i'd like to take off the leaners here but maybe i could stake them instead. If you can stake the leaners while they remain tender fresh shoots, they will harden up later and no longer require staking. :) i had previously read that removing the older, smaller culms before shooting could help promote...

I think the lower culms I was too lazy to cull helped it survive. In a marginal zone with snowy winters, keeping the lower branches that become buried under a protective layer of snow serves to reduce the chance of total top kill. Keeping that layer of green bamboo leaves nearest the ground can mak...

Culling will not improve a grove's height and growth. It will make it a lot more pleasant to look at. This idea is good to keep in mind. Culling old living culms favors values such as aesthetics rather than overall growth. As a compromise, culms may be selected for removal in a way to reduce negati...

should it be done before, during or after my shooting season, Considering the reduced height and size in the extreme case where winter forces a culling before the shooting season, culling during or after shooting season seems more desirable. Where damaging winds from storms may occur, old culm bran...

My main worry is spacing, for example the poles used as the joists, how much weight can a 2" diameter pole support at an 8 foot length before it bows or if it would need a perpendicular support half way. If you know how much bowing you can tolerate, then you can set up a test with your particu...

Winter is potentially the key limiting factor given those conditions. At temperatures around zero degrees Fahrenheit, you can expect damage as winter winds freeze-dry exposed portions of bamboo. Now the hardiest bamboos will recover in the spring and summer from even total winter top kill, but the s...

If that is not possible, maybe something that will experience top kill, but will grow back vigorously in the spring. I am looking for something that grows and spreads FAST as well. If you're partial to a Phyllostachys species, try Ph. aureosulcata 'Spectabilis' In a location of inevitable top growt...

murfette wrote:The Bisseti and Nuda both started shooting Saturday May 15. YEAH!

These past few days, I notice many more Phyllostachys shoots now emerging here from rhizomes deeper in the soil.

Am I just being impatient or is there a problem. I am now wondering if I may not be able to grow bamboo here. For a cool spring in zone 5, you're being totally impatient! :wink: Green leaves surviving through the winter is a most auspicious sign of the effectiveness of the mulch and the underground...

Alan_L wrote:So is the thumbnail test to press as hard as possible,

I think the idea is to probe whether the culm is still tender, not to exercise your deadly Shaolin Kung Fu attack of thumbnail artery press on unsuspecting bamboo.

Phyllostachys aureosulcata can be remarkably resilient and vigorous. :D If the divided plant loses too many roots and the leaves start to curl from water stress, the plant can be moved to a location with more hours in the shade. If shade isn't convenient or sufficient, leaves can be removed to reduc...

My first gut reaction to this was it would not work. I do not believe that the material is strong enough to contain rhizomes from runners. After investigating, some pots appear thicker than others. Although a GeoPot may be thicker than a Smart Pot in the larger sizes, I would still be surprised if ...

My thinking is to encircle a planting with 15' diameter fence and allow goats to graze anything that grows outside this perimeter. Over time, grazing eliminates any portion of bamboo that doesn't hug the ground or exceed six feet (for cattle). Let them graze relentlessly during shooting season and ...

I know there have been threads here in the past regarding shredders but I'll ask again, what is a decent one for culms under 1.5 inches max? A Wisconsin-based company, Patriot Products, Inc. offers a number of durable chipper/shredders: http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/products.htm#eleccsv Their...