I just saw this article:

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201201 ... /701199993

Saying the Shibatea kumasasa (?) is a very slow spreader in the garden, forming a clump 6-7 feet across after 10 years. Does it spread this slowly for anybody here?

Also, I don't think the photo in the article shows the right plant, or at least it's a terrible representation of what they call "zig-zag bamboo".

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

The photo looks ok.... Not a great photo, but it does look like kumisaka.

Mine has been in the ground 5 years, and has around 10 culms...... It is a super picky plant for me. I have tried mulching, acid plant fertilizer, compost.... Now I just leave it alone and hope it keeps on living.

I don't think that it would be this way in conditions it was happy in however. I would think that it would be just as rampant as any other ground cover boo in the right conditions.

Alan, I planted a 3 gal division of it late fall 2010 and by this past spring it had shot a rhizome at least a foot away from the clump (in ffairly hard soil, no less) with several culms and it has shot lots of culms beside those. I haven't had any groundcover boo act so aggressively so soon, so I am assuming it will be fairly rampant here! It seems to be hard to keep looking nice, though. It does seem to love lots of acid!

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God Bless,

Matthew

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Genesis 2:8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.

Nice!

I think Brad's patch is larger than 7' wide, and I don't think it's 10 years old yet.

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

Don't take my spelling as gospel!

I have a fairly large and fairly nice clump of it. I wouldn't say it was a slow spreader, but it hasn't been overly fast either. It was planted in the Summer of 2004 and is about 10 feet in diameter. Lots of shoots and foliage close together.

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

"Take Dog apart. Disinfect. Reassemble."

I agree with Dan I planted mine in 05 or 06 but can't remember for sure, and it's about 10 feet across and 3' high. I have it planted right in the middle of a line of pine trees and it loves the acid soil from the pine needles. Some people suggest growing it as a companion plant for pines for that reason.

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David Arnold
Middle Tennessee Bamboo Farm
USDA zone 6b/7a

I really want to try this bamboo, because I have the perfect piney spot for it!

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http://bensbamboo.blogspot.com/

I have some planted on oak litter in partial shade. Low to moderate soil fertility. It is spreading slowly and densely. Looks pretty good. Tends to get some leaf burn every year.

Will try to post a photo I took yesterday. Clump is about 5ft wide & 4ft high. Planted as 3 gallon pot about 5 years ago.