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Originally Posted by HumanJHawkins
I think it is a variety of F. nitida after all... I spoke to an expert
today about it and he said that in fact some F. nitida can get quite
dark. Also, they are known to be flowering around the world now.
As far as seed, it will probably be August or September. Bamboos have
relatively low germanation rates, so it is important to let them get as
fertile as possible. The best way to do this is to wait until you can
shake them off the culms... Put a tarp below the plant in august or so
to catch the seeds. It may be late September or even a little later
before they shake easily off the culm. But if you wait, you will have
better luck when it comes time to plant them.
Once gathered, they should be kept dry and just above freezing until
ready to plant. If you have a really nice greenhouse (i.e. on the level
of a pro), you can plant them pretty early... January even. But if not,
you might have to wait until April or even May of the following year.
They are going to need warmth (which a seedling mat can help with if
you want to invest in one) and sunlight.
I have never grown F. nitida, but with other bamboos, I have had the
best success by following these steps:
1. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in warm water... About 32 degrees C.
(Put a large jar of water on a weak coffee warmer and check the temp...
For me it held it just right.)
2. Plant in peat pellets in a seedling tray with a clear dome lid.
Again, it will cost about 15-20 pounds for a seedling warming mat, but
this will really help. (and can be used again and again, or given to a
gardening friend when done)
FYI, I have tried germinating in sand, seedling mix soil, peat pellets,
and rock wool. Nothing came close to the peat pellets for success rate
both during germination and at transplant time.
3. Once they get a couple of good leaves, transplant to 1 liter or so
plastic containers. The ones I left in the pellets (or soil or rock
wool, etc,) really grew slowly right from the first few weeks. But
those that I transplanted early really took off.
Or, you can always sell your seeds on eBay. They go for quite a price
due to being very rare.
Cheers!
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Thanks again for the tips & information !
The only thing that suprises me is that I'll have to wait till 2007 to plant them !
Some of the web pages I have come accross say that germination rates drop sharply if the seed is stored for any length of time, and recomend to plant when the seed is as fresh as possible. I can see why you say to wait, though - it's imitating nature I suppose.
I'll have to find somewhere that sells peat pellets now !
I should have plenty of seeds to play with, so I'll try germinating a few as soon as I collect them, as an experiment, and pop the rest in the fridge till early spring. If I can get any to germinate straight after collection, I'll put them under artificial light indoors over winter until I can get them in the greenhouse.
I did this as an experiment this year to try and get some early tomatoes. I planted some gardeners delight just before Christmas, grew them under artificial light till early Feb, (20W energy saver bulb) then grew them on the windowsill and I've just released them into growbags in the greenhouse this weekend. They already have their first flowers and some very small fruit. It will be intresting to see how they go on.
If I can raise 10 - 12 bamboo plants I'll be happy, I'll keep 3 or 4 myself and give the rest to friends. I'll try selling the remainder of the seeds on ebay, but only once I've had germination sucess. I'll only sell them if I'm happy they are viable. I've got my feedback to think about !
I have a warming mat - but it's intended for homebrew wine! . It's about the same size as a small seed tray, and I expect the temprature will be pretty close.
As for the parent, I'm dosing it with 2 litres of lawn fertiliser every 2 weeks. If it dies - it dies. It's only a small plant but it would be nice if I could save it.