HOW DO CLUMPERS GROW?

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ChilledPanda
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HOW DO CLUMPERS GROW?

Post by ChilledPanda »

How do clumper bamboo grow? do they spread like runners? are they easier to control? how many culms grow from one seed germinated?

I just want to experiment, but i don't want uncontrollable growth to spread beyond the area i have chosen for trials.
stevelau1911
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Re: HOW DO CLUMPERS GROW?

Post by stevelau1911 »

Temperate clumping types are generally smaller and generally produce 1-2 rounds of shoots each year slowly expanding the size of the clump in overall space and height. They are not hard to control at all.

Tropical clumpers will produce a rhizome neck from the base of the rhizome bulb of a mature culm and that rhizome bulb will produce a shoot when enough energy is stored up. Here are some rhizome bulbs which simply fell off when I was taking a field division of java black bamboo. I decided to plant these up to see if they can form roots, and put out some top growth enough to become self sufficient which likely depends on if this species stores enough energy inside of its rhizome bulbs.
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This one stayed attacked to the main division culm and is already forming its own roots when I took it off so it should keep growing, but I topped it off to reduce transplant shock.
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In 3-4 weeks a bambusa lako division which had a rising shoot at almost 4ft topped to 2ft which had plenty of root mass already managed to swell its branch buds, and produce foliage without any setbacks because of the stored energy in its rhizome bulb as well as plenty of roots already.
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Another thing about some tropical clumpers is that they have the ability to produce roots and shoots out of each of the internodes that have branches as demonstrated by this bambusa lako producing a shoot inside of its air layer bottle and I find this to be pretty cool since it does not work on the temperate species I have come across.
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I grow most of my tropical bamboos in containers, and if you were to try to grow them from seed, just be prepared that most likely, it will not be a legitimate source and the seeds will most likely be phyllostachys edulis moso which is a running type if they are even bamboo seeds. I have observed many tropical bamboos going to flower however I have tried to harvest them, but it simply doesn't seem like these bamboos produce viable seeds very often. You might be able to grow some tropical clumping types if you are on the southwest coast of the UK, if not then it simply gets too cold unless you intend to use a heated greenhouse. Better off growing temperate running types in your climate as rhizomes likely won't even grow that far and there should be many bamboo nurseries there in Europe.
wolfedg
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Re: HOW DO CLUMPERS GROW?

Post by wolfedg »

This is just my experience but I've found the best way to understand runners vs clumpers is to go out and look at the types of grass in your yard as they have similar running and clumping habits. Most of your lawn would likely consist of 'running' types of grass that spread out quickly to fill the lawn, but occasionally you will see(unless you have a meticulously groomed lawn) 'clumping grasses' such as crabgrass. You'll notice that the crabgrass plants start small in one place and gradually fill out form the center but dont spread nearly as fast as the runners.
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