On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:45:17 -0500, "Mark. Gooley"
wrote:

I'm looking for a source of Bambusa balcooa; I've e-mailed
some businesses on the American Bamboo Society source
list, and I'm awaiting answers, but in the past I've had no
luck with any of the places ABS lists as sometimes having
it. I understand that it's a widespread pest in parts of
Australia, so perhaps people are reluctant to offer it.

According to the ABS species list (and various books),
Dendrocalamus asper can take 23 degrees F without damage
to its culms. However, I understand that this figure is from
experts in India; the D. asper I've obtained has been a Thai
or an Indonesian clone, and those seem to tolerate little if
any frost: I spend up to $100/plant and always lose it. Is there
a hardier Indian cultivar that actually can stand 23 F? Or are
they all essentially the same plant, and my cultural practices
simply lousy? (Or is that temperature for a mature clump, with
the cutting-grown plants I buy being more frost-tender?)

Maybe I should just be grateful that my seedling moso is growing
steadily bigger, and the hell with tender-ish clumpers.

Mark. Gooley, in zone 8b in north Florida


I saw a Bamboo grower in Alabama featured on one of the gardening
shows some time back. He had all kinds of bamboo, some of it as big
around as an average sized woman's forearm to a bit bigger.

I am not a grower of bamboo because I'm in Zone 6, but I understand
there *are* some bamboo that may even grow here, 0 to -10 F in winter.
The problems may be in that we have 100+ f summers with low humidity.
That humidity factor plays a big part in how happy and how high and
low a temperature a bamboo can take.

Unfortunately I don't know the name of the fellow in Alabama who was
featured on the gardening program, but at least someone is close by
that you may be able to locate.

Good luck!

Janice