Quote:
Originally Posted by ninak
Hi. I recently bought and have begun to germinate various bamboo seeds. They a
Bambusa textilis - Weavers bamboo
Himalayacalamus falconeri
Dendrocalamus membranaceus
Bambusa lako - Timor black bamboo
Dendrocalamus strictus
Phyllostachys pubescens - Moso
The Moso was the first I planted and they have since germinated and I have three new seedlings. I am finding it very hard to find info on growing these bamboo in this part of the world. I am in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. I have just planted the other seeds so we will see how we get on. I am looking for advice from anyone who has grown these bamboo in the British Isles? Any help would be appreciated.
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Moso will probably survive where you are, but won't do very well. It needs a hot and humid summer to do well. People don't bother with it in Britain because it is disappointing, even in the most favourable locations. No one respectable sells it for this reason.
My impression is that B textilis doesn't even survive in Britain. No one reputable sells it. ABS (
http://www.americanbamboo.org/Specie...blesIndex.html ) quotes a minimum temp of -8, so maybe it will survive but not do very well. Or else maybe it needs a hot summer and dry winter to survive low temperatures. (Eg, Date palms survive can survive quite harsh frosts in Tunisia, but not Britain.)
ABS quotes a minimum temp for H falconeri as -9C, but people in Britain generally think it is hardy only to about -4C or -5C, again because it would like a warmer summer and longer growing season than we can give it. It is not noted as doing very well outside favourable micro-climates in coastal Cornwall and Devon, and one or two other places. But check what Pan-Global Plants have to say when their website comes back up. Might be ok for you, but I suspect you are on the margin and it could depend on your precise location.
I think the other ones are about as suitable for Galway as mangoes and pineapples.