Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

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Glen
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by Glen »

LA Bamboo wrote:Hi Glen, excellent information. I have a few hundred feet of fence line that I want to visually block out (then maybe plant a backdrop for my pond one day), so I figured I'd get faster and larger culms in the ground. I'm guessing it will take me 8-10 years to really get a good barrier because I don't want to drop a few thousand on plants. 4 more oldhamii did just find their way into my yard. I'm going to buy 4 more to keep in pots and divide in case my culm propagation attempts fail.
When bamboo are planted in pots with correct soil, plenty of fertilizer, and plenty of water, they grow extremely quickly. Without a lot of maintenance, pots are not suitable for long-term cultivation, because bamboo will become rootbound in almost any container after one season of growth. However, this is perfect for container propagation. Divide each plant into single culm propagules in late winter, placing each culm into a pot of its own, and each pot will contain a nice rootbound plant by the following winter.

I do not recommend placing the single culms directly in the ground. Let their roots recover in a pot for a few months, and then they can be planted in the ground. I recommend this because you never know what the weather will do over the following months. Extreme floods can stress single culms planted in the ground without good root systems, but they will not hurt potted plants or well rooted plants in the ground, even if they were recently planted from pots. Also, remember that tall single culms will need to be staked in place for a few months, so they do not blow over. It is easy to build a support structure with a couple tall posts and a horizontal pipe between them at around 7 feet. You can place a row of potted plants along this line, and tie the culms to the horizontal pipe until the plants are stabilized. In my experience, it is much easier to stabilize a row of containerized plants this way than it is to stake a large number fresh divisions planted immediately in the ground. I have not found established containerized plants to require staking once they are placed in the ground. I suppose a hurricane of tornado could change my opinion on this point.

If you make your divisions carefully, you may be surprised how quickly you can produce enough plants for a hedge. Starting with four overgrown three gallon Bambusa multiplex plants in early 2014, I had enough plants for around 400 feet of hedge by October, planted at a 10 foot spacing. I think I actually planted around 300 feet of this hedge, and kept the rest in pots.
LA Bamboo wrote:Some of my oldhamii have a couple of culms that are healthy but laying horizontally. I have them tied to stronger culms so I don't mow over them, but am considering laying them down and pinning them into 1g pots with potting soil. Does this seem like a viable way to get a few more plants for next year?
Yes, but you may want to use three gallon pots, as they will be a little easier to keep moist. If you do it, please post your results. I have never tried it, and I would like to know what percentage to the nodes will actually make plants. Even if they do nothing this year, keep them moist as long as the culm is alive. I would not be surprised if they did not produce new growth until next year. In the cases I have seen, the new roots did not arise from the current culm, but rather the bases of the new branches that the node produces. The new branches simply become new culms if their bases are covered with moist soil when they are forming.
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Glen
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

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needmore wrote:With a species that is known to produce viable culm cuttings, for a long fence run why couldn't you use entire culms left intact? Selecting the right age candidate and burying it with the branches pointed up seems like it would produce a row of new plants at the nodes? Same process on a larger linear scale.
My concern is that it would not produce a regular looking hedge. I suspect that not all of the nodes would produce plants, and it would be difficult to know where the new plans would be produced. You may get gaps, and other places with a very high density of plants. Assuming you want to be able to regularly prune, thin, and maintain the hedge, it would be nice to keep some space between the plants. This method may produce a nice uniform hedge, but I do not have the experience to answer this question. It would be an interesting experiment.
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Glen
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by Glen »

needmore wrote:On an unrelated note, I'm in a marginal climate for this but couldn't resist - Dendrocalamus sp. 'Parker's Giant'. It arrived after a long shipping journey all dried out and dropped 40% of the leaves, the package weighed a fraction of the shipping weight when it arrived it was so dry. I was not optimistic but babied it and within 3 days the leaf buds were sprouting and a few weeks later this guy emerged. Nice upsize. Thought I'd tempt you as well!
That is interesting. I have certainly found that the tropical clumping bamboos are much better able to handle extreme drying and flooding cycles than are their running bamboo relatives. I have frequently had underwatered, rootbound potted clumpers get dried out during periods of strong north winds in the winter. Even if they lose most of their leaves from desiccation, they always seem to look great once they are watered well and exposed to warm temperatures again.
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Glen
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

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LA Bamboo wrote:Very little bamboo in my area, at least that I've seen in person or advertised for sale. The Parker's is listed for 9b, and I'm in 9a.
If I remember correctly, there is (or was) a Dendrocalamus sp. 'Parker's Giant' planted at Mercer Arboretum in Houston. It looked great until a couple winters where it got down to around 20 degrees, at which time it was mostly topkilled. I believe it did survive, but I do not know if it is still there, as they have removed many of their established bamboos over the last few years.
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by LA Bamboo »

Glen, that pic I posted is my attempt at propagating a small horizontal culm. I had to crop the pic down due to size, so you only really see the first of three 1g pots. The pot was cut down 1.5" and culm pinned in place on either side with galvanized wire. I'll keep it watered and let you know if I get any roots. Past the third pot, I cut off the rest of the culm so it wouldn't be trampled by me, dogs, chickens & geese.
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by Alan_L »

needmore wrote:On an unrelated note, I'm in a marginal climate for this but couldn't resist - Dendrocalamus sp. 'Parker's Giant'...
So no regrets on trading up 3 zones I guess. :D
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by needmore »

Alan_L wrote:
needmore wrote:On an unrelated note, I'm in a marginal climate for this but couldn't resist - Dendrocalamus sp. 'Parker's Giant'...
So no regrets on trading up 3 zones I guess. :D
I really miss rain. Hasn't rained here I think since March. I'd like similar climate but in a place where it does rain. Thinking about trying to find a way back to Hawai'i, gain another zone!
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by fredgpops »

Double node depends most of all upon thick inner walls. If you cut between nodes and the inner to outer wall is solid, you have a good chance of success. My good friend in Texas, Kentuck, has just stuck many thick wall bambusas in ground with some success. My pick to click for fast growth without much tending/and or double node propagation, is Buddha Belly, this if you want a big almost indestructible big hedge. Had a local guy claim he could double node mtn bamboo but he wld not share his secret. He switched to antiques so I think he was jerking me around. Bottom line - it's the structure of the bamboo not soil, fertilizer, et al. Have some double node chusqueas working. They have many inner structural characteristics of bambusas. On a another subject - I have recvd burned out plants in the past. One antidote that I have played with is aspirin. My mom used to put aspirin in xmas tree stands to keep the cut tree fresh. I used aspirin on a cooked plant a few years ago with some success. I also cooked a plant with too high a dose. Lastly, for you environmentalists - I'm buying what is classed as wood fines or garden fines from local companies who grind green waste into mulch. I have found min 2x growth rates using recycled green waste. Very high nitrogen and a much cheaper solution to packaged potter soils.
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Re: Clumping bamboo culm propagation advice please

Post by john voss »

while digging out a large "grove" of Bambusa multiplex, 13 years ago, there were hundreds of cutoff culms which I simply laid on the ground and covered. yes, many sprouted, and this planting then outgrew all of the properly dug out sections (heavy equipment) and is the most vigorous of all my multiplex groves. the rotting culms provided the perfect nutrient source for the sprouts I guess.
this lazy man's technique did not work with some Bambusa oldhamii when attempted, however. a few sprouts did not persist.
zone 8b near folsom,la.
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