1 gallon jiuzhaigou, scabrida, p. spectabilis, and Hale Tues

[BlackThumbNJ]

New to bamboo and gardening in general. I've kept this a secret from my snake plant and dracenea marginata and they never suspected a thing. Getting some 1 gallon plants on Tuesday.

Spectabilis and Hale will start in pots

Jiuzhaigou and Scabrida may go in the ground or in pots depending on my neighbor's issues with bamboo.

Zone 6a, east coast US.

I have read the general instructions from Bamboogarden(very nice experience so far with them).

I am planning for the Jiuzhaigou will get morning sun until noon, until 2 for the Scabrida, and until about 2:30-3 for the phyllostachys.

Any advice about planting, watering, favored soil, or fertilizer products is appreciated.

[Lazlo Woodbine]

[quote="BlackThumbNJ"]....

Jiuzhaigou and Scabrida may go in the ground or in pots depending on my neighbor's issues with bamboo.

quote]


Jiuzhaigou and Scabrida are both clumpers - so they won't bother your neighbours ...

Both lovely plants ..as are your phyllos ...

Welcome to the wonderful world of bamboo!

As a sign in local garden centre says ... 'Warning! Bamboos can seriously damage your relationship with other plants'


Laz

[BlackThumbNJ]

Thanks Laz,

I am really looking forward to growing these.

The Hale will go in the garage for Jan. and Feb., hope it can survive. I am not sure what the p. specticabiis can survive in a pot? I guess it can be covered or brought in while it's cold. Maybe an outdoor portable mini-greenhouse.

[moriphen]

The UPS guy may give you funny looks, just a heads up. Also we both are receiving orders from the same vendor on the same day.. Spooky...

I see you've thought out the sunlight requirements 6 hours is about the max for clumpers in our area. I would use a drip system to water your plants it greatly reduced my water bill. Don't plant your bamboo in manure use that as top dressing only, the root balls don't handle being covered in manure. Your PH should be in the 6.5 to 7 range and if you have no issues growing grass then it probably is at the level. Jiuzhaigou shoots late June, so you should see 1st year shoots if your lucky.

M

[Mike McG]

Hi BlackThumbNJ,

I presume you live in North West NJ? Kurt Stanwick lives in Stillwater, Sussex County NJ which he indicates is Zone 6a, but my guess is he is pushing the limit of of 6a there. He does not visit here that often any more but did post a couple of weeks ago. I am not sure if his plant list is up to date, but he did mention that his Ph nigra barely makes it through the winter.
See http://bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php? ... 817#p41817

My son lives in Parsippany NJ, which I think is also zone 6a and has a couple of Ph rubromarginata growing, although slowly, plus another bamboo that is most likely Ph nigra 'Henon' but could be Ph aurea. A number of other bamboo died but not necessarily because of winter. The area they are in sometimes has standing water after a heavy rain.

Mike McG near Brenham TX

[firemountain]

My Jiuzhaigou has been in the grond sine late summer of last year, and survived the winter just fine. It gets morning/early afternoon sun, then the rest shade.

As far as shooting goes, I already have about 5 new canes pushing through....and one is already about a foot tall....this was before I fertilized.

As far as the Scabrida goes......don't bother with them for our area. The Bamboo Garden told me that they would be fine here NJ.....so I purchased 14 Scabrida from them....big mistake!! I have had them now for 3 years.. and every year sofar I get about 80 % die back. Yes they do come back up and look great, but the size just isn't there. The Bamboo Garden says they are good to -20 deg. but they are not close. In my opinion....they are 0 deg. at best. I am actuall gonna try and pot them for a while, and then bring them inside for the winter and see how that works. Maybe if the root system gets larger enough, then maybe they can have the strength to survive our winter. In terms of clumpers, the F. Rufa and Jiuzhaigou are your best bet.

[Alan_L]

How did the Jiuzhaigou compare to Rufa in terms of leaf loss during the Winter for you?

[BlackThumbNJ]

Thanks everyone, very helpful. I see NJ is very well represented here.

Moriphen,

Is 6.5-7 the usual pH level in my area or do I need to test. Grass has not been grown or attempted in this area. Or do I need to test?

I was planning on Turf builder seeding soil or similar.

Dominick,

I live about 20 miles from you. I am sorry to here that about the Scabrida. -20 to 0 deg is a big discrepancy. Winter die back and small size is Ok for me, but I was hoping it would eventually hold a small bank, about 3x4' area. What growth did you get? Did you start with 1 gallon plants? They survived the first winter without a wrap or greenhouse?

Mike,

I live right near Parsippany. My nigra will go in the garage for winter and maybe the spectabilis also.

[firemountain]

My Jiuzhaigou only lost about 10 % of thier leaves....which have already started to re-leaf this season. I do not have any Rufa....but heard that they do very well. My Scabrida I have not given up on yet...but will pot them for a while and bring them in to avoid the leaf loss due to temp. and windburn. I may also replant them to a better site location to see how they fair out. Their colors are just amazing which is why I purchased them in the beginning.

[BlackThumbNJ]

Now that I look, Pingwu China looks to be quite a bit more mild than -20 deg F. I wonder why the -20 claim? Maybe the bamboo is from some place up a mountain or something.

[CadyG]

One thing about clumpers: You do have to calculate how much space to allow if you are planting on a boundary. Even though Fargesias are clumpers, they can make a clump with a large diameter, so give it space to allow for that or you may have to prune some culms to keep the clump from expanding under and past the fence and into the neighbor's lawn.

I have a scabrida next to a boundary fence, and I probably will have to move it or annually prune out culms to keep it from expanding next door.

[moriphen]

Thanks everyone, very helpful. I see NJ is very well represented here.

Moriphen,

Is 6.5-7 the usual pH level in my area or do I need to test. Grass has not been grown or attempted in this area. Or do I need to test?
.

That PH is fine

M

[needmore]

One thing about clumpers: You do have to calculate how much space to allow if you are planting on a boundary. Even though Fargesias are clumpers, they can make a clump with a large diameter, so give it space to allow for that or you may have to prune some culms to keep the clump from expanding under and past the fence and into the neighbor's lawn.

I have a scabrida next to a boundary fence, and I probably will have to move it or annually prune out culms to keep it from expanding next door.

Ditto, I moved 2 Rufa out of a planting of 5 this spring in order to have more appropriate spacing. I plan on planting a Fargesia hedge soon and will now plan on a spacing of about 10 feet apart minimum.