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Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best ?

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:44 am
by Arkansas
Hello,

I read here where some say Moso is slow growing - enough slower than other to make a big difference. I'm planning to plant a variety here on my 3 acre homeplace and from what I've read Moso was what i thought i wanted but there may be better large varieties - please advise.

And let me tell you about my past experience. I have 22 acres i got tired of bush hogging and back in 88 i planted pine trees on it. And wanting to grow some big bamboo i ordered 2 plants and carried them up there and set them out in approx 1990 or 1991.

I know i had 2 different kinds and i recall one was Chinese Timber Bamboo and i don't know what the other was, but i'm sure it would have been a large variety. And i can't be sure if both plants lived but i sure have a lot of large pretty bamboo up there now.

Some of them are 4" or approaching 4 - i never measured but they are impressive and very very tall. I would guess there are 200 or so and some have spread as far as 30 or 40 feet each direction.

I read somewhere about younger canes looking whiteish. I have some that are whiteish but most are deep green and they don't get much sun, i never had the pines thinned as i should have and that's been 21 years ago.

I really like the looks of bamboo and the bigger and taller and greener the better. For green color and height which would you recommend? Size is a factor too, and growth speed ... well i aint getting any younger but i'm a patient man.

What varietys do you suggest for me now. This area is wooded too but there will be adequate sun i think.

Thanks
Arkansas

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:58 am
by bambookid524
Where in Arkansas are you located? What zone? I believe Arkansas is part if zones 6-8

This will tell you your zone by putting in your zip code:
http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

Once we know your zone it would be easier to help :)


Steve

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:06 am
by David
I'd say dig up some divisions from your farm and use those for your lot. Four inches is a big bamboo and they are obviously tried and true. With fertilizer, water, and good sun they will very likely exceed 4". If you want big fast growing green( or lots of other colors) bamboo it's hard to go wrong with Vivax. Other favorites would be dulcis, and viridis that also mature quickly. Japanese timber bamboo(phyllostachys bambusoides) is a beautiful big tall green bamboo, and may be what you have growing on your 22 acres. Hope this gives you some ideas to start with, and welcome to bambooweb. If you will post pics of the big green bamboo when it is shooting we will try to ID it for you.

Re: RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:54 pm
by Mark_NoVA
bambookid524 wrote: This will tell you your zone by putting in your zip code:
http://www.garden.org/zipzone/
Those zip code calculators can be way off, so be careful. For example, at this site type in 93103. This is Santa Barbara, a borderline 9b/10a area. The calculator comes up with 8b.
On the other hand, we do need to have an idea of your zone to recommend bamboo! If you tell us the location we can make a decent guess.

Re: RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:59 pm
by Arkansas
David wrote:If you will post pics of the big green bamboo when it is shooting we will try to ID it for you.
Hmmmm I'm not sure i understand. Near as i can tell they look the same year around - but then again maybe not, i usually go after frost to avoid the ticks. I have pics of my daughter standing beside those bamboos, and I'll try and get some close-up shots of the leaves and canes.

I'm in zone 7A near Dardanelle and my old stand of bamboo is about 30 miles west right at the foot of Magazine Mtn.

Thanks for the warm welcome and your comments. I'm going to try my hand at raising seeds and see how that goes. Plus i have a few container plants ordered. It's a long walk from where i park the truck to the back of the property where the canes grow, so using them might be a chore :)

Thanks
Arkansas

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:50 am
by David
I should have been more clear with my statement. If you will get us pictures of the new spring shoots we can narrow it down to a few choices. The most likely time to see new shoots of a timber bamboo of the size you describe would be mid to late April, and the first week in May.

I expect this is what they will look like.

Image

Phyllostachys bambusoides

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:43 am
by ghmerrill
someone forgot to rhizome prune :lol:

Re: RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:44 am
by Arkansas
David wrote:I'd say dig up some divisions from your farm and use those for your lot.
Please tell me the best way to go about this:
* Let's say this is Chinese Timber Bamboo - that's my guess
* Keep in mind i must walk a quarter mile to the bamboo patch
* If i carry a 5 gallon bucket, hand pruning shears and a small hoe, will i be able to simply cut say foot long sections of runners and carry them home and place them in gallon containers containers and hope to easily grow them.
* Should i plant runners directly in the ground?
* Or is there a better plan - maybe something obvious I'm overlooking :)

Thanks Guys
Arkansas

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:46 am
by GrowingHabit
I'm new at this, too, but what I've done that's been successful (because when I see bamboo growing out of its bounds and into territory that can loosely be considered public property, I slam on the brakes and yank some out), is to simply find a rhizome near the surface, just by grubbing around in the dirt with bare fingers. With runners, there always seems to be rhizomes close to the surface to do this. Most of the time, because I haven't thrown all the tools into a kit in the car like I should, I snap off the rhizomes bare handed, as well.

