Bare root bamboo planting

Ask questions about growing bamboo

Moderator: needmore

Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Hello forum,

Looks like my bamboo dreams might come to pass. I’ve acquired an import permit (Uruguay) and phytosanitary certificate for 29 bamboo plants. Picked them up yesterday at Tropical Bamboo. These are bare root with hydragel, 3 gallon size. Should be fine making the trip to Uruguay tonight. I was told at the nursery it is better to plant them out in the ground full sun since they are tropical, subtropical species. I don’t need to put them in pots and baby in the shade even though they are bare root.

Does anyone here have experience planting out bare root bamboo? Also December in Uruguay is late spring/ beginning of the summer months. Want to make sure I dont kill these guys as they are bamboo species they do not have in Uruguay.

Thank you and heres my list of plants also.


1. Bambusa Beecheyana
2. B. Oldhamii (hirose)
3. B. Malingensis
4. B. Nana
5. B. Eutuldoides viridi-vitata
6. B. Lako (Timor black)
7. B. Guangxiensis
8. B. Multiplex Alphonso Carr
9. B. Multiplex gold stripe
10. B. Chungii x3
11. B. Chungii “barballata”
12. B. Textilis "gracilis"
13. B. Textilis kanapaha "Wong Chuk"
14. B. Emeiensis flavidovirens
15. B. Boniopsis
16. Dendro Asper "Hitam"
17. D. Validus
18. D. Maroochy
19. D. Hamiltonii red shoot
20. D. Minor amoenus
21. Bambusa Ventricosa ‘clone x’ -x2
22. B. Pervariabilis viridistriata
23. B. Suberecta ‘Jesse Durko’
24. B. Tulda striata
25. B. Membranaceus var. striata
26. B. Odashimae
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Received plants on Dec.14th, took longer than I expected to clear customs with additional paperwork that had to be completed. But plants were kept boxed and in an air conditioned room. All boos have been planted in plastic vinyl pots. Root were still wet from hydra gel and some plants still had there leaves attached.

Some plants are starting to leaf out while others still show no growth. Since receiving plants I have cut dead culms that died have died off. All boo is placed in a shaded location under a weeping willow tree with shade netting to protect from afternoon sun.

When can I start introducing plants to more sun? Should I wait until they leaf out or start gradually with all boos?

Thank You, Andy
dependable
Posts: 1323
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:28 am
Location info: 0
Location: Island off Cape Cod Massacusetts
Contact:

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by dependable »

Sounds like quite the garden adventure, glad most of your plants seem to have made it.

I'm not experienced in tropical growing, but in general, one does not want plants that are going to be in sun leaf out in the shade, since this may cause leaves to burn out when placed in sun. Perhaps a gradual "hardening off" process where they are moved back and forth from sun to shade, or more practically, find some place with mottled light that will result in a compromise between full sun & shade until they make a recovery.

If the roots are in good enough shape to transport water to support leaf growth, then restricting the plant's light might not be as necessary.
Last edited by dependable on Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Some pics of bamboos
Attachments
FEF5475C-27A6-4DF5-BB64-988187AACC27.jpeg
B90870E0-62BE-43BD-AEB5-0BE98450EF2F.jpeg
54A38A31-5E4C-454E-A37A-D87547AC6098.jpeg
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

2 more photos
Attachments
FEB1D32F-B8A8-45BB-ADC7-4032E6B0FAA6.jpeg
F8B0AB02-6677-491E-B81E-D67C498847DC.jpeg
dependable
Posts: 1323
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:28 am
Location info: 0
Location: Island off Cape Cod Massacusetts
Contact:

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by dependable »

Nice, looking at your pictures, I wonder if the black plastic will get the soil too warm, with tropical sun & all.
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

dependable wrote:Sounds like quite the garden adventure, glad most of your plants seem to have made it.

I'm not experienced in tropical growing, but in general, one does not want plants that are going to be in sun leaf out in the shade, since this may cause leaves to burn out when placed in sun. Perhaps a gradual "hardening off" process where they are moved back and forth from sun to shade, or more practically, find some place with mottled light that will result in a compromise between full sun & shade until they make a recovery.

If the roots are in good enough shape to transport water to support leaf growth, then restricting the plant's light might not be as necessary.
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

dependable wrote:Sounds like quite the garden adventure, glad most of your plants seem to have made it.

I'm not experienced in tropical growing, but in general, one does not want plants that are going to be in sun leaf out in the shade, since this may cause leaves to burn out when placed in sun. Perhaps a gradual "hardening off" process where they are moved back and forth from sun to shade, or more practically, find some place with mottled light that will result in a compromise between full sun & shade until they make a recovery.

If the roots are in good enough shape to transport water to support leaf growth, then restricting the plant's light might not be as necessary.
Ok, where they are located now, they do receive some sun through the canopy, I put the shade netting up as I was worried about a little afternoon sun.

It is hard/expensive to find/buy good plastic nursery containers. In Uruguay most plants come in the vinyl plastic.
User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by needmore »

I think I missed your original post - great list! I did an import trip in 2005 and brought back bare root plants dipped in gel. Someone else received the plants upon return to the US and they were grown for 1 year at a quarantine facility so I do not know what they did with the gel dipped plants but many of them survived - several did not. These were all temperate running bamboo and every leaf was removed and I think that the sub tropical bamboo will have a very good survival rate, the running bamboo do not grow as well when stripped like this.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Thanks, my list started with about 10 species and soon increased to 29 plants total. Plants were packaged in 2 cardboard boxes. I was able to fit both boxes in a bigger suitcase for the trip and also added a little extra protection.
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Could these be planted out in late summer/fall of this year or better to wait until spring?
User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by needmore »

I think they'd be fine to plant by April or so, assuming you are as warm as I suspect this time of year they should have nice growth by then.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
Andros2240
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 am
Location info: 0
Location: Canelones, Uruguay

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Andros2240 »

Ok, thank you for the help and advice. Also what does one do for spacing for the bigger bamboos in a bamboo garden? Looks like B.Beecheyana and Odashimae will be pretty large, others as well. I have a line of D.Asper planted out 2 weeks ago at 8m spacing.
User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by needmore »

I'm also struggling with the spacing issue, from experience I'm planting based on other areas I've grown bamboo but I'm inclined toward putting these sub tropicals too close together and I need to push them farther apart - these guys get huge and every time I see a clump somewhere else I am taken by how much space they need. It of course depends upon what you are trying to achieve, we want room to walk through areas and not get squeezed by bamboo. I do intend to try and keep my clumps smaller than the 'free range' ones I see but your 8m sounds like a minimum spacing unless you want them to mix together. I think in 5 years a typical clump might be 3-4m at the base and the tops depending upon species much broader.

I'm actually thinking about 12-15m apart except for walls I want to create.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
Alan_L
Posts: 2966
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:13 pm
Location info: 81
Location: St. Louis area

Re: Bare root bamboo planting

Post by Alan_L »

When I bring any of my plants (not bamboo) out of shade into sun, I do it slowly with gradually more sun exposure only if the plant has lots of leaves that it will keep. If it has none or few leaves, straight into full sun -- you want those new leaves to be accustomed to full sun from the first minute.
Post Reply