrounded by swampy ground. I think it may be the best place to avoid spreading past the swampy area.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I just thought of another variety of hardy palm in the background in my picture was Sabal Causiarum, I hope I spelled it right.

  • jonjfarr
    11 years ago

    Here's some bamboo salt and pepper shakers I made from Guadua Angustafolia less thorny.

  • kentuck_8b
    11 years ago

    How do you fill them?

  • msmorningsong
    11 years ago

    Those are beautiful! Yes, how do you fill them? How'd you do it?

  • jonjfarr
    11 years ago

    Thank you. To fill them, you drill a large hole in the bottom and cork it with a smaller bamboo piece. I drilled the hole a little smaller that the bamboo cork, so it fit and shaped real snug. I'm going to start this week making them from Wamin. I'm going to leave them untreated or look for a food grade sealer. I have so much bamboo that I probably won't get around to finishing them on the outside. If they split, i'll just make new ones. On a different subject related to Wamin; I just started air layering branches of Wamin that are thick and have that classic Wamin v-shaped sub branch formation. The best way to propagate Wamin by far. Have you guys tried this?

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I just bought another Musa Basjoo from Lowes. I am waiting on my Elephant ears to show themselves this spring. My bamboos are doing great, those from SteveLau and my other Ebay orders. My black Bamboo has croaked because I bought it when winter was still pretty bad. I should have heeled it in the ground. I let it die, it's my fault, so I can't blame anyone but me. Stupid as it sounds I was afraid to plant it in the ground. I will not buy another runner until I am prepared for it's area to be in. I will be planting more clumpers, I have all my clumpers still alive. I have a bare area for clumpers.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I (after reading my last post) am adding that my last order of Fargesia bamboo was purchased from EBAY not Lowes. The kind I've ordered is an upright type.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I err, got Musa Basjoo mixed up with Bamboo, sorry. I got a banana plant Musa Basjoo at Lowes. I'm sure nobody cares, but I am correcting my mess up. Only because someone may want one and they can get them at Lowes now.

  • poaky1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I err, got Musa Basjoo mixed up with Bamboo, sorry. I got a banana plant Musa Basjoo at Lowes. I'm sure nobody cares, but I am correcting my mess up. Only because someone may want one and they can get them at Lowes now.

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    For 2013 I've planted about 16 running bamboos around the front acreage of my place. This year was golden vivax, green vivax, megurochiku, madake, black bamboo, purple bamboo, and rufa. I made a video showing all of my new plantings at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRxgibrtQeo

    Anyone else have video of their plantings or groves? Thanks so much! Love hearing from other bamboo addicts :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: My 2013 bamboo plantings!

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    Nice! Do you have Henon or Moso? I really like these two.

    Kt

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    Hi, thanks! Nope I don't have any Henon or Moso. I love both but the gentleman I buy my bamboo from down the street said that where we live Moso doesn't size up as much as other places like the South of the US for example. I will have to watch it for breakage (I will climb my pines and cedars to tether my vivax when it gets tall) but vivax sizes up really fast where we live so I wanted that because I am rather impatient :) As for the Henon, I was told (or I researched it and forgot where) that Megurochiku has pretty much the same growth patterns as Henon and is almost indistinguishable except for the alternating black stripe on every other internode. So it made me feel like I didn't need Henon. You or someone else on this thread who have more bamboo experience than me can tell me if that's the case or not but it is what I understand to be true about Henon and Megurochiku. Thanks!

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    You are probably right about the Henon and Megurochiku. I do not grow Megurochiku, so I don't know for sure, but sounds like you don't need Henon. My Henon gets almost white, or 'ghost' white, really pretty. Vivax grows really fast here also but mine stays small since I keep it confined.

    Moso is the slowest runner that I know of to mature. It can take up to 20 years to get really full sized culms, but it is another really pretty bamboo.

    Kt

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    Kentuck where is the best place to see pics of your bamboos? Would love to check them out. Sorry if i missed them above. Thanks!

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    There are older pics in the gallery. Not the best pics, but something to look at. Look for posts started by me.

    Kt

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    Sorry I couldn't find any Kentuck. I'm new to this forum so it's probably user error. Well, anyhow I'll keep an eye out, would love to see your plantings at some point. Thanks.

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    Click below where it says "Click Here" and the first 25 or so posts, are posted by me, with pics attached to each post.

    Click on any post and at the bottom of the original post, click on "Image Link."

    Kt

    Here is a link that might be useful: Click Here.

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    cool thanks Kentuck. how old and large is your stand of henon from the wild turkey photo? since your stuff is all quite a bit more mature than mine i'd love to get an idea of what i can potentially expect in the way of growth from my 15 gallon plantings this summer. thanks!

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    That would have been it's 4th or 5th year in the ground. I keep it in a 9' X 27' contained area so the culms never get larger than 2 inches thick.

    I planted all of mine from 1 gallon pots though, so yours may mature a year of two sooner.

    Also remember, in different areas of the country, bamboo(and all plants) grow at different rates, even if they are in the same zones. Temperatures may reach the same 'lows' in certain zones, but the length of the lows have a lot to do with growth, along with soil types, amount of sun, soil fertility and ph levels, etc.

    It will be interesting to see how well your bamboo grows for you so be sure and keep us updated on it's growth.

    Kt

  • newbamboonut
    10 years ago

    Wow that seems like a lot of growth for 4 or 5 years. Very cool. Good point about zone variance. Although we get in the 20's here our growing season (rhizome growing season) is fairly long with hot sunny days from May through October. Also all of my planting have a lot of sun exposure and i am feeding them a lot (composted horse manure everywhere and other organice amendments.) The interesting growth limiting factors to watch will be competition with huge establihed conifers (pines, cedars and furs) as well as pockets of red clay alkaline soul that compacts hard as a rock in summer months. It will be fun to see how the rhizomes compete with these factors. I have no idea at this point. I will do a detailed video every summer so it can be easily tracked. I will be thrilled if my 3-5 culm plantings look like your henon stand after 4-5 years though!

  • kentuck_8b
    10 years ago

    We have very sandy soil here and also have long growing seasons, which can extend from March to November. Giving the bamboo what it needs to grow(plenty of water and fertilizer) will help speed its growth.

    Good Luck

    Kt

  • subtropix
    10 years ago

    This is Fargesia rufa (mixed with some Borinda). They were planted in 2007, and now form a thick wall about 7 feet tall.

    Each year, I divided the clumps--started with about 3 very small plants. I don't feed it or water it. (My other clumper is golden Bambusa multiplex.)

    Interested in experimenting now with other clumpers.

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