moso
Moderator: needmore
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needmore
moso
Meat, I've been growing it for 3 years and I suspect that you are a bit warmer in winter. Mine has top killed every winter. Last spring it had shoots that were over an inch in diameter but I managed to kill the big ones by trying to protect them from a late frost. Of the 9 shoots that were up, only 3 produced culms and I suspect that I set back further development on the older plant by killing the shoots, time will tell.
I have a 3 year old planted next to a 2 year old and the 3 year old only has 1 tiny culm left, I think it was the one with the big shoots. The other one produced 2 culms, one of which is approaching an inch by 10 feet or so. It is hard to tell because the top of the culms bend over and touche the ground. I can see rhizome several feet out, so if we get the mild winter that we are due, I would expect to see several culms, some over an inch and 15 feet or so. I also bought a seedling and planted it last year and the damn thing is running like crazy, crowding out everything in the area. It still has those bigger juvenile leaves and it shades out everything around it as it too leans over to the ground.
I have been very fortunate to have access to lots of horse manure and I suspect that my Moso results are due to the very excellent summer growing conditions plus the great manure. It is piled up over a foot deep and the rhizomes are running in it. Plus I have watered it like crazy.
But after all that I only have a total of 3 culms from 2 plants after 2 & 3 years. Still, I have been surprised when people who know nothing about bamboo come for a visit, everybody migrates to the Moso and my 75 year old aunt walked up to it and said "I don't really want bamboo but I'd like one of those, do you have one I could take?".
My advice to people in Z6 who want it is if you have the space go ahead but also plant another hardy bamboo so that you can have an exciting bamboo experience while you baby the Moso. Plant the Moso where it has room to lean way over without being in the way, and very important - plant it in a spot that is slow to warm up in the spring. Like on a north facing slope or a shaded area. This will push back the shooting period and will help to minimize losing shoots to late frost, as Moso can be a very early shooter if planted in a warm spot. Use as much manure as you can and water well. Protect in winter if you can and be patient.
I have a 3 year old planted next to a 2 year old and the 3 year old only has 1 tiny culm left, I think it was the one with the big shoots. The other one produced 2 culms, one of which is approaching an inch by 10 feet or so. It is hard to tell because the top of the culms bend over and touche the ground. I can see rhizome several feet out, so if we get the mild winter that we are due, I would expect to see several culms, some over an inch and 15 feet or so. I also bought a seedling and planted it last year and the damn thing is running like crazy, crowding out everything in the area. It still has those bigger juvenile leaves and it shades out everything around it as it too leans over to the ground.
I have been very fortunate to have access to lots of horse manure and I suspect that my Moso results are due to the very excellent summer growing conditions plus the great manure. It is piled up over a foot deep and the rhizomes are running in it. Plus I have watered it like crazy.
But after all that I only have a total of 3 culms from 2 plants after 2 & 3 years. Still, I have been surprised when people who know nothing about bamboo come for a visit, everybody migrates to the Moso and my 75 year old aunt walked up to it and said "I don't really want bamboo but I'd like one of those, do you have one I could take?".
My advice to people in Z6 who want it is if you have the space go ahead but also plant another hardy bamboo so that you can have an exciting bamboo experience while you baby the Moso. Plant the Moso where it has room to lean way over without being in the way, and very important - plant it in a spot that is slow to warm up in the spring. Like on a north facing slope or a shaded area. This will push back the shooting period and will help to minimize losing shoots to late frost, as Moso can be a very early shooter if planted in a warm spot. Use as much manure as you can and water well. Protect in winter if you can and be patient.
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meat
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:30 am
- Location info: 0
- Location: Joplin Missouri
sw corner of mo zone 6/7 Depends who you ask :) - Contact:
I am starting the moso from seeds so it wont be in the ground until spring . I thought horse manure could burn the plants if you use too much. I have access to a large ammount of it if not. It is a pretty warm climate around here. I am in the very sw corner of missouri so i am pretty much zone 6/7 hasnt dipped below zero in the last few years either. In fact i can only think of one day last year that had snow on the ground. Thanks for all the infor needmore her and on gardenweb.
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Mike McG
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 1:41 pm
- Location info: 71
- Location: Near Brenham TXUSDA Z8b
Horse Manure
Meat, I use horse manure and have yet to find anything that it will burn. My experience is that plants love it.
Some examples:
-I piled horse manure up one winter near a new planting of Ph. area that had not run yet. The next spring the manure (not the ground) was loaded with rhizomes with lots of new shoots.
-I use horse manure as winter mulch piled on my semi-tropical plants that are root hardy here, without any problems.
-I have successfully started B. multiplex seeds in a layer of peat moss on top of 100% horse manure. They grew much better than some other seeds in just peat moss.
-I dug a very small (smaller than a soda straw) culm, probably Ph. rubro; washed the soil from the roots and planted in 100% fresh horse manure during the late winter. It started shooting prolifically and very early.
-Flax and oat seeds that are in our horse feed frequently sprout and grow directly in the manure.
The are manures that are "hot", but my experience with horse manure is that I have not yet found a plant that is burned by it, even when it is fresh.
Mike near Brenham TX
Some examples:
-I piled horse manure up one winter near a new planting of Ph. area that had not run yet. The next spring the manure (not the ground) was loaded with rhizomes with lots of new shoots.
-I use horse manure as winter mulch piled on my semi-tropical plants that are root hardy here, without any problems.
-I have successfully started B. multiplex seeds in a layer of peat moss on top of 100% horse manure. They grew much better than some other seeds in just peat moss.
-I dug a very small (smaller than a soda straw) culm, probably Ph. rubro; washed the soil from the roots and planted in 100% fresh horse manure during the late winter. It started shooting prolifically and very early.
-Flax and oat seeds that are in our horse feed frequently sprout and grow directly in the manure.
The are manures that are "hot", but my experience with horse manure is that I have not yet found a plant that is burned by it, even when it is fresh.
Mike near Brenham TX
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Mike,Marietta,SC,z8a
- Posts: 89
- Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2005 12:43 am
- Location info: 0
- Location: Marietta, South Carolina
zone 8a, 60 bamboo species in ground including mature size moso, Bambusa, Bashania, Borinda, Chusquea, Fargesia, Himalayacalamus, Phyllostachys, Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa, Qiongzhuea, Sasa, Sasaella, Semiarundinaria, Shibataea, Y - Contact: