Thanks, I've been watering at least every other day for now because rain has been a little sparse lately and these were transplanted about 2 weeks ago now, so I'm trying to help them out as much as possible. I've had 2 culms and one plant out of 30 transplants turn brown and leaves shrivel up on me. Hopefully those are the only ones that suffer. I figure I'll fertilize in a few weeks.
The bed is about 12 inches high. Hopefully that will be enough to keep the rhizomes out of my yard behind the fence, but if not, I'll trench it on the other side and do root pruning.
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Heavy poor draining clay
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Re: Heavy poor draining clay
If you have voles I'd skip the straw mulch, given that you have wet area you may not need it anyway. No need to create vole nesting beds and feed them rhizomes.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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Re: Heavy poor draining clay
Voles and mice just love straw mulch. I have been fighting them for quite some time now, and there are some bamboos that are irresistible to them - like my Fargesia denudata and Pseudosasa japonica. They also love to nibble on Phyllostachys bamboos, but they are just too aggressive and sustain only minimal damage. However, voles never touched my Hibanobambusa tranquillans 'Shiroshima'.
Mulch can attract them even if they don't dwell around the bamboo yet. We have cold winters and mulch during the frigid part of the year just calls for them to start using it as winter protection and a place for them to dig in and start nesting. When you have them under bamboo it's almost impossible to eliminate them. I have huge tunnels under the dense mesh of rhizomes. I have a dog that is an expert on vole hunting and I taught her not to dig around bamboos. She could tear out all the rhizomes otherwise. I rather have voles and bamboo than no voles and shredded bamboo.
Mulch can attract them even if they don't dwell around the bamboo yet. We have cold winters and mulch during the frigid part of the year just calls for them to start using it as winter protection and a place for them to dig in and start nesting. When you have them under bamboo it's almost impossible to eliminate them. I have huge tunnels under the dense mesh of rhizomes. I have a dog that is an expert on vole hunting and I taught her not to dig around bamboos. She could tear out all the rhizomes otherwise. I rather have voles and bamboo than no voles and shredded bamboo.
Re: Heavy poor draining clay
If you have a lot of rodent activity then you may not want to mulch too heavily. Voles are a big concern as they eat rhizomes and rhizome buds. One species of shrew does too if I remember correctly.
Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
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Re: Heavy poor draining clay
Shrews here in Europe are all carnivorous and will eat all kind of insects and bugs that live in top soil. The problem with shrews is, that voles like to overtake their tunnels. Shrews are beneficial (well, the piles of dirt they leave behind are not that good), but the voles that take their place are not.
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Re: Heavy poor draining clay
That was my exact situation at my new home where I have transplanted all of my bamboos. I took Needmore's advice which was mounding, it is working out beautifully. Have a perfect environment now for them I the mounds and most are shooting right now. No root rot whatsoever. Thanks Brad! I also didn't spend a fortune on top soil, I moved a lot of dirt from around my property (granted I have a tractor so that's easier.) I've been able to get about 50 of my bamboo plantings in the ground thus far and in mounds. As they get established I will pile more and more material on the mounds so they can travel into a more target rich environment. Saved me a lot of unnecessary digging too, thanks Brad.PS I also dug out Swales which has worked out awesome. I directed my Swales into a pond I now have that is fed exclusively by rainwater. Look into swales, it has been a cool development for me and my wet ground.