Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different climate?

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mountainbamboonut
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Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different climate?

Post by mountainbamboonut »

Anyone done something similar? I have been growing phyllos (about 15 plus varieties now) in zone 6/7 in ground for several years. My wife and I are buying more acreage and before doing so will be living in a hot (zone 9 - Sacramento, CA) climate for approx. 2 years. In the meantime I have dug all of my bamboo out of the ground and will be taking about 60 20 gallon pots of bamboo to our place in Sacramento which will all go in our backyard. They will be getting full sun (and ample public water) and a reprieve from the temperate above-the-snow-line climate they have been raised in.

I am curious what to expect given this climate change. Of course the bamboos will not be in ground anymore but they will be in much warmer weather with more sun and zero snow etc. I am anticipating much more robust growth for those two years before I take them back to a zone 6/7 climate when we locate our next farm. Of course this could be offset by the fact that they are not in-ground anymore and will not enjoy the benefits of a larger root mass etc. in exchange for life in a black pot (albeit decent sized pots.)

On a side note I will look like a total freakshow bringing several uhaul loads of massive bamboos into a downtown city sized lot for two years. I am excited about that part.
Tarzanus
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by Tarzanus »

The whole town will say, hey, look at that mountain bamboo nut. :mrgreen:

I think they will be fine. Just make sure they have enough water and perhaps some shade if they start showing signs of stress. Most of Phyllostachys I have likes baking in full sun, even when placed in large pots. One exception, Moso. That bugger will only thrive in ground and even there, it's leaves can become worn out in the southern side in full sun.

I hope you'll enjoy your new home and bamboos as well. And perhaps you can all stay there for a while longer. :)

Cheers
Cooper12
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by Cooper12 »

you will be fine. Grass Valley /Nevada City is a Sunset Zone 7 but a USDA zone 8 though with a shorter growing season than many 8'S but I've moved stuff all over the place and planted more than i remember for people down the hill. Watch for escaping rhizomes in backyards though if the pots are on the dirt as a lot of people down there are watering. most the mountain varieties that would take the sun in Grass Valley /Nevada City need diffused light or afternoon shade down the hill.
Jason Floyd
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needmore
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by needmore »

Cooper12 wrote:you will be fine. Grass Valley /Nevada City is a Sunset Zone 7 but a USDA zone 8 though with a shorter growing season than many 8'S but I've moved stuff all over the place and planted more than i remember for people down the hill. Watch for escaping rhizomes in backyards though if the pots are on the dirt as a lot of people down there are watering. most the mountain varieties that would take the sun in Grass Valley /Nevada City need diffused light or afternoon shade down the hill.

I'm planning on sinking my pots in the ground here, I'll leave them a few inches above the soil but below ground escape will happen - prepare for rhizome offerings in the future Jason!

I just moved 60 or so pots from Indiana zone 6 to Sacramento area as well, they wintered in Camino and are now in full sun in Carmichael. I expect them to be fine except for the shade lovers that I'll try to locate w/some afternoon shade. Keeping a bucket in the shower already for extra daily waterings!
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by Cooper12 »

needmore wrote:
Cooper12 wrote:you will be fine. Grass Valley /Nevada City is a Sunset Zone 7 but a USDA zone 8 though with a shorter growing season than many 8'S but I've moved stuff all over the place and planted more than i remember for people down the hill. Watch for escaping rhizomes in backyards though if the pots are on the dirt as a lot of people down there are watering. most the mountain varieties that would take the sun in Grass Valley /Nevada City need diffused light or afternoon shade down the hill.

I'm planning on sinking my pots in the ground here, I'll leave them a few inches above the soil but below ground escape will happen - prepare for rhizome offerings in the future Jason!

I just moved 60 or so pots from Indiana zone 6 to Sacramento area as well, they wintered in Camino and are now in full sun in Carmichael. I expect them to be fine except for the shade lovers that I'll try to locate w/some afternoon shade. Keeping a bucket in the shower already for extra daily waterings!
Nice . We probably have a few we can dig on here too
Jason Floyd
Hangtown Farms

Emmett Idaho
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mountainbamboonut
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by mountainbamboonut »

Thanks fellas for the replies, appreciate the insight. Cooper I am actually more like zone 6/7 where we are at presently, GV and NC can be dramatically different areas in terms of climates, microclimates, elevation, you name it. The boo's seem to do great up here though although not nearly as robust as some stuff I keep in Sac. Anyway how looking forward to the change temporarily and see if the boo's go nuts in the warmer climate, although I likely will only put one or two in the ground for fun since we won't be there long. Then back to the old semi-mountain homestead life when we find the right spot! Sad I will be missing this shooting season though since I have carved up all of my stands of bamboo into 20 gallon pots. Bummed about that one! All the best guys.
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by needmore »

I think you will find that shoots will come as per normal this year and maybe even upsize, but next year expect them to be about 25% the size of the present growth.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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mountainbamboonut
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by mountainbamboonut »

Wow, Brad if that is the case then I will be compelled to stay down the hill a bit instead of heading back up to the foothills! haha. My wife and I have been considering it simply for longer growing seasons and more gardening options.
mountainbamboonut
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by mountainbamboonut »

PS Brad I don't know where you are in Carmichael but I grew up in Fair Oaks and I can send you addresses of a few epic stands of boo there. One is a timber grove of maybe 1/4 acre near the corner of Sunset and Fair Oaks Blvd. You would know better than me but I think it is either Madake or Vivax. Cool vacant Asian-style house on the parcel there for sometime, don't know status now.
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by needmore »

I'd love to check it out, I'm near the Manzinita Fair Oaks intersection where they join up.

If you dug you divisions after say Nov/December then the rhizomes should be capable of producing new shoots in the spring as per normal. I prefer to make late Jan or early Feb divisions as in a few weeks they will produce nice sized new culms. Then a year later they get smaller and start the cycle of upsizing takes another 1-2 years.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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mountainbamboonut
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by mountainbamboonut »

Oh nice, I took my divisions in Jan. so that would be quite a nice surprise to see some shoots! What size and type uhaul/trailer setup did you use to take tour plantings from Indiana to CA?
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needmore
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by needmore »

I used one of their shipping cubes, forget the dimensions but not real large, similar to their smallest enclosed trailer but not as long I think.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Anyone moved their boos to a dramatically different clim

Post by ShmuBamboo »

I have had little problem dragging boos around the western US with me, to and from places like San Diego, Carmel and Los Gatos in California and near Eugene, Hillsboro, south or Portland and in the north Cascades in Oregon. With the exception here in northern Oregon where the more cold sensitive boos are not so happy, like Alphonse Karr, the Chimanobambusas, Moso, Candy Stripe, and Castillon, they have done well. I have about half my collection in pots, varying in size from 7 to 30 gallon tubs. I also have a large number of nursery stock bamboos also in pots. You will not miss the shooting season having your bamboos in pots. My potted bamboos usually double in size every year and I have to constantly split them or pot them up. Here where I have acreage, I am constantly digging up bamboos from the ground and potting them up, or planting them from pots into the ground, depending in my landscaping and nursery stock needs. Currently I am planting a long row of Nuda and Golden in the ground along the highway here because my row of 70-80 foot Lodgepole pine trees are all dying from bark beetles and last summer's heat/drought. I am also potting up runner/shoots from my ground planted boos now for selling in my nursery this summer. I had a banner year here last year and nearly sold out of bamboos in my nursery. People came out here and bought dozens at a time of 30 foot tall 15-25 gallon potted boos. I delivered them as far away as Eugene. The money is moving here from California and many of them want bamboo for landscaping with, especially timbers.
Happy trails...
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