Help Me Find Bamboo Seeds/or Growing Advice? 19 July 2010 at 11:15AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 9 replies 1.8K views

dogstarheaven

am keen to grow bamboo, and am growing it in a large container. need to use it as a screen between myself and my neighbours (upto 7ft or so). has anyone grown this before from seed? i'm asking this coz buying the plants are so exhortionate! i'm quite keen on the black bamboo, some reddish stemmed ones and an incense smelling one.. anyone with any general advice? thanks!:beer:

ukjoel

Try buying some small plants and split them.

If you well manure the ground they grow like crazy.
Go with a clump forming variety otherwise will spread everywhere.

Doomcow

we got bamboo from ikea it was lookin worse for wear so i chopped off some leaves and some roots. i stuck them into a containers and now they grow (takes a while) ... you could try that long term solution tho...

ukjoel

We have a couple of phylistaccis nigra which is the black stemmed bamboo.
If you live anywhere near southampton and fancy digging out some bits to get you going let me know.

Ours consisted of 5 stems a foot or so high when we put them in 4 years ago and now they are 12-15 foot with 100s of fantastic black stems.

olly300

OP best bet is to find someone with some like ukjoel as they will be happy to give you some.

dogstarheaven

ukjoel wrote: »

We have a couple of phylistaccis nigra which is the black stemmed bamboo.
If you live anywhere near southampton and fancy digging out some bits to get you going let me know.

Ours consisted of 5 stems a foot or so high when we put them in 4 years ago and now they are 12-15 foot with 100s of fantastic black stems.

there aren't ppl like him in my life:o but as he's in southampton (my DD fave footie team - would that help?:D) he's a tad too far for me to travel by train:( as I would glad come down and take a division off you this autumn/spring. I'll have to make some friends/or join a gardening society then!
the black bamboo I've seen is the cheapest so far and that is in B&Q at £14 or something. I may just wait till the end of season, and see what I'll find in the clearance section... here's hoping:beer:. I've looked at some bamboo sites online and I've seen some real beauties on there - one curious one is incense bamboo

Phyllostachys atrovaginata
The Incense Bamboo. Quick, thick culmed bamboos which tapers in at the top making it appear shorter. Lush green culms pale to a creamy matt green when mature. Occasional red tints on the sunny side. Grows well in wetter conditions and has a sandlewood like scent. grows to 6m when mature.


Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Lama Tempel'
Rare. Similar to aureosulcata f. aureocaulis but a richer yellow with sporadic green striping. A very stocky habit with plenty of leaf at the top and canes visible below. Sun, shade or moonlight, this plant will always glow. Occasionally kinky zig zagged canes. Grows to 3-4m when mature. The 3L are short and juvenile....

ooh, don't you just love 'em!! l adore plants, they're my life:D:D:D

ps. ukjoel: i would love to swap with you/or pay you if you don't mind sending me a little plant. PM me if you're interested. I grow all my veg/and some flowers from seed, and always have plenty spare in spring. or seedswap:D . i know, I am desperate!:rotfl:

olly300

OP it would help if you put your location in your profile as someone near by could see your plea.

pipz_2

hi, join your local online freecycle or freegle group and put in a request, i did that for bamboo and had about 5 offers! of course most of them want you to dig it up yourself from their plants but it means you can get an established plant that is quite tall. i did buy 10 seeds for black bamboo on ebay, i havent planted them yet and i will be interested to see if anything happens as i have since read that it is very difficult to grow it from seed.
i hope ive helped a bit, good luck

katiel

J Parker are offering black bamboo at £7.95 for a 2L pot BUT a lot of people on here would say don't touch that company with a barge pole. I've ordered a few things from them and quality is definitely a bit hit and miss, but I've been mostly able to retrieve sad arrivals. If you go for their offers, be ready with the TLC.

dogstarheaven

pipz wrote: »

hi, join your local online freecycle or freegle group and put in a request, i did that for bamboo and had about 5 offers! of course most of them want you to dig it up yourself from their plants but it means you can get an established plant that is quite tall. i did buy 10 seeds for black bamboo on ebay, i havent planted them yet and i will be interested to see if anything happens as i have since read that it is very difficult to grow it from seed.
i hope ive helped a bit, good luck

thanks for the tip! i've not had any success with my wanted posts from my local freegle group, altho' plenty of my offering plants to plenty of ppl (about 6 this yr, and coz i got carried away with the idea of giving plants, i gave more than they had asked!)

katiel: hmm, I've ordered a load of bulbs from JParkers last yr, and they came thru' really well, altho' it was my first order.. I'm tempted by the cheapness of the bamboo, so i'll think on it.. thanks!:beer: