I have been cutting the back off so it doesn't get any deeper which may make it more dense. and the rock on the other side has stopped its growth in that direction - for awhile i thought it was going to push the rock over - i guess it still might.
it grows taller with any type of fert i have tried - also the more water you give it the more it grows and both make a pretty big difference imo

if you use fert on your lawn just use that - a good dose in spring and they will really take off - i usually hit it when i can see the first sign of a shoot. but this year i didn't give it any.

any type of manure mulch in spring will make it grow and spread fast if thats what you are looking for

I was curious how high everybodys Arundo Donax had gotten by now. My tallest culms are some of the newest, and measure a solid 14 feet, and more than 1.5 inches diameter. It's a challenge to get a tape measure to stand up that tall...

Mine is still shooting. The newest ones, also, are fast becoming the tallest. newest shoot is close to 11ft and older shoot may be 12ft. I would guess the thickest shoot is 1 inch.

I also notice sideshoots forming on the thicker culms.

hey.... I did too! I only see them on culms that are flowering... I wonder what's going on?

I also noticed the side shoots, and was going to post a question about them. Mine are growing, but not what I expected.

The side shoots came out, but the whole plant has pretty much stopped growing now. The new culms have not grown. What HAS changed is the roots. The roots have bulked up, and some have crammed themselves between culms, pushing them off in screwy angles. Including the flowering part on the top, mine have topped out at just over 15 feet high this year. Should I mulch?

i'm the one who started this thread, and i ended up buying a pot with 2 to 3 foot high stems from a store at the start of July. only found the green form at one store. i gave up on the rhizome.

Planted it in early July and the plant sent up a taller culm every few weeks. Got two that flowered, the tallest is close to 11' high, second 9', then a 8', 7', 6'. each one sent up got taller.

When i got the two flower heads, the plant stopped sending anything up, then the side shoots broke thru.

I wonder what would happen to the side shoots in a warmer climate?

{{gwi:863042}}

Tops for me was near 14ft, but I never had any flower heads on my arundo donax. Has stopped all growth in October and two weeks ago a freeze burnt sideshoot fresh growth.

I was wondering if anyone was trying to root arundo donax cuttings, I put some in water a couple weeks ago and have noticed one starting to have roots. I'll keep you posted on if they do good.

Holy smokes, lkz5ia! If you got 14 ft your first year, I'm guessing propogating your own stand of Arundo Donax will not be much of a challenge!
I'm surprised to report that mine is topping out at 17.5 feet, with most of the culms topping out around 15 feet. The last 2 feet grew very fast, but it's just flowers/seeds...The photo on the right was taken a couple of weeks ago, but you can see how the tallest culms sent up tall flowers, which have since telescoped up even higher.

Here are comparison photos from 2002 to this year. My boy is standing next to the same plant in both photos.

nice pics Ian, Hopefully as my grove matures in the next couple years I'll start getting flowers. They even look better with the flower heads. I've also noticed 3 culms sticking an inch out of the ground. I was thinking maybe those will be the first ones shooting up next spring. Not sure if they rot or not. I'm going to be hitting my minigrove with a lot of mulch this winter since its the first winter. As the years go on, I'm assuming it'll mulch its self with the canes and debris.

Ian521 Does this plant naturally stay tightly bunched in a clump like that, or do you have to maintain those clumps to keep it from spreading out? I have one in a pot but I'm afraid to plant it in the ground for fear of it spreading.

Mang, in regards to rate of spread; Ian says this way at the beginning of the post.
JUne 26, 2005
"In regards to the arundos rate of spread, and the rhizomes...My arundo does not send out long runners like the bamboo. It sends up a new shoot about 6 inches away from another culm every time. Since the arundo sends up new shoots thru the entire season, the patch HAS been steadily expanding. I am trying to fill in a pretty big area, so I have not made any attempts at beating it back at all, but I do know the roots are very tough, and an axe or mattock is useful in dealing with it. I am told that an entire patch of arundo can be controlled just by cutting unwanted shoots, but I have no firsthand experience in that yet. "

After looking around I am seeing this plant all over the place in peopole's yards, it's quite popular here. Although no one ususes is proper name. The stands I am seeing in yards around here UTAH, are not very big, the biggest I've seen was probably a 10x10 area, this was over 12ft tall.

I've only seen it twice locally now in NW Pennsylvania.

In another question, I need an idea for what to do with all the cane! I can only use so many walking sticks...

I don't know how weatherproof Arundo canes are, but I can think of lots of things to do with them, especially if they are as rot resistant as Bamboo. Plant stakes, Tomato cages. trellisses, fencing, etc.. You can easily build all sorts of garden structures with canes and lashing twine. I use tarred seine twine and bamboo to build all of those items I listed.

Here's an example, a simple frame supporting a 9' Maximillian Sunflower:

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I would think they would be useful as short-lived garden stakes. Maybe mulch if they don't contain chemicals that inhibit plant growth.

So one of the cuttings has rooted so far. I've potted it up and will keep the thread updated if it lives or does anything. I forgot to take a pic of it before it was potted up. If new above ground growth occurs, I'll post a pic.

My Donax has four shoots so far. The V. Donax isn't growing - but one of the old cut off canes is bright green so I think it made it. We went through a zone 6 winter. Our lowest temp was -5F.

Found local source for Arundo Donax and it's varigated sister. In Zone 5a it is mulched for winter, but still grows 15' to 18' high. Of course that is with some broken down cow poo fertilizer. I've got high heat low moisture, or moderate heat moderate moisture ground. Not sure where to plant it or how much to irrigate it. Any tips for growing it?

This plant really seems to stay in a tight clump. Are there any reports if new canes coming up away from the clump?

Deep Roots -- I mulched them about 3 inches for winter and am leaving it on for summer. I figure if they can be grown in water I don't have to worry about them rotting. :) And we also seem to go dry in summer. We put in a couple rain barrels last year to help with the plants. Btw V. Donax has 3 shoots now. *g*

Mang-- I think they mentioned in one of the posts above that the shoots usually come out about six inches apart at the furthest and that seems to be about right. I'm not too crazy to fertilize it though... think it might get a little too large for where I'd like to keep it!!

No arundo up yet.

I've got three shoots about six inches tall. I'm hoping they get taller!! :)

I've got one shoot that is about 4 inches tall, and a zillion more just hiding in the grass. I noticed that the spring shoots came up farther away from an old culm than they do in summer. I accidentally mowed a few down, not realizing the clump had spread a couple more inches over last year. I've been out there with the fertilizer already...

Saw shoots have poked out of the ground as of now.

Arundo is around 6 feet tall so far this year, and most of the culms are pretty near the maximum diameter that they reached last year. How is everyone elses arundo doing?

I've got one about 6.5', two more about 6'.

Planted last year, moved in mid April after they came up.

Luck would have it that I have resurfaced a little late for this resurfaced thread.

Ian, how tall is the yellowgroove this year?

Ok, so my 'watercorn' arundo donax has struggled this spring. Deer invaded the woods and gave birth to their children, so they stayed around awhile. Deer love playing with arundo donax. The big juicy shoots just are asking to be chomped up. Sometimes I would even see that they would chew the stem in half then drop the top portion on the ground. Ah, what a waste. Some shoots finally went above the browsing level. I took this picture today and measured tallest shoot to the the leaf tip: 9'5''

I like your picture, lkz5ia! I thought that was a person next to the arundo in your other photo.
It looks like you have your arundo in a remote location. You should move it close to the house where it can get more love. My yellow groove is going crazy. See my post in another thread. I took pictures of the early shoots of my bamboo for the past 3 years...its growing exponentially.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bamboo/msg052048409594.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Bamboo thread

Hi there! About the use of canes, I'm from Italy and here Arundo Donax are largely widespread as wild plants (so nobody put them in their garden :-). We use them dried to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans and other climbing vegetables and in the vineyards too. But they're also suitable for climbing flowers such as nasturtiums, sweet peas or ipomeas. Some people also use them to build fences. Here's a picture of tomatoes growing over Ardundo canes in my garden.
{{gwi:863054}}

Mine is starting to send up "super" sprouts, much thicker and faster growing. Last year (the first year) it did the same thing at the end of July- start of August... these ended up the tallest and two grew plumes... so is this the way it grows? it sends up the stalks this time of year that will end up with inflourences, after starting the first half of the year with non- flopwering stalks?

for some reason this pic refuses to rotate vertically, must be too large to start with
{{gwi:863056}}

You are seeing the same thing I have seen, Noki. The new shoots can be called super shoots, because they are so much bigger and grow so much faster than the rest! I can't say for sure if the newer shoots are the ones that flower or not... I've had a ton of them last year that flowered, and I dont think they were all the newer shoots.
I can see how this plant would be very invasive in areas where the winter does not kill it back so much. This time of year it really gathers momentum, and grows like crazy...think what it would do if it could grow year round.. .it would take over the planet!

