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Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:23 am
by pokenei
I am in Zone 5, and extreme lows here can range from - 25 to - 30 Celsius which can occur once or twice a year. Typical lows are in the minus teens. However, it's the duration of the cold periods that kills. Last winter also had cold days that reached -25, but didn't last long, so my bamboos suffered only minor leaf damage.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:39 am
by pokenei
The only pests that frequented my (fenced) yards are:
Mice
Rabbits
Raccoons.

I have no voles in my area, just regular mice.
Raccoons have the potential to do a lot of damage, and there is a large family of 8 this year. However, the raccoons have not discovered bamboo shoots to be edible. They did chew on and broke off some young bamboo culms once, probably out of curiosity while searching for food around my bamboo grove.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:59 am
by Van-isle-bamboo
Thanks for sharing Pokenei.

Do you tarp your boos at all?

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:32 am
by pokenei
I do tarp, some years. But for some reason, whenever I tarp, that winter turns out to be warm, and by tarping, I did more damage than good because the mice are loving it under the tarps and stripping off all the leaves and chewing on branches.

This Winter, I decided not to tarp, hoping for another warm Winter, but it was the polar opposite. When the temperature reached lows of minus 10s and 20s for weeks, I was forced to tarp the less hardier ones e.g. Nigra with an old blanket, and put a styrofoam container over my Moso. The Larger and hardier bamboos are not tarped, but I did mulch the bases of bamboos with autumn leaves.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:44 am
by thebambooguy
Hey OP, I too started with Phyllostachys Nigra and still have it to this day! I'm not sure if it's still my favourite though.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:40 pm
by Mr.Bean
It was only a few years ago, but I've already forgotten if my very first was the Sasa hayatae from a friend, or the trio of Fargesia (robusta, nitida, and dracocephala 'Rufa') from the local nursery. Whichever was first, the other was acquired not long after. The 'Rufa' is probably the one that really sparked my current obsession, upsizing fast and looking so lush and beautiful. I really appreciate that aspect of bamboo in my young garden where most of the trees and shrubs will need a decade or more to really start filling in. I determined that the robusta was the Pingwu form and wasn't very impressed with it, so gave that one away to a friend. The nitida was originally planted in too much sun and has grown rather slowly. I recently moved it to a shadier location with more moisture in hopes that it will grow a bit faster and look a bit nicer.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 4:07 am
by marcat
Oldhammi and Ventracosa. Lousy California Oldahammi but decent B.Belly have several clumps of it trying to compeat(not sucsessfully) with my clone-X.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 5:25 am
by needmore
Marcat, how does the CA form differ?

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:24 pm
by webgator
My first bamboo was Bambusa multiplex "silverstripe"

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:47 pm
by iain
Pseudosasa japonica, which I believe was the most common bamboo in the UK in 1980s/90s. It was a tiny plant (one large leaf on lead pencil-thin branch and culm) I discovered growing under a Pyracantha hedge that was planted against a wall on the estate where I gardened. It was no doubt the remains from a plant that had been growing on the opposite side of the wall in a private garden. I brought it on in a pot and when I planted it on the estate I had some for myself. I grew it in a large nursery pot for trees on a communal balcony. When we moved it moved with us and was top-killed in the harsh winter of 2010. Before it regrew, some curious grass-like seedlings germinated in the pot, which I first thought were the native sedge, Carex pendula (Pendulous sedge), but were, in fact, Cordyline australis, the slightly more exotic Cabbage palm. The two times I have seen P. japonica in a garden it was causing a nuisance by running in the dry sandy conditions of patio paving.
IMG_1009.jpg

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:46 am
by Sottozero
I started collecting bamboos just last winter so I remember very well what I bought as my first plant. They were two plants actually: Phyllostachys bissetii and Pseudosasa japonica, I paid them 16 euros and 7 euros to a nursery not far from the place I live. The bissetii looks nice and healthy, the japonica, instead, has pale leaves and is not so good.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:13 pm
by UPBooMatt
Same two I started with Sotto...it'll get worse...lol

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 5:46 am
by zxylene
First bamboo I got was Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Alata'. But was not one that got me into it really I was able to dig a division down the road from my house never knew it was there until I was telling a friend about the wonderful bamboo forests in Hawaii with beautiful waterfalls. Hawai’i Bamboo in 2004 got me into it not sure what species it was but I’ll be back someday and will attempt it ID.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:19 am
by Leo S
My first bamboo was
Phyllostachys aureosulcata (the normal form)
bought in 1983, planted outdoors in June. That very first winter had -25F, it survived. The bed is now 35 feet long and 3 feet wide. These days culms average 12 to 18 feet tall, depending on rain and if I fertilize the previous summer.

Because I haven't groomed it last couple years, it looks pretty shabby. Need to get busy.
I'm located in Zion IL, north of Waukegan, south of Kenosha.

Re: First bamboo you obtained

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:33 pm
by UPBooMatt
Leo, you are still around! I've read several threads you have talked about your aureosulcata in, but I can't seem to recall if you have any other species? If so, could I trouble you for a short list of your hardiness experiences, and heights, as compared to your Y.G.