Propogating Bambusa eut. 'Viridivittata' and then some

[nu2bamboo]

A few question about culm cuttings...

I have been thinking about propogating some of the bamboo that I have in the yard. Especially, Bambusa eutuldoides 'Viridivittata'.

Can this be propogated with culm cuttings or is it just strictly by division? I tried digging around the base of an older culm but what a mess! The clump is rather tight and seems difficult to cut away. So I deceided to trim back an older culm and tried culm cuttings!

Is there any rule of thumb as to the size of culm required for cuttings? The culm I cut back and divided was 3/8" or so at the thickest and tappered down significantly. I divided it up into 8 seperate pottings and I am wondering if this method will work.

I have only tried Vulgaris Vittata before with some success.

Also, how would you propogate Textils gracils, oldhamii, multiplex silverstripe and chungii? Are there preferred ways on these particular bamboos?

Thanks guys appreciate it

[boonut]

That one produces so many culms each year even when small that I don't even bother trying culm node cuttings. You can even do single culm divisions and almost all will do great. I have done a BUNCH of those.

[nu2bamboo]

Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but if the bamboo has been in the ground for sometime how do you so a single culm division?

[boonut]

My recommendation would be to do a two or three culm division from the one in the ground and cut off about half the culm to induce lots of new culms. You can then wait a year and take the boo out of the pot and then do two culm divisions and put into additional pots. You can end up with about 12 pots in less than 2 years.

There have been lots of posts about dividing bamboo in the ground. Again, this bamboo is very easy to propagate, so you don't have to be as careful. Look for two culms close together that one looks about a year older than the other. Follow the older culm back to where you think it might be connected to it's "mother" at the beginning of the rhizome neck. Sever it... and dig down about 2 feet all the way around the two culms and pry out of the ground. It should be ok. Once you get good at doing these divisions, you can try the single culm method. It will work most of the time with this particular bamboo. Again, you don't have to be that careful.

Do a little searching on the forums to see lots of details and pictures of dividing a clumping bamboo in the ground.

I did this particular bamboo like I am describing here and ended up with lots of them from one single pot several years ago. I divided and divided and gave away lots of them. I planted about 20. All in about 2 years. I later lost one due to flooding last year, and dug up one single culm and put it in a pot and it has rewarded me with 6 new culms already this year. I can divide and put another in the ground and keep a smaller pot just in case I need more.

[Roy]

Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but if the bamboo has been in the ground for sometime how do you so a single culm division?

http://bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php?p=27512#27512

[nu2bamboo]

Well, your pictures seem alot easier than the actual process. Yesterday, I decided to try to take a culm division for my Bambusa eut. 'Viridivittata'.

The whol process would have been alot quicker had I the proper equipment. The small hand saw would have gone a long way. After alot of hard work I finally got a two culm division and a single culm division potted. I woukd say the culms were 20' tall. After I potted the culm divisions I topped the culms to about 10'. Is that typical to top the culms to a more managable height?

I also noticed that the leafs immediately started to curl. I currently have them in a shaded location and will try an water twice a day. How long typically will it be before I should see signs of survival (new growth) branches or culms?

[Roy]

Well, your pictures seem alot easier than the actual process. Yesterday, I decided to try to take a culm division for my Bambusa eut. 'Viridivittata'.

The whol process would have been alot quicker had I the proper equipment.

Be Prepared: The Motto of the Boy Scouts of America:D

The small hand saw would have gone a long way. After alot of hard work I finally got a two culm division and a single culm division potted. I woukd say the culms were 20' tall. After I potted the culm divisions I topped the culms to about 10'.

Good Boy. You made a good decision.

Is that typical to top the culms to a more managable height?

I also noticed that the leafs immediately started to curl. I currently have them in a shaded location and will try an water twice a day. How long typically will it be before I should see signs of survival (new growth) branches or culms?

Keep checking the leaves. They shouldn't be curled in the morning when the humidity it at its highest. Shaded location and watering twice a day is good. Don't worry about the new growth yet. Keep looking at the leaves and gradually move them into the sun over the next week or so.

[nu2bamboo]

Well, I have checked the condition of the newly separated bamboo and you mentioned that the leaves should not be curled in the morning. Actually the leaves are curled all the time morning and afternoon.

I have been watering the bamboo at least twice a day to make sure that it is not dried out. The pots are in a shaded area. I am concerned that the culms are going to die.

Should I be concerned or is this something that should be expected?

[Roy]

Well, I have checked the condition of the newly separated bamboo and you mentioned that the leaves should not be curled in the morning. Actually the leaves are curled all the time morning and afternoon.

I have been watering the bamboo at least twice a day to make sure that it is not dried out. The pots are in a shaded area. I am concerned that the culms are going to die.

Should I be concerned or is this something that should be expected?

Not a good sign , but about the only thing else you could do is to pull some of the leaves off, which would reduce the amount of water that would be exiting the plant. And be sure to keep watering. Hopefully your bamboo will turn around for the better.

[JohnC]

I just want to add that I've seen some divisions that looked and acted completely dead or dying for months then made a sudden and unexpected recovery so don't give up on a cutting for quite a while even if it loses all it's leaves and appears to be dead.

I have a special recovery area set aside in the back of our property where it's dappled shade and really nice soil close to a pond for watering and I stick anything that might be dead there and continue to water it if necessary and only chuck stuff out that's been in there for a year with no signs of life.

[nu2bamboo]

Well, an update on the divisions. They are toast. Have been for a while. I will try again this year. Which leads me to another question.

Roy,

Can I start divisions on Gracilis, Eut. Viriditatta, Clone X and others? It is mid May and none of those have started shooting yet! So is now a good time to take divisions?

If not what is a good time of year?

[Roy]

Well, an update on the divisions. They are toast. Have been for a while. I will try again this year. Which leads me to another question.

Roy,

Can I start divisions on Gracilis, Eut. Viriditatta, Clone X and others? It is mid May and none of those have started shooting yet! So is now a good time to take divisions?

If not what is a good time of year?

I assume you have these in the ground already and want to take some divisions. Now is a good time. Just dig and find where the plant you want is coming off of the mother plant, then cut at the rhizome neck, right at the mother plant. Then top you plant to reduce moisture loss, pot, water, and mostly keep in the shade and you should be good to go.

Some people say you should take several plants (culms with rhizomes) at a time, but I've been doing it for 30 years and I take one plant at a time. 3 times as much wasted potential when you take 3 at a time. But if it makes you nervous, take 3 at a time.

[mr.mike]

Back in the winter of 07' I did a division on mine and took 9 divisions. They were all doing fine until we had the freeze in December of 07. Lost 6 of those plants but 3 have survived. This, for me at least, was a difficult bamboo to dig out. It has a root and rhizome system very much like B. chungii & B. c. Barbelatta. Tough to divide. Now that I have the 3 plants from that division I'll just hold on to them and take divisions from them. It'll be a whole lot easier, TRUST ME!

I put a couple photos in the "Bamboo Photos" section if you'd like to see how difficult it looks. I did not enjoy dividing that one at all.

mike

[nu2bamboo]

mr. mike,

do you always dig around the area you want to divide then wash all the soil away and then cut.

I tend to be a little gun shy about removing soil. I have in the past just dug around the area and then sawed it off hoping that I cut the right area. I just to a division of textilis gracilis today. It was a two culm division. there were alot of tiny roots at the surface of the soil and I tried not to disturb them as much as possible.

[dudley]

i did a chungii a couple weeks ago (single culm) and it looks good. already branching from lower nodes.
i think less digging is better.
sawzall better than hand saw. less work for you generally makes less stress on the division.