For 20 years I have admired bamboo groves. Yesterday I found some on Craigs list 10 miles from my house.
I planted 4, 12' yellow grove culms. (Don't worry I did my research.) I need a tenacious weed like plant to cover a bank that so far I could only get weeds to grow on. They are beautiful!

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your new bamboo grove, Yellow Groove is a real beauty.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

I signed up here the other day and try to get a bit educated. I didn't realize this is SERIOUS stuff!
I didn't plan on growing more than one type for one purpose. (ground cover/erosion control) but seeing some of the black bamboo gets me thinking. Is this the beginning of the end?

If you're asking, it's already too late for you.

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Getting your first bamboo is like smoking your first cigarette. You probably won't stop at one species
Soon your property maybe your neighbors too will be filled with good looking bamboo.

Anyways if you decide to start, there are a few growers that already have a good collection of bamboos that are pretty close to connecticut. Even if you drive around a few neighborhoods bamboos are pretty easy to spot once you get used to seeing them.

Here's the bamboo map which shows forum members in relation to your area.
mapbb.php

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

Question on propagation. As stated above I planted 4 10-12 ft plants on a hill. They are about 8ft apart.
I'm already excited about seeing new growth next spring. Question is, the hill is about a 45 degree angle.
Do you think the plant will try to grow up hill more than down? or doesn't it matter.

...


See it as the end of the begining..... .... There really is no way back now ...

welcome aboard..


Laz

Most of my bamboo is on a slope, they will go both across,up and down hill, my slope also happens to point toward the afternoon sun so most head downhill probably because of that plus the slope. My Rubro has to be different and ran uphill as far as it could and then turned across the slope...plus ran downhill as well.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

I was getting ready to winterize my new bamboo grove.( The "grove" is 4 10 footers spaced out 8-10 ft apart.) I had to pull a bunch of honeysuckle and bittersweet before I mulch. While weeding around one of the plants I found a 4" rhizome heading down the hill. I'm so happy to see that I will have new shoots next spring.

...and my 13 year old son just looked over my shoulder and saw I was on a Bamboo Forum....he called me a bamboo nerd.

I don't think you need to do too much to winterize yellow groove given that you are in a zone at least as warm if not warmer than where I'm at and YG doesn't leaf burn very much here. You might be able to convince your son to get into bamboo too. Just show him the shoots in the Spring and he'll probably understand.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

What do I do this winter? We have a few wet snow storms every year. Are these going to bend over to the ground then spring back up when it melts? Or should I do something to help them out?

Most will bend over to the ground then spring back up when it melts. A few may break under the weight, but most will survive. Be aware they will throw chunks of ice when they spring back up.

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Southern Indiana. Theoretically the same climate as 'needmore' & 'Eastlandia'.
My Bamboo List.

"Take Dog apart. Disinfect. Reassemble."

Cold and happy. I can't wait until spring and see what comes up.