My bamboo project in 2012

[Trax]

Hi guyz! I picked this section cause bamboo is used a lot as a shrub... but mine wouldn't be as easy to do that with, lol.

It's about 30 feet tall now and I'm preparing to add new rhizome barriers and use a lot of the ground for veggies. I shot these pics a half hour ago and I'm still chopping out the big mimosa trunk and digging rhizomes out of the ground. Here's some shots of my progress today.

I used a skill saw to take out a lot of the tree. I was using an axe on the stump but I think I'll wait for the chain saw. That will prolly be here sometime this week, yay!
Btw, the culms (stalks) are all about as wide as a 12 oz (355 ml) Coke can and almost totally solid since it's "Timber" bamboo. Even limb cutters fail so the only way to chop the culms when they get too old is with an axe or skill saw.

Z202 by Trax, on Flickr

Z203 by Trax, on Flickr

Some of the striping on the culms is epic!

Z200 by Trax, on Flickr

Here's some shots of the culms. They're taller than a wooden power pole!

Z201 by Trax, on Flickr

Z204 by Trax, on Flickr

Z205 by Trax, on Flickr

The bamboo is Phylostachys Viridis and grows up to 42 feet tall so these aren't full-sized yet. Well, back to work!
I'll add more photos when I get some more done.

 

[RonsGarden]

Cool Bamboo Josh!
You have a knack for growing them!

 

[Wombat]

Great looking bamboo, really healthy Trax! I won't grow it here as the climate here makes it go a little crazy especially if it's a running rather than a clumping bamboo. I had some in a pot a long time ago it had jet black culms and was a beautiful plant. In Hong Kong they still use it as scaffolding as it's so strong

 

[Crabbergirl]

Nice job Josh! Maybe you should come visit my bamboo. I have it in a huge pot but I need to make it into 2. I just don't have enough strength to tackle it. I have been waiting on my son but this is his busy season with landscaping.
Yours looks great!

 

[Trax]

Cool Bamboo Josh!
You have a knack for growing them!

Thanks. It was my first science project. It coulda been any plant but I wanted to try bamboo. I've learned tons about it since I started. I think I'm going to be a botonist.

Great looking bamboo, really healthy Trax! I won't grow it here as the climate here makes it go a little crazy especially if it's a running rather than a clumping bamboo. I had some in a pot a long time ago it had jet black culms and was a beautiful plant. In Hong Kong they still use it as scaffolding as it's so strong

Thanks. Yeah, it should grow awesome where you live! That bamboo in your pot was prolly Phyllostachys Nigra. I tried to grow that 2 years ago but I couldn't keep it alive here. Those are way cool!

Nice job Josh! Maybe you should come visit my bamboo. I have it in a huge pot but I need to make it into 2. I just don't have enough strength to tackle it. I have been waiting on my son but this is his busy season with landscaping.
Yours looks great!

Thanks. Lol! You might need a saw to separate your bamboo in the pot. The rhizomes are tuff. If we go anywhere near Florida this summer, I'll look you up and help out. Or I'll just look you up and invite myself to dinner cause I know you have awesome seafood there!

 

[Wombat]

Thanks. Yeah, it should grow awesome where you live! That bamboo in your pot was prolly Phyllostachys Nigra. I tried to grow that 2 years ago but I couldn't keep it alive here. Those are way cool!

Yep Trax that was it......couldn't for the life of me remember how to spell the first word all I knew it was ending nigra Yep and bamboo does grow a little on the crazy side here...that's why I don't have any lol.

 

[RonsGarden]

Thanks. It was my first science project. It coulda been any plant but I wanted to try bamboo. I've learned tons about it since I started. I think I'm going to be a botanist

WTG Josh!
It would be a good career to get into!
If you get the chance take the Master Gardener course!

 

[Crabbergirl]

My door has always been open and yes there is always some sort of fish or seafood close by. And if we have company, it has the potential to turn in to an event!

 

[Crabbergirl]

Well I just decided to just do it! Yesterday morning I got up and attacked my bamboo. I jumped up and down on the pot until the plant became loose enough to pull out of the pot. I should have taken before pictures but I will post some after pictures tomorrow.
After cutting the dead and dying canes out and separating the root masses, I ended up with 3 small plants. I say small, but 2 are 10' or better and one is about 3'. Of the 2 tall ones one has 1 active cane and the other one has 2. The smallest one has several and looks the best. However the root masses were so big that they are still in large pots. There was no dirt left in the original pot so I know splitting them and giving them soil will make them grow much better. I can't wait to see what they look like in the future.

 

[Trax]

Yep Trax that was it......couldn't for the life of me remember how to spell the first word all I knew it was ending nigra Yep and bamboo does grow a little on the crazy side here...that's why I don't have any lol.

Yeah, Australia would be the perfect place for bamboo. The company I got my timber bamboo from warned me that it prolly wouldn't grow here but it did. I gave it lots of TLC and even made wind breaks around it when it was young and that's prolly why it had enough time to adapt.
Btw, I helped install a 3' deep, high-density polyurethane rhizome barrier - 300' long - to keep the bamboo contained. I still have to watch for runners that try to jump the barrier and cut them but it works great and it's Moso rated. I def can't let it grow free here.

WTG Josh!
It would be a good career to get into!
If you get the chance take the Master Gardener course!

I'll def be taking all the courses I can get cause I know that's what I want to do. I could prolly set up a small shop and sell exotic plants but first I need more study and to find out more about retail and what plants are in demand here. I know I'll get a lot of support from my family.

Well I just decided to just do it! Yesterday morning I got up and attacked my bamboo. I jumped up and down on the pot until the plant became loose enough to pull out of the pot. I should have taken before pictures but I will post some after pictures tomorrow.
After cutting the dead and dying canes out and separating the root masses, I ended up with 3 small plants. I say small, but 2 are 10' or better and one is about 3'. Of the 2 tall ones one has 1 active cane and the other one has 2. The smallest one has several and looks the best. However the root masses were so big that they are still in large pots. There was no dirt left in the original pot so I know splitting them and giving them soil will make them grow much better. I can't wait to see what they look like in the future.

Good work! Photos please! Those root balls will prolly send out new runners and make buds but that could take a long time. Just keep them watered and be patient.

UPDATE: I finished thinning out my bamboo yesterday! I had to use limb cutters and an axe cause the culms of timber bamboo are uber tuff. A chainsaw woulda been faster but I didn't want to risk damaging the culms I wanted to keep. The last 2 steps are to finish cutting the culms into smaller pieces to be hauled off and that's sometime before the weekend. Then I'll be going over the ground with the cutters and the axe to get rid of the old stumps. When that's done, I can dig up rhizomes and make smaller garden spaces for tulips, cannas, and veggies. There's a lot of things that have been surviving the heat here with zero probs.

I still can't believe how long it took to learn to grow plants in just one state but now that I know, I'll have epic gardens next spring!

 

[RonsGarden]

WTG Josh!
It's great to have your family's support with you going into professional gardening!
You have a great aptitude for it!
Go for it!

 

[Crabbergirl]

Oh I forgot the pics. Maybe later today. One of them has already outgrown it's pot. I had the plastic pots , so I have been looking at ceramic ( very expensive for big ones). I have lots of new shoot and I think once all this renovation in the yard is done I will use some sheet metal and make a containment area and plant some in the yard. I think if I keep it mowed I won't have too much spreading....maybe.... we shall see.

my daughter is going back to school ...finally. But she is not sure what she wants to study. She is torn between construction and horticulture. Or maybe addiction counseling. Talk about a stretch! anyway I think she would be really happiest in construction and horticulture as a side interest or back up education. My son is a landscaper so I guess all that gardening when they were small rubbed off.
Point: Josh do what you love, love what you do , and you will always be at peace with your decision.

 

[Trax]

Thanks Ron and Nancy. I could never get happy if I couldn't grow plants and I so want to do that as a career.

Nancy. Some things you need to know about putting bamboo in the yard. I don't know anything about sheet metal but if it can rust then it could let the bamboo escape. Also, even if the bamboo is kept thinned out, the underground runners continue to grow and form a huge matt that sucks up all the water and stuff in the soil. I used ferts but now the matt is so thick that grass won't even grow where the bamboo is. I'll have to add new barriers, dig the matt out of the ground (with a shovel and axe), and add new soil to grow anything new in the contained space. Just some things I thought you should know.
If you decide to try it in the yard anyway, good luck! But remember, it can cause tons of work in the yard in just a few years that you'll need an axe or a plow to dig out.
Btw, a 6-mil high-density polyurethane wall buried 3 feet into the ground (or down to clay) will keep even Moso bamboo from escaping. That can run over $1k but I know there are places that sell it cheaper than that. I'll try to find a link today if you're interested.

 

[Crabbergirl]

Thanks Josh. So if I used a pool liner instead of the sheet metal or in combination with , maybe it would be better?!?! We had bamboo at our last house and we had to get a backhoe to remove it and the Pampas Grass where the rats took up residence. Don't want to do that again. Maybe I will just keep them in the pots. I have a small friendly native bamboo type plant and for the life of me I can't remember it's name ....starts with a "P" , I know Ron knows what I am talking about. Grrrrr stupid old brain Anyway , people use it in clumps as a landscape plant. Maybe I will do that instead. Grrrrr, if I remember the name I will post it , but then I will prob forget that too.

 

[RonsGarden]

Couldn't be in the "P" group! They are extremely invasive!
Had to look it up!

 

[Crabbergirl]

Water Cyprus...also called Water Papyrus!http://www.google.com/search?q=water+papyrus+plant&hl=en&rlz=1R2ADFA_enUS488&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-V9xUJWQH4jA9gSslYHIDQ&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=513
UGH, this old brain!
Anyway..... thinking of planting it in the ground in clumps. I have seen it get large and very beautiful when managed.

 

[RonsGarden]

That will be a knockout! It's used as annual specimen plants in ponds and bog gardens up here!

 

[Crabbergirl]

It grows wild and free here and I already have some. I will just break it up in to smaller groups. It has out grown the pond anyway.
I did take bamboo pics but now I can find my data download cable for my camera.

 

[Trax]

Pool liner is too weak. I know from experience. The only thing that really works is high-density polyurethane. It can even work it's way through concrete and can break through ceramics like porcelain. But they do sell clumping bamboos and they don't send out runners.

The variety you have is prolly a Phylostachys and they're almost all runner types. Beware of any bamboo with a 1st name "Phylostachys". If the 1st name is "Fargesia" then that's what you really want. Fargesia types are clumping mountain bamboos. They can get as thick as 1-1 1/2 inches and are uber ornamental. They come in tons of colors and some are even bright-colored with candy stripes.

They still spread but very slowly so they're easy to care for and don't need a containment wall. Also, you can trim them like a hedge cause even chopping the top off won't hurt them. I'll be keeping my bamboo thinned out from now on cause it looks better that way and if I just keep the larger culms then they can't collect rats cause the leaves are too high off the ground. It's only the small culms that have leaves near the ground.

After chopping all my bamboo down except about 40 of the largest culms, it's already sending up new shoots. I broke the small ones off just by stepping on them. New shoots are very fragile. Just squeezing one can kill all the leaves before they can get out of the sheaths. I kept 3 huge new shoots and I'll prolly get some more huge shoots next spring!

If you do get a Fargesia type, you can dig it up in the spring (before it sends up new shoots) and use a hatchet to separate any new growth to increase your crop.
Dunno, instead of stepping on the small shoots next spring I might just wait till they're 3 inches tall then cut them 2 inches below the ground for food. Btw, that's the best way to harvest any bamboo shoots for food and my Robert Young bamboo is one of the better edible types. Most bamboos are edible but only the new shoots. But those still contain some toxic cyanogens so they have to be boiled.

Btw, if anyone's interested, here's a really good Japanese recipee for preparing fresh bamboo shoots.

BAMBOO SHOOT RECIPEE

Harvest the shoots in the fall or the spring when they're 3 inches tall (from ground level). Cut them 2 inches below the ground. Wash them and cut the tips off diagonally. Cut off anything that feels too hard on the surface. Make a very shallow cut in the outer skin.
Put the shoots in a pot and totally cover them with water. Add a handfull of rice bran and 2 chili peppers. Have the pot mostly covered and boil on high heat for 20 minutes. Add more water as needed. When a fork goes through the shoots easily then they are finished cooking.
When it's finished, turn off the heat but leave the pot on the stove till the mixture is totally cooled down. That enhances the flavor and gets rid of any bitterness.
After it's cooled down, wash the shoots under cold running water and peel them. Put them in cold water. They are now ready to use for cooking with or tossing into a salad.
If you're not going to use them immediately, they can be stored in the fridge in cold water. Change the water every day you don't use them. That will prevent them from turning brown.
The Chinese recipees are similar but instead of using the rice bran, they just toss the shoots in the same water they had used to boil rice in.

Papyrus is really cool! I grew some one summer next to the pond with allocasias. It looked awesome!

 

[RonsGarden]

Thanks for the info Josh!