Starts from Seed

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CircleHranch
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Location: Oklahoma

Re: Starts from Seed

Post by CircleHranch »

Well, sounds like I should have done some research and found this group before I bought 9 packets of 100 each of bamboo seeds from a USA seller. I strained them, rinsed them with the salt water as directed, placed them in a cup of water at 8am this morning for the 24 hours. Had read they are like beans, when you soak them the good ones sink and the bad ones float. And, of course, all of mine are floating. Looks like I need to look into buying bamboo shoots instead of seeds. Any advice on buying shoots, pricing to expect, what kind is best (I'm in Oklahoma, zone 7) where to look to buy would be much appreciated. I will continue reading the forums to learn more. They are so beautiful.
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bren
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by bren »

Update on my seed experiment. I planted two separate batches at the end of June, and early July. I'd figured that by the first week in August I would have seen something. But, alas nothing by August 1st I hadn't seen any sprouting. So, this past weekend assuming my seed experiment had failed, I was going to toss the potting soil back into a bigger container and call it quits with bamboo seeds. And yet when I checked, I had 4 seedlings! So, not a complete failure. I think I planted roughly 80 seeds, so I got a 5% germination rate. Here's a picture of what's supposed to be a moso seedling. I realize that it may turn out to be something totally different than what the vendor advertised. The weather here in the Sierra Foothills has been very warm (and very smokey), so perhaps the heat helped with germination.
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Tarzanus
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by Tarzanus »

Took way more than it should for them to sprout, but they did. Good luck and have fun!
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bren
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by bren »

Update on my seed experiment. I still have about 6 of the Fargesia 'Jiuzhaigou' IV seedlings (if that's what they really are) and 6 of the P. Edulis seedlings going. They're not exactly taking off like gangbusters, but they are doing well and still alive. One of the F. Jiuzhaigou IV seedlings is showing a black culm and variegated leaf, which I presume is a good sign that it might actually be a F. Jiuzhaigou. I'll probably pull them inside as the weather gets colder here in the Sierra foothills.

I also picked up a 5 gallon P. Vivax today from Craig Thiessen of Bamboo Mountain. He was also kind enough to give me a flowering P. nigra 'megurochiku'. I'm excited to try some more seed experiments when the seeds look mature enough to harvest.
Tarzanus
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by Tarzanus »

Seedlings never show their parent's visual features. There is a chance, but you can also win the lottery - easier. If you got a variegated seedling, that's great news. Could eventually become a new cultivar. I'm not sure it flowered though.

Keep them somewhere cold enough for them to stop actively growing during the winter. 5 to 10°C with enough light would be ideal. If it's from one of Borinda seeds in circulation, anything below freezing will fry it until it gets bigger and stronger. Photos? :)
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bren
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by bren »

Update on my seed experiment from a year ago. Most of the seedlings from what are purported by the seller to be F. Jiuzhaigou IV seeds survived the winter. Here are two pictures of the plants from this week. They've still not really taken off considering the seeds were planted a year ago, but they *are* healthy and have good secondary growth.
f.nitida.jiuz.jpg
I added a red background to create a little more contrast for the hairs on the nodes.
f.nitida.jiuz.red.png
wufeng
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Location: My plants grows in Prague and another 3 places in The Czech republic, zone 6.
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Re: Starts from Seed

Post by wufeng »

I think, it is not F. nitida or Jiuzhaigou seedling.

Compare it:

Seedlings Fargesia nitida Eisenach http://bambusy.info/img/uploaded/Vanjos ... 010-02.jpg

2 years old Fargesia nitida Gansu 95-2: http://bambusy.info/img/uploaded/Gansu- ... 008-02.jpg
I am engaged in pages about hardy bamboos in Czech language - http://bambusy.info/.
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