Flowering Bamboo in the UK ?

Hi -

About 2 years ago I bought a black bamboo (I assume it is P. Nigra
from a local nursery.

It had lost quite a few leaves this winter, and now it seems to b
opening up again but it looks to me like it may be flowering - and I'
appreciate any experts opinion.

This is my first post and first attempt to insert a photo - so her
goes.


[image
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...oo/bamboo3.jpg

--
Mr Whippy

That does appear to be flowering... But the purple tint doesn't look
like either of my Ph. Nigra. Is the color off a little in the photo?
Also, all of the Phyllostachys genus have only two prominent branches
at each node. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like I
see one with three or more. Phyllostachys sometimes develop branches
that appear to be a third branch coming from a node, but are actually
branches that are shooting off of one of the two main branches very
close to the main culm... Could this be what I am seeing?

Are any of the culms (even perhaps very thin or short original ones
from when you bought it) ebony black?

known to be flowering around the world now. But this is a clumper with
a purple / blue tint... Very different from a Ph. nigra all around.

Confirmation would be nice, as if your bamboo really is Ph. Nigra it's
going to be bad (but useful) information for a lot of people!

HumanJHawkins Wrote:

Hi -

Thanks very much for the reply.

When I bought it, it was just labelled "Black Bamboo" - I just assume
it was P. Nigra at the time but having never seen one in the flesh
have nothing to compare it to. (I'm pretty new to Bamboo). Only no
that it is flowering have I started looking on the 'net in mor
detail.

None of the culms are "ebony" black, I would describe them as very dar
brown with maybe a hint of purple (esp when viewed in direct sunlight.
I have counted some nodes with 3 (and maybe more) branches, the ridge
at the nodes are much paler than the culms. (as you can see - almos
white)

When it put new culms up last year, they were almost imediatley black
dark brown, I remember thinking at the time that they should be comin
up green for the first season, then turning black later and I though
it was odd.

Culms are fairly thin and whip like, and bend over quite considerabl
at the top. The wind blows it all over the place. When I bought it i
was in a 8 inch pot with about 3 canes 4 ft tall, and several smale
ones. It now has about 10 canes at 5 - 6 ft tall and has hardl
expanded at all from it's base - where it's pot would have been.

The colour on the photo is pretty close - I took it in full sunligh
and there's definetly purple in there.

(some more photos - )
[image
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...o/bamboo6.jpg]

[image
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...o/bamboo5.jpg]

[image
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...o/bamboo4.jpg]

[image
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...o/bamboo2.jpg]

So I can safely assume it's not P. Nigra then........
That would explain a few things. Thanks again for the reply.

I'll have a read up on Fargesia nitida then and see if that looks lik
the culprit.

Any more opinions welcome .....

Cheers - Dave

--
Mr Whippy

Mr Whippy wrote:

Hmmm... F. nitida doesn't get black like that. But Ph. nigra doesn't
either. It is clearly a bamboo that I have no experience with. There
are some tropical bamboos that get black. Perhaps it is one of them.

Do you have cold winters? If so, how does it handle them?

HumanJHawkins Wrote:

Winter temps here in the UK may go as low as -10 celcius but rarely an
only for short spells. The temp in Jan is probably between - 3 and +
deg C most of the time.

Because I assumed it was P. Nigra when I bought it I did a litl
reading up and it said - does best in full sun, so I planted it in on
of the sunniest parts of my garden. In the middle of summer it wil
probably get 9 hours of direct sun per day.

It seems from what I have read that the nitidia normally prefers som
shade and I found this page - [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
that shows the nitida flower (very similar to mine, maybe more open bu
very similar colouring) It also says "When grown where the sun can reac
the culms, they turn an attractive purplish color."

Some of the photos on that site show dark coloured culms - especiall
the photos of the new seedlings.

Maybe that is it then ....... ? What do you think ?

Another question - It has just started to show it's flowers in the las
2 weeks, there are obviously more still to emerge, but roughly how lon
will it be before I can start to consider collecting some seeds ? Week
? Months ?

Do you have any idea of the chances of survival of the parent (assumin
it is F. nitidia that is ?)

I appreciate the help & advice - I'm building my bamboo brain !
If you want some seeds leave me your address and I'll mail them t
you.

Cheers - Dave.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] - loose the bamboo

--
Mr Whippy

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!


Mr Whippy wrote:

HumanJHawkins Wrote:

Thanks again for the tips & information !

The only thing that suprises me is that I'll have to wait till 2007 t
plant them !

Some of the web pages I have come accross say that germination rate
drop sharply if the seed is stored for any length of time, and recomen
to plant when the seed is as fresh as possible. I can see why you say t
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
few as soon as I collect them, as an experiment, and pop the rest i
the fridge till early spring. If I can get any to germinate straigh
after collection, I'll put them under artificial light indoors ove
winter until I can get them in the greenhouse.
I did this as an experiment this year to try and get some earl
tomatoes. I planted some gardeners delight just before Christmas, gre
them under artificial light till early Feb, (20W energy saver bulb
then grew them on the windowsill and I've just released them int
growbags in the greenhouse this weekend. They already have their firs
flowers and some very small fruit. It will be intresting to see ho
they go on.

If I can raise 10 - 12 bamboo plants I'll be happy, I'll keep 3 or
myself and give the rest to friends. I'll try selling the remainder o
the seeds on ebay, but only once I've had germination sucess. I'll onl
sell them if I'm happy they are viable. I've got my feedback to thin
about !

I have a warming mat - but it's intended for homebrew wine! . It'
about the same size as a small seed tray, and I expect the tempratur
will be pretty close.

As for the parent, I'm dosing it with 2 litres of lawn fertiliser ever
2 weeks. If it dies - it dies. It's only a small plant but it would b
nice if I could save it.


--
Mr Whippy