Walk forward, yanking up the rhizome in little bursts, till you've exposed about 4, 5 feet of it, including any branching its got (drop the main rhizome, and free any branching as you uncover it, then pick up the main piece again). Cut it after you've uncovered a good cluster or three of fine hairy roots, around the nodes in the rhizome, which occur farther back from the growing tip. If you don't include the section that has thick rooty masses on it, the cutting isn't likely to succeed.

Shake off as much dirt as it takes to lighten the load, cut off any extra, unrooted lengths, and just carry out sections of rhizome/root masses with lots of buds on them. No bucket, no hoe, just a pair of largish hand pruners. If its a mature grove, you can abandon any rhizomes you start to unearth that don't come up easy- push 'em back in the dirt and scuff soil over them- and try another one. Makes hauling them back to the car or home much easier. Plan on putting them straight into the ground, or trimming for pots right away, though. Knocking off the dirt allows the fine roots to dry quickly.

Foot long pieces sounds too short to ensure success, to me, but if the pieces you lay out when you get home have loads of nodes and buds in short stretches, you may be able to trim down around them, and fit those parts into pots.

This, from a year's experience carting loads of rhizomes back to the car over all manner of terrain. And, its what seems to work, for me. Others with more knowledge might disagree!

Re: RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:33 am
by David
Arkansas wrote:
David wrote:I'd say dig up some divisions from your farm and use those for your lot.
Please tell me the best way to go about this:
* Let's say this is Chinese Timber Bamboo - that's my guess
* Keep in mind i must walk a quarter mile to the bamboo patch
* If i carry a 5 gallon bucket, hand pruning shears and a small hoe, will i be able to simply cut say foot long sections of runners and carry them home and place them in gallon containers containers and hope to easily grow them.
* Should i plant runners directly in the ground?
* Or is there a better plan - maybe something obvious I'm overlooking :)

Thanks Guys
Arkansas
Best, fastest results, easiest plan: Hire a hungry out of work contractor with 6 hungry children with a wife that has a drinking problem to take his backhoe and dig up 10 big chunks of bamboo grove, and bring them back to your new place, and plant them. Instant bamboo grove!

Cheapest, slowest, most portable plan: Pull up rhizomes like GH said. It works great but takes 10 years to see some mature 4" growth. Don't get me wrong some of my best finds have been acquired by pulling up rhizomes.

Compromise plan: Dig up small plants on the edge of the large grove, and haul them back in a wheelbarrow or kids wagon.

The bigger chunk of bamboo you dig up and plant, the faster it will get to mature sizes. Whatever you decide to do, now is the prime time to dig and plant.

I think what you have is probably Japanese Timber Bamboo.

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:05 am
by GrowingHabit
DEFINITELY gotta have a Radio Flyer- my little red wagon has been all over the place. Looks ridiculous enough, you can make it a fashion statement. But it gets the job done. Neighbors quit laughing long time ago. Husband hasn't quite stopped teasing me yet though....

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:26 pm
by needmore
I'd add a couple of suggestions - Look for newer, fresher looking canes at the edge of the grove, these should have younger rhizomes. Keep in mind that the rhizomes will generally run in the same direction that the branches point so start your dig by inserting the shovel (not hoe) where it looks like it would not cut the rhizome but be near it - so don't dig in across the line of 'branch pointing', but parallel and beside it. Step the shovel in deep and pry upward. If you make a good guess then the soil and rhizome will start to raise up, intact. If you miss or sever the rhizome, try again or a different one. Once you get the rhizome moving and can see where it points, continue shovel plunging/prying next to it but a few inches away as far as you can to loosen a long run - and/or grab a hold and walk it as suggested above. When you get a long piece then sever it from the grove as close to an existing cane as possible.

If there is a creek or pond nearby dunk and wash off the soil to lighten your load. Discard the growing tip - cut it off about where you start to see fine roots, not the larger anchor roots which will go to the tip. The tips generally do not have fine roots for a few feet (important for supporting new canes) and are not usually viable.

I have been suggesting this for a couple of years - do NOT cut these long runs into pieces. Lay them on the ground and bury them in mulch/manure/soil and ignore them. They have more energy in these long runs and are more likely to sustain new growth. Don't water them at all unless it gets seriously dry in your area - in particular, leave them alone when they are shooting. Let them shoot, grow out, and leave them alone until August or so, then gently lift up the whole mass and at that point you can snip them into smaller sections and pot them up.

Your mileage may vary...

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:50 pm
by David
What Brad? You didn't like my out of work hungry contractor idea? :D

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:14 pm
by ghmerrill
well, if not hungry contractors, how about neighborhood teens? muscle and energy in one convinent package....

when we bought our house, we had a sports team come over and paint for us.... $200 and we supplied the paint and stuff, they did it to help raise money for things the team needed. hard to get a house painted for $200!

RE: Growing Bamboo in Arkansas - which large variety is best

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:46 pm
by Iowaboo
I noticed you didn't show a pic of the painted house. must have been pretty bad. :lol: