.... I have been bitten by the "bamboo bug" and want to have several
groves of large bamboo around the place.. The clumping varieties seem
unlikely as the winters sometimes get down into the mid-teens but the
price of the more desirable runners and even their ability to survive
our hot summers makes them questionable also..
With that in mind does anybody have anything good to say about
Phyllostachys aurea??? I have heard so many horror stories that I
wonder if I am making a mistake to even consider it at all.. What
exactly is it about it that turns it into such a pest.. What defines
an "aggressive" bamboo. Might it be those very qualities that would
make it attractive to a beginner... such as "establishes
easily,inexpensive, thrives, etc." What makes me consider it is that
I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain it... and that it
obviously does well in this area (North Florida.) There are several
areas where it is growing wild and where I could easily dig up all I
wanted to transplant to here... In my ignorance I think that I could
just plant it somewhere on these thirty acres and keep it under
control by mowing around it..

david fraleigh wrote:
... I have been bitten by the "bamboo bug" and want to have several
groves of large bamboo around the place.. The clumping varieties seem
unlikely as the winters sometimes get down into the mid-teens but the
price of the more desirable runners and even their ability to survive
our hot summers makes them questionable also..
With that in mind does anybody have anything good to say about
Phyllostachys aurea??? I have heard so many horror stories that I
wonder if I am making a mistake to even consider it at all.. What
exactly is it about it that turns it into such a pest.. What defines
an "aggressive" bamboo. Might it be those very qualities that would
make it attractive to a beginner... such as "establishes
easily,inexpensive, thrives, etc." What makes me consider it is that
I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain it... and that it
obviously does well in this area (North Florida.) There are several
areas where it is growing wild and where I could easily dig up all I
wanted to transplant to here... In my ignorance I think that I could
just plant it somewhere on these thirty acres and keep it under
control by mowing around it..

David,

Figure that if you transplant some Phyllostachys aurea from a wild grove
near you, then eventually you will end up with a grove that looks
similar to the one you got your piece from. If you like the size,
looks, and spread of the wild grove, then go for it. P. aurea can be a
fairly rampant runner in warm soil though it tends to be less rampant if
the soil is cooler, so that is another thing to consider before
transplanting. Your location may have warmer or cooler soil than the
wild grove.

Regards,

Bob

easily,inexpensive, thrives, etc." What makes me consider it is that
I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain it... and that it
obviously does well in this area (North Florida.) There are several
areas where it is growing wild and where I could easily dig up all I
wanted to transplant to here... In my ignorance I think that I could
just plant it somewhere on these thirty acres and keep it under
control by mowing around it..



David,

Depending on where you are in North Florida, you should not just automatically
dismiss the "clumpers". Any of the Bambusa Multiplexes do well in North
Florida. (If you happen to be near Jax,. I'll be glad to give you a start of
Alphone Karr.) Also, Bambusa Tuldoides, Textilis, Ventricosa, and Malingensis
are quite cold resistent. I've found that even if these varieties should
freeze all the way to the ground (which is very unlikely) that they will come
back the next spring. I've had Oldhamii freeze to the ground repeatedly and
each year it still puts up larger and larger culms. Just some food for
thought. I know what you mean about having caught the bamboo bug.
Doug

(david fraleigh) wrote in message . com...
... I have been bitten by the "bamboo bug" and want to have several
groves of large bamboo around the place.. The clumping varieties seem
unlikely as the winters sometimes get down into the mid-teens but the
price of the more desirable runners and even their ability to survive
our hot summers makes them questionable also..
With that in mind does anybody have anything good to say about
Phyllostachys aurea??? I have heard so many horror stories that I
wonder if I am making a mistake to even consider it at all.. What
exactly is it about it that turns it into such a pest.. What defines
an "aggressive" bamboo. Might it be those very qualities that would
make it attractive to a beginner... such as "establishes
easily,inexpensive, thrives, etc." What makes me consider it is that
I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain it... and that it
obviously does well in this area (North Florida.) There are several
areas where it is growing wild and where I could easily dig up all I
wanted to transplant to here... In my ignorance I think that I could
just plant it somewhere on these thirty acres and keep it under
control by mowing around it..

Mowing is a very effective way to control a running bamboo. Aurea
grows in a tight grove and makes a great privacy hedge, it is very
prolific and very inexpensive.

I started 18 months ago with a small rhizome cutting. I divided it
several times into other containers. In April I had 1 15gal pot and 2
24"x36" pots. When we went to move these to my friends house to make
a screen in front of his house we couldn't move the larger pots in
tact so we cut them up. We removed the pots from the plant and the
rhizome mass and feeder roots were one solid mass, it was the pot
without the pot if you get my drift :-). We hacked these poor plants
up horribly to move them (while shooting). It is now planted into a
pretty solid 12'x3' strip of dirt and is shooting and running like
mad. The tallest culms are a little over 6', new shoots are
threatening to top them.

The more you water it, the faster it spreads and gains height. Once
established it is VERY drought tolerant, but becomes better behaved.
It is probably the most common bamboo in southern California, it is
also the basis for every horror story involving bamboo.

If you have the space and the desire to contain it.. it really is a
great plant, very pretty.

Chris
Chino,CA

david fraleigh wrote:
.... I have been bitten by the "bamboo bug" and want to have several
groves of large bamboo around the place.. The clumping varieties seem
unlikely as the winters sometimes get down into the mid-teens but the
price of the more desirable runners and even their ability to survive
our hot summers makes them questionable also..
With that in mind does anybody have anything good to say about
Phyllostachys aurea??? I have heard so many horror stories that I
wonder if I am making a mistake to even consider it at all.. What
exactly is it about it that turns it into such a pest.. What defines
an "aggressive" bamboo. Might it be those very qualities that would
make it attractive to a beginner... such as "establishes
easily,inexpensive, thrives, etc." What makes me consider it is that
I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain it... and that it
obviously does well in this area (North Florida.) There are several
areas where it is growing wild and where I could easily dig up all I
wanted to transplant to here... In my ignorance I think that I could
just plant it somewhere on these thirty acres and keep it under
control by mowing around it..

It grows on rhizomes and they can travel for quite a difference before a
new bamboo shoot pops up!

It is a clumping variety though and as long as it's kept well watered
you shouldn't have any trouble,........it puts the rhizomes out to find
water!!

Jason

Jason Pope wrote in message ...

It grows on rhizomes and they can travel for quite a difference before a
new bamboo shoot pops up!

It is a clumping variety though and as long as it's kept well watered
you shouldn't have any trouble,........it puts the rhizomes out to find
water!!

WHAT??? It is a vigorous runner that can be controlled by limiting
water, but the more you water it the more it will run. The rhizomes
run to help spread the plant not look for water. There are varieties
of Phyllostachys that can run a distance without putting up a culm,
but Phyllostachys Aurea puts out fairly dense growth.

Clumping bamboo will spread only a few inches a year.

Chris
Chino,CA

Chris wrote:
Jason Pope wrote in message ...


It grows on rhizomes and they can travel for quite a difference before a
new bamboo shoot pops up!

It is a clumping variety though and as long as it's kept well watered
you shouldn't have any trouble,........it puts the rhizomes out to find
water!!


WHAT??? It is a vigorous runner that can be controlled by limiting
water, but the more you water it the more it will run.

Most plants with rhizomes have rapid growth of the rhizome to find water
if there's little around!
It's a plants basic biological response to having no water,............
if you water it it'll put up new culms but in my experience it won't go far!


The rhizomes
run to help spread the plant not look for water.

The reason it spreads is to facilitate water and nutrient
uptake,........ you think plants spread just to look nice?


There are varieties
of Phyllostachys that can run a distance without putting up a culm,
but Phyllostachys Aurea puts out fairly dense growth.

If you water it well,....... that's not the same thing as a plant
running for a distance before putting up a culm.



Clumping bamboo will spread only a few inches a year.

Depending on how you feed and water it!

Jason

Jason Pope wrote in message ...

Most plants with rhizomes have rapid growth of the rhizome to find water
if there's little around!
It's a plants basic biological response to having no water,............
if you water it it'll put up new culms but in my experience it won't go far!

Except of course the fact that running bamboo's will not run if the
water supply is limited. The more water, the more they propagate. If
they have no water, most running bamboos will "act" like a clumping
bamboo by not spreading. It is a basic function of any living thing
to propagate based on resources, more resources more propagation, no
resources = no propagation and ultimately death.

The reason it spreads is to facilitate water and nutrient
uptake,........ you think plants spread just to look nice?

No, they run because that is how they propagate. If they happen to
run into a water and nutrient rich environment, they will thrive and
continue to run.

Clumping bamboo will spread only a few inches a year.

Depending on how you feed and water it!

No, that is what a clumping bamboo does. It grows in a CLUMP.

The advice you are giving is dangerous. If someone plants a running
bamboo somewhere thinking that if they supply plenty of water and
fertilizer, it will not run is going to be sorely disappointed.

Do you have ANY experience with bamboo?
Chris