On Fri, 6 May 2005 10:06:38 +0100, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

A friend has a huge stand of phyllostacus (spelling?) the one with black
stems, next to his pond/lake.

It is beginning to flower so will presumably die? Will this happen to
all other bamboos in the vicinity ( similar to ants swarming at the same
time in an area) or is the flowering local to one or two plants? He is
quite high up in the Chilterns, near Dunsmore on quite an open garden
(about 8 acres)

If it's flowering will the seed be viable and how best to propagate it
please.

Seed will be viable, but has some tricks:

1. You have to beat the local mice and rats to it.

2. It probably needs to be sown quite fresh - try putting the flat
underneath the plant and let the seed fall directly onto it.

3. A significant fraction of the seedlings may be albinos.

4. Seedling bamboo grows *very* slowly. About ten years ago,
Aruninaria murielae (it has another name these days) flowered here.
One volunteer seedling popped up in my garden (from about 12 fairly
big clumps) and has made the grade, but after that many years it's
still only about two feet high.

5. Don't know if bamboo seed needs chilling or will come up
lickety-split in response to warmth and moisture like other grasses.

I've read that you can help bamboos survive flowering by feeding and
watering, but I wouldn't bet on it.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
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