So first the deer, now the rabbits ate out a 'super' shoot. Those two species can keep a small arundo clump on its toes.

Not sure what the difference is, but my arundo is a full foot taller than it was this time last year.

Not much difference in height from last year. 14.5 ft was the tallest. But there would have been taller shoots, but the deer managed to remove them. I'll be moving the clump close to the house next year, so I can keep a close eye on it.

Hi all! I've taken same pics of Arundo Donax in the countryside near my house. I hope you enjoy, although is not Ohio but Tuscany, Italy where Arundo Donax is a largely widespread native plant (so you can also have an idea of how big this plant could become).

on the left upper corner you can see AD reeds used as supports in a very small vineyard

AD and olive groves

the green in the background is a golf club

alchemilla, how tall is it where you live?

I don't know, but it's flat plain so I suppose just a few meters above the sea level.

Alchemilla, I think the question is more like ""How tall does the Arundo grow where you live?"

:-O Ops, sorry! My grasp of English leave much to desire.. :-D :-D
AD can get very very tall here. I don't exactely know how much, but at least as tall as a two-storeys house. A real monster in practice. However consider that it only reaches that incredible height in untended areas. People usually cut Arundo donax before it can get so tall, so its average height is about 10'-12'.

alchemilla,
If left untended does Arundo donax stay green all year round in Italy?
I'll bet the stems are much stronger in plants that can grow for longer than one season.

I love the shape of the clumps in your first picture!
A.

No, AD turn brown in winter here as well. You can see the beginning of this browning process in the last picture. The pics above were taken in late November, now AD are completely brown. However the majority of them won't die; new green leaves will grow again over the stems in spring.

Yes you're right, the stems are much stronger and large (both in diameter and height) in plants that can grow for longer than one season, but they never become as large as the bamboo stems can do.

ciao A.!

I have Arundo Donax variegated. The people that gave it to me said it was bamboo and I can see how they'd think that looking at the height and the way it branches.

Mine peaks out at around 15 - 20'. I don't fertilize it...don't even water it unless it's incredibly dry. A friend harvests it and threads the stalks through cyclone fencing for privacy around his farm house. I'm certain there are many uses for it but I don't think it will ever be an effective substitute for bamboo.

Hey!

I hate to be a fun killer, but I just had to make a public service announcement here. I saw this page on google while looking for pictures of this plant. Unfortunately, this is a horrible, horrible weed in California, where it is invading crees and rivers. It crowds out native species and it grows so densely in rivers that it aggrivates floods and fires. During the floods of 2005 this plant was responsible for several bridges being destroyed in San Diego County. It was also a large reason that some of the wildfires of 2003 were so severe. Creekside areas usually stop the spread of fires but when this plant gets in there and dies, it makes the creeks burn like a fuse. Also, it grows so voraciously that it can actually dry up creeks in the summer. The effect is similar to Tamarisk which causes similar problems in the Desert Southwest. Millions of dollars a year are spent trying to get rid of this plant and millions of dollars more in damages are caused by it annually. One of the main elements of restoration jobs i work on for a living involve removing this plant

So, if you live in western North America, especially in mild-winter areas, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not plant this. It is horrible - far worse than Kudzu in the Southeast. I don't really recommend it in the eastern US either. If you live in Italy, where it has natural predators and is a part of the ecosystem, this is another story.

In fact, it was neat seeing pictures of the plant in its natural habitat. Its growth form is a bit different, which is not surprising because most of the California plants are believed to be part of a single clone.

for more info please see this page

Happy gardening!

Good to point out the problems this grass poses to certain areas.

I'd like to add, for those who might jump to conclusions, that Arundo donax is a sterile or near sterile grass. It spreads by rhizomes, especially in wetland areas.

Its invasive nature is location dependant, like most cases of invasive plants. While in certain areas it causes serious problems, it can be a very useful grass in other areas, both commercially and for ornamental value.

2007 has arrived for the Northern Arundo Donax Association.
My arundo donax this winter

Dug up the arundo and it will be sited by the house, where it will receive extra rain water from the gutters. Here is a pic of the dug up arundo sitting in a 25 gallon pot, waiting to get planted.

when i go to cut the dead parts off in spring should i cut down everything or do i leave certain parts?

It is a deciduous grass and like ALL deciduous grasses, it should be cut back to 3-4 inches in late winter or early spring before it starts new growth.

It is also considered an invasive species across wide parts of the country so research before planting.