What a day...

[mantis]

Saturday I met up with marcat and Bamboo Outlaw to do some horse trading. What a great day.

Got down to Outlaw's farm around 8:40 am only to realize that I was in the wrong place. I didn't have Outlaw's phone number, and he didn't have my phone number. I walked around for 10 minutes looking at the bamboo until Outlaw came and found me. I followed him back to his place where we found marcat emptying his truck of hundreds of thousands of bamboos and palms... ok, maybe not that many, but a very impressive set of plants that me and Outlaw had to have a cage match to decide who got to keep what. In the end I think we each got a couple bamboos and a few palms.

After talking and getting to know each other for a while we went back to Outlaw's farm where we were given a tour, and then sat and drank a few beers while talking about everything and nothing.

*side note* As you can tell my 4.5 year old was visiting relatives in MN, so he wasn't with me, hence the lack of pictures.

After killing all the beer and finishing the breakfast of champions (Cheetos) we headed back to Outlaw's house to tour his yard and make some cuttings. About an hour into our tour marcat asked if I was allergic to Poison Ivy... "Yeah, why?" turns out we had been trampling through poison ivy for the better part of the walk. Good thing I was in shorts, and wearing Crocs. When we were done with the tour we headed back to the house where I washed up, and amazingly I only have one tiny spot of breakout... about half the size of a dime.

After we washed up we grabbed our sawzalls and decimated Outlaw's home grove. I think marcat probably got 8 or so different bamboos to try cuttings, and I took home 2... I was lazy and knew by the time I got home I wouldn't want to spend another few hours doing the cuttings. Along the way I just about harpooned my head with a Clone-X. That is an evil, evil plant.

Cuttings done and loaded we were all set to sit back and cool off... until someone had an idea to dig a division of sunburst (Bambusa pervariabilis 'Viridistriatus'). For all the verbal abuse that marcat took from Outlaw and myself I sure hope the division survives.

We finished packing our vehicles, and hit the road around 5:20. I got home around 6:00, and then potted up all my collected seeds, my cuttings, and everything else I was given. With any luck I'll have plenty of new plants to add to my beds in the near future.

I want to thank both Outlaw for being a great host for letting us pillage his grove (and also for the beer), and marcat for the new bamboos, palms, and taking our teasing (and also for the beer).

I had a great time. Hopefully we can do it again soon... well, maybe wait until it cools off a bit.

[rfgpitt]

mantis,
.....sounds like a lot of fun.
You'll probably continue to get more poison ivy. For me it can be days later and I wonder where in the heck I got it. Hope it doesn't get too bad.

[mantis]

You'll probably continue to get more poison ivy. For me it can be days later and I wonder where in the heck I got it. Hope it doesn't get too bad.

The poison ivy isn't bothering me at all... could be because I was attacked by fire ants. Actually, fire ant bites only bother me for a few hours, and then the pain/itching is gone. The poison ivy rash that was visible Sunday has just about vanished. I think I am in the clear.

[Iowaboo]

Mantis, sounds like a fun weekend, almost as fun as my weekend, where I slushed through an african savannah swamp, wrestled a crocodile with my hands tied behind my back, fought 3 thousand natives armed with fishing spears, with just a toothbrush, and finally fell into a bamboo booby trap, but was spared, because I fell on an elephant that already was down in the pit. Some people wonder how I have such skill and luck, but I say its all in the 10 dollar velcro shoes I bought at walmart.

The End

[marcat]

Mantis you forgot to mention the Poison Ivy wash that the outlaw gave us to use after we got out of his jungle. Aparrently the stuff works pretty good. Told you those Clone-X's are vicious. For a plant with out thorns they have sure drawn a lot of blood out of me. Oh and so far no sign of stress on the Sunburst.
MarCat

[mantis]

Mantis you forgot to mention the Poison Ivy wash that the outlaw gave us to use after we got out of his jungle. Aparrently the stuff works pretty good. Told you those Clone-X's are vicious. For a plant with out thorns they have sure drawn a lot of blood out of me. Oh and so far no sign of stress on the Sunburst.
MarCat

That is great news about the Sunburst! You know you'd never hear the end of it if it doesn't survive.

