Fargesia rufa

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Sirius
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Fargesia rufa

Post by Sirius »

Hi All,

My Fargesia rufa seems to have stagnated.
According to the literature I have read, this species gets to about 4m tall.

My clump has been in its current position for about 3 years. It is about 1 meter tall, and the new culms aren't getting taller. The clump is thickening and expanding sideways. But not upwards.
I fertilise every few weeks in the summer with chicken manure pellets and it gets plenty of water.

Any ideas?

Thanks
moriphen
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by moriphen »

I can tell you the most common Fargesia rufa growth pattern is wider followed by a slight increase in overall hight as the plant ages. If your planting is in full sun, the culms will be weighed down by extra leaves giving you the impression that the bamboo is not getting any taller. Tell us more about the planting area and we may be able to help solve your problem.
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Tarzanus
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by Tarzanus »

1 meter is waaaay to small. I have one year old F. murielae that grows up to 2.5m around here and it hit around 1.5m during the first year (5 liter pot). Hopefully it grows over 2m tall this year. :)

Are you removing older canes out of the clump, cutting branches or anything similar? Things like that can slow down growth, but even 3 years old seedling should easily overgrow 1m mark.
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needmore
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by needmore »

Well I think I meter is about right for F. 'rufa', my 6 year old is not that tall due to what moriphen describes, it covers about an 8' circle.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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stevelau1911
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by stevelau1911 »

Where do you have it planted? I've had a rufa planted in a lot of shade, really close to a tree and it has stuck at 1.5ft for 4 years while my neighbor has one which is in full sun had a small division off my main rufa which has shoots that look like they can get into the 3-4ft range this year. It has shown consistent annual upsize, while mine never got any bigger even though no divisions were taken off of it up until last year when I decided that it needed better growing conditions.

Unlike most other fargesias, I think rufa needs a lot of sun in order to thrive. It might also be necessary to cull out some of the older culms to make for some growing space.
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by Alan_L »

stevelau1911 wrote: I think rufa needs a lot of sun in order to thrive.
I don't agree. The one I have in shade is doing really well, and almost catching up to the older one that gets too much sun. I now have divisions from that one in the sun, and will plant one in the shade and have a direct comparison between sun and shade.
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by ocimum_nate »

Image
5 years from a 1 gallon plant it is now about 6' tall planted on a southern exposure where it gets full sun fall through spring and shade in summer when the apricot tree has leaves
I also give it a good shot of lawn fertilizer every year and it happens to be adjacent to a downspout so it gets supplementary watering.
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by needmore »

Nate, if the house wasn't holding the branches up though would the branches arch more than a meter high?
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bamboothew
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by bamboothew »

Same growth model here as discussed above, so far, shoots vigorously and spreads laterally but very little upsize.
God Bless,

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Genesis 2:8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by stevelau1911 »

I don't agree. The one I have in shade is doing really well, and almost catching up to the older one that gets too much sun. I now have divisions from that one in the sun, and will plant one in the shade and have a direct comparison between sun and shade.
It might just be the difference in climate since your full sun is more intense than the full sun up here, and you have warm summers which might dry out the soil under full sun.

Here are a few pictures of my neighbor's rufa which is planted under full sun and it seems to be jumping in size this year with lots of new shoots which could end up in the 3-4ft range. I hope this is an indication of the kind of performance I should see with my phyllostachys groves this year.
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ocimum_nate
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by ocimum_nate »

I am sure that they would. I had some plants in my vegetable garden that were free standing at about 4.5 feet tall and I am sure they would have gotten 6 tall this year had I not dug them up and divided them. They benefited from shade from neighbors privet hedge
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by Sirius »

It is against a fence, in full sun.

This spring I have fed it and mulched more than I usually do.
So will see if this makes any difference.
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by ocimum_nate »

moriphen
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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by moriphen »

5 gallon Fargesia rufa planted April 2009, my soil type is clay loam and the plant receives 5 hours of morning sun. In addition we are located at 39º N and receive 45 to 55 inches (114.3 cm to 140 cm) of rain a year. With all that important info out of the way, my bamboo is attempting to reach 4.5 Feet(1.3716 m) this year, won't make it when the culms leaf out but it will try. :)

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Re: Fargesia rufa

Post by ocimum_nate »

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Bamboo Bokeh by ocimum_nate, on Flickr
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