Arundo formosana

[Thuja]

I made an impulse purchase of Arundo formosana (AKA Taiwan Grass) yesterday while browsing the abandoned corners of the local nursery. The plant tag says hardy to -20F so I thought it worth a try. Looks to be a finer textured plant than Arundo donax. Does anybody know anything about this plant?

[Iowaboo]

A lcoal nusrey had taht! Have a progress report this fall on how it did this summer. All I have heard is Hardier and shorter than donax.

[kstanwick]

I did a bit of reading on that because i like grasses myself...but only have two...It appears that is is a bit smaller....hardy to z4....couldn't find any real good pics....

[Thuja]

Thanks. I couldn't find any good pictures either. The plant tag says:

TAIWAN GRASS Upright dwarf bamboo. Medium green foliage with tan fluffy plumes. Hardy to -20 degrees. 8' height.

Hey, I've got another bamboo! Hmm... the tag doesn't specify -20F or -20C (-4F)so not sure about the cold hardiness. I'll take some pix once it gets big enough.

[Jeff: Igor's Apprentice]

Congrats on your new "bamboo".

[Thuja]

Thanks. I just hope this new "bamboo" doesn't grow better than my real bamboo.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/ ... 8Small.jpg" border="0" alt="Arundo formosana">

[Iowaboo]

Update, Has it achieved much growth yet:
Update, Height:

[Thuja]

Well...

It's still in a pot. Guess I should set it free before winter comes.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/ ... aSmall.jpg" border="0" alt="Taiwan Grass @ 2 feet in pot">
2 feet

[Iowaboo]

It's still in a pot. Guess I should set it free before winter comes

.


Sounds appropriate. Probably will clump, so little room would be needed.

My 2005-planted arundo donax is close to 10ft tall right now. So, its quite plausible that it will hit 20ft in the coming years(maybe this year?).

[Joseph Clemens]

Where is Neverland Ranch? Here in Tucson, Arizona all I have to do is stick a cutting of Arundo donax in the ground, put a drip line on it, fertilize it and less than 6 months later it's nearly 20' tall, then, come Fall they put out 3 foot flower plumes at the end of the current seasons growth.

[Iowaboo]

, yeah, I probably should have put my correct location for newcomers. I live in West iowa and there isn't much information about arundo donax growing in the northern states.

[Joseph Clemens]

I've only been familiar with Arundo donax here (Tucson, Arizona) and in Southern California. It is good to see your post to get an idea how differently this species of grass grows under different conditions.

[Iowaboo]

When I got the arundo donax, the tag on it said it grows to 6ft. It apparently grows better in hotiowa than some places. Just doesn't have a long growing season like the south.

[kinderc]

When did "Arundo Donax" creep into the Grass family ? ? I am NOT a botanist, but I don't think so:: it is definitely NOT a Bamboo, as many folks tend to think...

Bfn from Central Texas.

[Joseph Clemens]

"Scientifically, Arundo donax L. belongs to a tribe of the extensive grass family Gramineae." http://idrs.colorado.edu/Publications/D ... rundo.html

BTW, don't forget that correctly written, botanical names do not have any capitalization in the second part of their names, the specific epithet.