I should have gotten the name of the poison ivy soap from Outlaw. It worked miracles. I'm guessing the little spot of rash that I did get was from walking around looking at the palms near the end of our visit.

[Bamboo Outlaw]

http://www.gemplers.com/search/poison+ivy

Look at the Tecnu product and the Oral Ivy. I was highly allegic to poison ivy until I took a potion like this for one year over 25 years ago. I built up a good immunity and stay in it constantly now so I never have lost my resistance. I keep the Tencu around for tours for others.
Mantis climbed up in the first Clone X I ever planted to cut out one of the two original culms in the plant I and Darwin hauled from Roy's years back. A fella wanted it for decoration. It was the oldest culm I had, very straight and still very much healthy and alive. I figured it was good wood. I also wondered if we were ever going to get Mantis back out. I would not have fit for sure!
After a bad case of heat stroke I did give Marcat a rather hard time about wanting to dig a Sunburst. I was about dead just from watching him. I am glad it is doing well. We cut it way back to 4 branched nodes.
Later this fall we will do it again when the digging is better. Marcat needs a few more plants and I know you need one.

[mantis]

I'm definitely going to pick some of that poison ivy wash to keep in my car. It worked like magic.

Cutting out that clone-x culm was fun... until I dropped it from 3' up to within 2" of my head. Considering how much it weighted I think that would have gone in one ear and out the other.

I think one more plant is all I can fit... and I'm talking about in pots on my patio, since I'm already over capacity in my yard. Guess the greenhouse will be full this winter, so if we do have a harsh winter I'll be able to replant with some good sized boo in the spring.

[Roy]

I'm definitely going to pick some of that poison ivy wash to keep in my car. It worked like magic.

Cutting out that clone-x culm was fun... until I dropped it from 3' up to within 2" of my head. Considering how much it weighted I think that would have gone in one ear and out the other.

I think one more plant is all I can fit... and I'm talking about in pots on my patio, since I'm already over capacity in my yard. Guess the greenhouse will be full this winter, so if we do have a harsh winter I'll be able to replant with some good sized boo in the spring.

You didn't make the mistake of putting Clone X in your backyard, did you?

[mantis]

You didn't make the mistake of putting Clone X in your backyard, did you?

Oh no. No no no. Nonononono. I am convinced that Clone-X steals small children. It is an evil plant.

[Roy]

You didn't make the mistake of putting Clone X in your backyard, did you?

Oh no. No no no. Nonononono. I am convinced that Clone-X steals small children. It is an evil plant.

It doesn't really steal them. It's just that if they get lost in it, you may never find them.

[Roy]

Saturday I met up with marcat and Bamboo Outlaw to do some horse trading. What a great day.

Got down to Outlaw's farm around 8:40 am only to realize that I was in the wrong place. I didn't have Outlaw's phone number, and he didn't have my phone number. I walked around for 10 minutes looking at the bamboo until Outlaw came and found me. I followed him back to his place where we found marcat emptying his truck of hundreds of thousands of bamboos and palms... ok, maybe not that many, but a very impressive set of plants that me and Outlaw had to have a cage match to decide who got to keep what. In the end I think we each got a couple bamboos and a few palms.

................snip.......

Mantis,

When you first started out with your story, I was reminded of when Bamboo Outlaw came and played in my backyard!

The 3 Amigos

[Bamboo Outlaw]

Many of the plants in my personal collection came from Roy, especially early on. The availability combined with Roy's knowlege of what should work here really helped me off to a great start on what to grow. The pictures I still use on propagation by division were of Roy and I in his back yard. I think Boonut still has these pics on his web site. I will always be thankful to Darwin Nelson for introducing me to Roy and taking me on my first Florida run for collecting. Teh, on the left in Roy's pic was another friend I made thru bamboo networking. I met Marcat on a small local forum that has since shutdown. This forum is absolutly great way to trade knowlege, plants and meet new folks as well as keep up with old friends. Thanks Bill

[boonut]

Is that John Teh in the picture Outlaw?

[Roy]

Is that John Teh in the picture Outlaw?

John Teh of Florida (L), Marler Spense of Louisana (M), and Steve Carter of Texas (R) meet in Roy Rogers' backyard to discuss bamboo in late Summer of 2002. Marler is on a road trip collecting bamboo donations for the ABS Conference in Nawlins 2002.