Phyllostachys Viridis versus Robert Young

[BooKing]

Hello all: Is there a difference in growth rate of Phyll viridis versus Robert Young? Also, does Robert Young culms size up pretty quickly? Thanks for any info.

[needmore]

Konifer - nice to see you here! I've planted R Young in 2001, 2002, 2003 , Viridis in 2002, 2003, and Viridis Hozeau in 2003. RY seems a bit less hardy but none of the plantings have survived above ground - total topkill every winter thus far. The older RY is spreading but not sizing up much, the Viridis is sizing up a bit but not much. The largest diameter I have is the Viridis that was 1 inch when planted. In the second year, it sized back up to an inch and this year is still at an inch. None of them are any larger diameter than when obtained.

Both are heavy with foliage, in fact the RY is quite top heavy and bends way over - you can hardly seen any yellow on the culms. Again, I would not recommend either species for zone 6 unless you have lots of room to grow hardier species that will certainly get larger over time. If you don't have Aureosulcata cultivars - Aureocaulis, Harbin, Harbin Inversa, and Spectabilis, I suggest getting them first. They should end up larger than either Viridis cultivar.

[BooKing]

Thanks. I don't have any aureosulcata cultivars yet.Have Robert young in a whisky barrel which will get the greenhouse treatment for winter to build it up some.MY vivax aurec has just sent up 7 new shoots and a couple look over 3/4inch diameter. Too bad they won't survive the winter most likely...I would like to get some 3inch culms here in the next 5-7years somehow of some bamboo. I got moso "anderson clone" in a 25gal container that is ready to burst .I have had it in there 2 years and kept it frostfree over the winter and will be ready to plant it out next spring in the ground.Hopefully it will survive and thrive we'll just have to see. Greg has some 3inch vivax by me except he is 1 hr away and near the shore. One full zone warmer than me.I don't know how you guys do it in zone 4/5.I would really be bummed out...thanks

[Iowaboo]

"I don't know how you guys do it in zone 4/5.I would really be bummed out..." --------koniferkid

Don't worry about it koniferkid. I'm sure someone in zone 11 is saying the same thing about your growing conditions.

Higher the zone the more species of plants typically can be grown if moisture level is conductive to growth. Also, more species of plants usually means more species of insects, which means more pesky insects.

So actually, I appreciate the dead cold of winter. Going outside without getting bit up by creatures one can barely see is quite rewarding. One can do many things also without breaking in hard sweat.

So in conclusion, I guess bissetii will have to get err done for me. One good bamboo is better than none, right/?

[needmore]

Konifer - until the Parvifolia or Shanghai 3 are available in the US your quickest ticket to the elusive 3 inch culm is Dulcis. Get as large one as you can to start. It is the quickest to fatten up and after the 3rd year or so, it should hold to several degrees below zero maybe -5-8, something like that. Atrovaginata gets fat quick as well and is a bit hardier but it probably will not reach 3 inches.

Just another note on the Viridis/RY - I have seen 2 1/2 RY in zone 6 (Dulcis in the same place is 3 1/2), but it is a warm zone 6 that seldom reaches 0F. If your zone 6 gets below zero more winters than not, then it will not do as well as the Vivax you already have. In time, the Aureosulcata cultivars will approach 2 inches for you.

[Markj]

Hi all, this reply is no good for anyone in a cold zone, but having both plants here I can say that the Viridis has grown twice the size of RY in the same time.

markj.

[BooKing]

I am working on that Parvifolia..somehow...someway...someday.....That's good to know about the Dulcis...We do get a few degrees below zero here on average.Not much below that...What's Shangai 3 ???

[needmore]

Shanghai 3 is most likely a Dulcis cultivar, that is considered a different clone the the 'American' Dulcis. It apparently is hardier and sizes up faster. It is my understanding that it is proving to be the largest bamboo in cold European climates.

Perhaps some of our European members will weigh in.

I am planing on bringing 2 rhizomes of it back next month - if they clear customs inspection.

[BooKing]

Another one for the list....

[Steve in France]

I have a couple of Shanghai 3 and have planted more in friends Gardens, I have one in a pot for propagation and one in the ground. Shanghai 3 grows amazingly fast and sizes up quick.When i talked to Jos about it he seemed to have changed his mind about it being a form of Dulcis,I know mark has a theory it's a Vivax clone after all, he asked me to press on the wall of the new culms with my thumb and it does have give like a Vivax, so not a thick walled timber Bamboo, the leaves are showing Vivax like shape too, but if it was that simple to to sort the true form i'm sure jos would have said for sure what it is, so there must be other factors in play. Anyway it's a very big (in all ways) very fast growing ,very hardy Bamboo.Looks wonderful when large, Jos has his planted next to Shanghai 2, which is also interesting but not a good Bamboo ( I'll do a post about Shanghai 2 later).
Parvifolia has grow to the same culm width as Shanghai 3 this year in Jos's Garden , I cannot wait to see both again and compare the plants.
Also find out the laters on what Shanghai 3 is
Later
Steve
P.S. The Later Shanghai 2 post. Shanghai 2 seems to be in a constant state of pre-flowering, Jos's theory is that many Villages in China have selected for the Bamboo they need over thousands of years, so Shanghai 2 is a bamboo you would never lose to flowering, you get your Timber and shoots to eat without fear of a time when it flowers and dies leaving a gap of years when the grove is lost and you trying to grow a new strain.But Shanghai 2 is a weak plant in some ways because it could have been around for a thousand years, it's looking old and tired as you would expect, the genetic material needs to be renewed, it's a good bamboo if your into interesting mystery plants but not for your average garden, also Shanghai 3 and 2 may not be able to be classed as a species as in all likelyhood they are crosses of some kind. Perhaps Shanghai 3 was selected for huge and rapid growth with the added advantage of great hardiness, the down side maybe the culm thickness, if it suffers like Vivax from high winds or heavy snow ( I don't know if it does, but it's worth asking when your there Brad) it maybe that Vivax is one of the parent plants, perhaps it's a Vivax Dulcis cross.If you have two Flowering Bamboos that are able to cross it's going to happen as with the Semiarundiaria.

[BooKing]

Steve: Great information...I would like to go there one of these days and see Jos collection. Thanks for all information.Any chance of a carrier pigeon flying across the Atlantic with a rhizome for me...just kidding.

Brad: I hope you take alot of pictures when you go on your tripand fill us in on all the details...

[needmore]

Steve, I have Phy. Lithophylla from Taiwan and I believe it is considered to be Shanghai 1. When I first saw a photo of Sh 3, I thought that it looked very much like my Sh 1. The Sh 1 has a look that is somehwat unique - glossy, thick leaves with almost a blue tint, somewhat Vivax like in shape but not as droopy. The culms however are quite firm.

Mine has not yet endured a winter and being from Taiwan it has questionable hardiness, but other Taiwanese bamboo have shown surprising hardiness, so we'll see. It has displayed impressive vigor, as a 2 foot tall pot bound plant in April, it produced 2 culms that are about 8 feet tall, and rhizomes are running on the perimeter. Going into winter it is a fine looking bamboo so we'll see how it holds up in the coming months.