Preserving the color

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Hey all,

 

I have some black bamboo and I have built a couple of things with it, but it always loses its color.  I have tried an preservative oil, but that didn’t work.  Would polyurethane be better?  Anyone with any experience or suggestions? 

 

Thanks for your time and help.

Andrew H

Tampa, FL

Zone 9b

[hermine]

At 10:59 AM 2/11/2009, Andrew Hendrickson wrote:

Hey all,
 
I have some black bamboo and I have built a couple of things with it, but it always loses its color.  I have tried an preservative oil, but that didn't work.  Would polyurethane be better?  Anyone with any experience or suggestions? 

I make lots of stuff from all kinds of bamboo and have learned to FAKE IT. Yes, i make my own bamboo black with paints and in several layers, so it is mock but very good faux. I have also turned oldhamii into vulgaris vittata using paint. because vulgaris vittata just fades to brown/grey.

ALSO if you buff black bamboo on a wheel, experimenting with different grades of abrasive, you may uncover a layer of colour which is attractive to you. give that a try. use different ages of bamboo, they will look different.

your mileage may vary.

I use a clear acrylic medium and tint it with whatever acrylic artist paints i have lying around. experiment on pieces of bamboo you have lying around.

I confess, i have no special desire to preserve the natural appearance, ALTHOUGH i like that ALSO.

hermine
ps you should see my fake vulgaris vittata!

[hermine]

At 10:59 AM 2/11/2009, Andrew Hendrickson wrote:

Hey all,
 
I have some black bamboo and I have built a couple of things with it, but it always loses its color.  I have tried an preservative oil, but that didn't work.  Would polyurethane be better?  Anyone with any experience or suggestions? 

[outlo...@yahoo.com]

Try burning, (burnishing) it with a blow torch or fast and furious
FIRE!. Then seal it with wax or try a wood sealer that will soak into
the wood, one that you can rub in and polish out.

On Feb 11, 1:59 pm, "Andrew Hendrickson" <ahend...@tampabay.rr.com>
wrote:

[Roy Rogers]

>From: hermine <her...@endangeredspecies.com>

>I make lots of stuff from all kinds of bamboo and have learned to FAKE IT.

Here’s some of my fakes:

http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/Tinted_Culms_rack.jpg
http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/TintedCulm2.jpg
http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/TintedCulms1.jpg


------------------

Roy Rogers (Tampa, Florida, USA)

[Andrew Hendrickson]

The oil I used before was a wood sealer, I may give some polyurethane a try,
I am going to rebuild a deer knocker that I created a good while back, and
want the black color to stick around this time.

Thanks for the info.

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.19/1939 - Release Date: 02/07/09
13:39:00

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Hermine,

 

With my oldhamii I like the look it gets as it ages, but with the black I wanted to keep some of the natural color.

 

Thanks for the different ideas.

 

Andy

 

From: Florida...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Florida...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of hermine
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:20 PM
To: Florida...@googlegroups.com; florida...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Preserving the color

 

At 10:59 AM 2/11/2009, Andrew Hendrickson wrote:

No virus found in this incoming message.

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Roy,

 

Those are great…what did you use?  Or is that a secret. 

 

Also, for all those people out there building things, what is the best way/longest lasting way to secure bamboo together say to make a box shape?

 

Thanks,

Andy H

Tampa, FL

 

 

From: Florida...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Florida...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Roy Rogers
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:28 PM
To: Fl.boo@Google
Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Preserving the color

 

>From: hermine <her...@endangeredspecies.com>

 

No virus found in this incoming message.

[Roy Rogers]

I sanded and sanded, then I sanded some more.  Then I used wood stain to stain, and stain, and then stain some more until I got the color I wanted.  Then I used some hand wiping polygloss on it to give it a shine.  Works greats, but a lot of work.  Plus I have a lot of different stains cans in my garage left over.

Bamboo is difficult to stain.  But that’s what makes it great as a flooring.

------------------

Roy Rogers (Tampa, Florida, USA)

---

From: Andrew Hendrickson <ahen...@tampabay.rr.com>
Reply-To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:32:12 -0500
To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Preserving the color

Roy,
 
Those are great…what did you use?  Or is that a secret.  
 
Also, for all those people out there building things, what is the best way/longest lasting way to secure bamboo together say to make a box shape?
 
Thanks,
Andy H
Tampa, FL
 
 

[hermine]

http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/Tinted_Culms_rack.jpg
http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/TintedCulm2.jpg
http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts/TintedCulms1.jpg

GAWJISS!  it looks like patent leather/lacquer!

herm

[hermine]

At 11:32 AM 2/11/2009, Andrew Hendrickson wrote:

Roy,
 
Those are great…what did you use?  Or is that a secret. 
 
Also, for all those people out there building things, what is the best way/longest lasting way to secure bamboo together say to make a box shape?
 

i age the bamboo so that it gets pretty done with cracking which some does a great deal. i have roped things together, or drilled a hole through things and inserted wires. bamboo seems to reject GLUE. if i use screws I drill big pilot holes because it CRACKS much more than wood. I have no orthodoxy to satisfy and have screwed bamboo to lumber, for example.  WHATEVER WORKS. I built a whole king size bed with an eight food headboard out of bamboo with LUMBER. i cannot find a place in the bedroom to get far enough from it to photograph it. and it is full of dogs right now. i also rub the bamboo with acetone to get rid of its natural wax, which persists even if the bamboo is aged like rough driftwood, to keep it from rejecting paints and other substances.  I am thinking of charring it slightly when I get around to it.

herm

[hermine]

At 11:32 AM 2/11/2009, Andrew Hendrickson wrote:

Roy,
 
Those are great…what did you use?  Or is that a secret. 
 
Also, for all those people out there building things, what is the best way/longest lasting way to secure bamboo together say to make a box shape?
 

[hermine]

At 11:36 AM 2/11/2009, you wrote:

I sanded and sanded, then I sanded some more.  Then I used wood stain to stain, and stain, and then stain some more until I got the color I wanted.  Then I used some hand wiping polygloss on it to give it a shine.  Works greats, but a lot of work.  Plus I have a lot of different stains cans in my garage left over.

AND YOU MADE SOMETHING WHICH LOOKS LIKE THE BEST PVC IN THE WORLD!

seriously, it DID have the look of several thousand coats of stuff, with much hand massage in between like a KUSTOM KAR KOMMANDO KINDA paint job.
it does reject sucking up stain, VERY HARD to get that translucent lacquer look. This is why I fake it by painting it white, and glazing over that with clear acrylic varnish to which colour has been added. to cover up the nasty colour sucking grey underneath. the fake vulgaris vittata, I do by painting with white undercoat and then I use General Motors 1976 Corvette Yellow, and then some kind of kelly green paint applied with a brush, freehand. i use scotchbrite super rough to smooth the surface first after a very thorough wipe down with nasty lacquer thinner solvent and I do wear my Darth Vader US Army poison mask when I use this stuff.

I also have lots of bamboo to go through to select for these projects and i bring it into the house where it stands in the bathroom corner and falls over, nearly killing people regularly.  I figure that for thousands of years the traditional methods of using bamboo have been done and it is unlikely that I will contribute anything to an ancient methodology. I DO have some traditional japanese bamboo working tools but i keep them wrapped in oil soaked rags and take them out and look at them from time to time, and put them back.

I am not going to get to be a Japanese Bamboo Master or a maker of tea whisks. no. I accept that!

GENERALLY woody things take up a water soluble stain better than an oil or solvent soluble stain, by the way, tho they are much more difficult to use.

hermine

[Steve Stamper]

For black bamboo from any species, I (sand 1^st ) & use black shoe polish.  Shines up quite nicely.

Steve

 

 

 

[hermine]

At 12:30 PM 2/11/2009, you wrote:

For black bamboo from any species, I (sand 1^st ) & use black shoe polish.  Shines up quite nicely.
Steve

Shoe polish is EXCELLENT for not restoring furniture with tiny imperfections. also melted crayons.

hermine
(this is a form of cheating)

[Roy Rogers]

From: hermine <her...@endangeredspecies.com>

Shoe polish is EXCELLENT for not restoring furniture with tiny imperfections. also melted crayons.

hermine
(this is a form of cheating)

Cheating?  Not as long as you are honest about your cheating.   Then it becomes artistic expression.  :-)

[hermine]

(this is a form of cheating)

Cheating?  Not as long as you are honest about your cheating.   Then it becomes artistic expression.  :-)

well, i am compelled artistically to make things as permanent as the EGYPTIAN STUFF. so whenever I used  impermanent materials i feel deep permeating guilt, which persists to this day. if you read  Ralph Mayers ARTIST'S HANDBOOK.  Which is to say every time I use pigments which are only commercially "permanent" and not permanent like "cave painting permanent" I become horribly guilt-ridden, even it the object i am making is itself not designed to outlast the pyramids.

i do not know how many of you know that i am a painter, that my whole life, education etc is in the fine arts. But this is where this all comes from. the making of THINGS is a spinnoff from painting/sculpture and some of the furniture I have made, nobody is allowed to USE it for ANYTHING.

yes, i am daffy this way.

herm

[Phillip J. Stager]

Andrew-

 

What species?  I have the Gigantachloa atroviolacea in my yard and have harvested the mature culms which are about 2 inches in diameter.  To maintain a shiny like new look, I use Minwax paste furniture polish for interior use.  I have a few ten year old++ culms of Phylostachus nigra, probably henon var, that are still nice and black.  No, I do not grow this stuff but tried it as a pot plant waaay back when.

 

Phil Stager

in sunny St. Pete

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Phil,

 

It is a start of your gigantachloa atroviolacea, the problem is that I am using it outside where it gets some afternoon sun, so I don’t think the minwax will work, but I am going to set up a couple of test pieces.  I also have a pot of the phylostachus nigra that I got from a guy in California, it doesn’t do real well, but it is alive.

 

Thanks

Andrew H

Tampa, FL

 

From: Florida...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Florida...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Phillip J. Stager
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 5:37 PM
To: Florida...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Preserving the color

 

Andrew-

<BR

[Tom Harlow]

I thought this list was in a vegetative state. I guess it's just been a long dry season before the rains that initiate growth.   --Tom

[Carole Meckes]

I like to heat up the black bamboo with a heat gun (or you can use a propane torch).

Heat it up and rub it quickly with a lint free rag and it brings out the natural waxes and gives a beautiful luster on the bamboo.

It really transforms a greyish looking Phyllostachys nigra.

It will eventually fade outdoors but will look great for a while.

Carole Meckes

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Yeah, I had to check and see if I was still subscribed to this list before I posted.  I have my house on a garden tour in April and so I have to get my deer knocker/chaser working again and try to blacken it up some.

 

Later

Andrew H

Tampa, FL

 

From: Florida...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Florida...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Tom Harlow

Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 8:48 PM
To: Florida...@googlegroups.com

[Roy Rogers]

From: Andrew Hendrickson <ahen...@tampabay.rr.com>

Yeah, I had to check and see if I was still subscribed to this list before I posted.  I have my house on a garden tour in April and so I have to get my deer knocker

/chaser working again and try to blacken it up some.
-----

Yea, I had to make a “dear knocker” out of a piece of Clone X to keep my wife in line!

[Andrew Hendrickson]

Oh if it was only that easy….

 

How about a teen knocker?  Would that even do any good?

 

Andrew H

Tampa, FL

 

From: Florida...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Florida...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Roy Rogers

Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 9:02 PM
To: Fl.boo@Google

No virus found in this incoming message.

[BR R]

Haven't you heard?
I don't think jesting references to "My wife ..." or "My husband ..." are considered acceptable as brunts of humor
anymore .... least of all when paired with implied corporal punishment, etc.

BR

---

Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:01:50 -0500

Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Thanks for the Q&As

From: jrog...@tampabay.rr.com
To: Florida...@googlegroups.com

---

Windows Live™: E-mail. Chat. Share. Get more ways to connect. Check it out.

[Roy Rogers]

From: BR R <mma...@hotmail.com>

Haven't you heard?
I don't think jesting references to "My wife ..." or "My husband ..." are considered acceptable as brunts of humor
anymore .... least of all when paired with implied corporal punishment, etc.

BR

There was no humor intended, just a statement of fact.  “Speak softly, but carry a big bamboo stick and there will be no corporal or general punishment”.  “Deterrence” is the name etched onto my bamboo stick!

((“or "My husband ..." are considered acceptable as brunts of humor
anymore ...”))
Have you seen any commercial advertisements in the last 10 years?  The husbands always the idiot and the wife is the clever one.

[Chuck]

Lighten up.......

 

It was a freakin' attempt at humor, which we all could

use at this time in our country.  I hope you've never heard

or laughed at Don Rickels or even Will Rogers.   

 

Chuck

[Ivan Hartley]

Hey Guy's

With this cold spell where there any suprises? Like did some of boos
take better than expected?

Like to add to my collection, I have a special spot for a Parkers Giant
when and if I can get one.
I want to get a "nana" if they take 24 f

Any other new boos that take cold 26F? I heard Validus does? Is it worth
getting?

Later, Ivan in Lithia, FL zone 9a

[Doug Perry]

Validus does pretty well with cold and is worth it if you have the space for it.  It's a little bendy the first few years, but it does seem to straighten out...but it needs room.

Malingensis is a real shiner in this category.  It's all of the things you love about ventricosa without the unmanageability.  Now, will it flower someday?  Probably in my lifetime, but it's tough and beautiful...

--
dougla...@gmail.com

[hermine]

At 06:24 AM 2/12/2009, Chuck wrote:

Lighten up.......
 
It was a freakin' attempt at humor, which we all could
use at this time in our country.  I hope you've never heard
or laughed at Don Rickels or even Will Rogers. 
 

it it is not politically incorrect, it probably is not funny.

sadism is the basis for all humour. don't take my word for it, do the research yourself.

herm

[hermine]

At 06:24 AM 2/12/2009, Chuck wrote:

Lighten up.......
 
It was a freakin' attempt at humor, which we all could
use at this time in our country.  I hope you've never heard
or laughed at Don Rickels or even Will Rogers. 
 

[Ivan Hartley]

I agree with you Doug, Malingensis is a superb boo in my area

I hope Roy has some little ones so I can plant some near my back neighbors fence line, it is a sweet boo
but I would like some big ones if they can take the cold in my area as well, I have the room

[Roy Rogers]

Ivan,

I usually a good number of the one gal. B. malingensis in pots, but I had one guy to buy all 60 of them and I really need to get out there and propagate some more one gal. ones.  I have a good number of 2 and 3 gal. sizes. And it you want to, I’m sure we could pop a big one out of the ground fairly easily.

The only thing I must warn you about, my B. maligensis is in the 50 foot range and not the typical 35 footers.  Of course a good haircut will help in hauling.

Roy Rogers

---

From: Ivan Hartley <ivanh...@att.net>
Reply-To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:14:39 -0500
To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Cold Weather

[Roy Rogers]

Doug Perry,

I hear you are trying to start up a Sarasota Bamboo Society.  Have any details you would like to share with us?  I would be interested in knowing something about your plans.  I’m sure others on the list would also.

[Doug Perry]

Yes.  I am.  Details to follow.  But in the meantime...  

I have started a basic website (www.sarasotabamboo.org ) that has some of the details.

The first meeting is February 21, 10 AM at Selby Gardens.  I'll have a formal announcement on this group with details in just a day or two, and I'll have the details on what we'll be doing.  We will be touring the newly renovated bamboo are/koi pond at Selby Gardens as well.

This is a (woody) grass roots effort, so it will evolve.  I have had good local interest after an article was written about starting the society, so I expect a good turnout.

http://www.biz941.com/Articles/2009/01/True-Nature.asp 

I'll post the details in a couple of days (agenda, etc.) to the group.  

Thanks Roy!

-doug

--
dougla...@gmail.com

[douglasperry]

Really, 50 feet? Anyone heard of that south of Tampa?
I'm beginning to think the colder weather is helpful to the height (or
heat is limiting to the growth) of certain bamboos. There has been
some discussion about whether B. textilis Kanapha will actually reach
its recorded size south of G'ville and Tampa...that it just doesn't
get cold enough.

I have a young maligensis that will definitely give me trouble if it
reaches more than 35 feet...

-doug

On Feb 12, 5:24 pm, Roy Rogers <jroge...@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> Ivan,
>
> I usually a good number of the one gal. B. malingensis in pots, but I had
> one guy to buy all 60 of them and I really need to get out there and
> propagate some more one gal. ones.  I have a good number of 2 and 3 gal.
> sizes. And it you want to, I¹m sure we could pop a big one out of the ground
> fairly easily.
>
> The only thing I must warn you about, my B. maligensis is in the 50 foot
> range and not the typical 35 footers.  Of course a good haircut will help in
> hauling.
>
> Roy Rogers
>

> From: Ivan Hartley <ivanhart...@att.net>
> Reply-To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:14:39 -0500
> To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Cold Weather
>
> I agree with you Doug, Malingensis is a superb boo in my area
>
> I hope Roy has some little ones so I can plant some near my back neighbors
> fence line, it is a sweet boo
> but I would like some big ones if they can take the cold in my area as well,
> I have the room
>
> Doug Perry wrote:
> > Validus does pretty well with cold and is worth it if you have the space for
> > it.  It's a little bendy the first few years, but it does seem to straighten
> > out...but it needs room.
>
> > Malingensis is a real shiner in this category.  It's all of the things you
> > love about ventricosa without the unmanageability.  Now, will it flower
> > someday?  Probably in my lifetime, but it's tough and beautiful...
>

> > On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 9:56 AM, Ivan Hartley <ivanhart...@att.net> wrote:
>
> >> Hey Guy's
>
> >>  With this cold spell where there any suprises? Like did some of boos
> >> take better than expected?
>
> >> Like to add to my collection, I have a special spot for a Parkers Giant
> >> when and if I can get one.
> >> I want to get a "nana" if they take 24 f
>
> >> Any other new boos that take cold 26F? I heard Validus does? Is it worth
> >> getting?
>
> >> Later, Ivan in Lithia, FL zone 9a
>
> > --

> >  douglaspe...@gmail.com

[Roy Rogers]

Maybe I'll see if I can get a picture posted tomorrow of the clump. I think
I can stand back far enough to get a decent picture. Hope I remember to do
that tomorrow and I'll post a link here. I'll put the picture at
Bambooweb.info.

BTW: What does "not get cold enough" have to do with tropical bamboos?
Temperate bamboos yes, but I've never heard that about tropical bamboos.

Roy

[hermine]

At 06:07 PM 2/12/2009, you wrote:

Really, 50 feet?  Anyone heard of that south of Tampa?
I'm beginning to think the colder weather is helpful to the height (or
heat is limiting to the growth) of certain bamboos.  There has been
some discussion about whether B. textilis Kanapha will actually reach
its recorded size south of G'ville and Tampa...that it just doesn't
get cold enough.

no science to back this up, but i have a feeling that textilis requires some winter chill to reach max potential.

the feeling is backed up by how of all the clumping tropicals, it does best here in CA where we DO have an annoyingly chilly winter.

hermine

[Ivan Hartley]

Roy, sorry to hear your are out of 1 gallon plants,  but I sure would like to screen off part my back neighbors yard.
I have a mature B. malingensis you sold me some years ago, if it is 50 feet tall its stretching it, but its sure not 35 ether.
and l agree with Doug, its a much better looking boo than ventricosa

Roy I do not buy mature plants, I buy the cheapest little boos I can get.
What I meant to say is I am looking for new Timber bamboo species that can take 24-26f
My Asper of 10 years has been a big disappointment.

Looking for Parkers, Nana and Validus if they take 26f without problems. If you have these for sale Roy let me know.
Looking of any other uncommon species that can survive and thrive in 9a Florida zone.

Chuck is the only one I know suffers similar cold spells as myself, I am further south but more inland so I might have longer cold times than him.




Roy Rogers wrote:

Ivan,

I usually a good number of the one gal. B. malingensis in pots, but I had one guy to buy all 60 of them and I really need to get out there and propagate some more one gal. ones.  I have a good number of 2 and 3 gal. sizes. And it you want to, I’m sure we could pop a big one out of the ground fairly easily.

The only thing I must warn you about, my B. maligensis is in the 50 foot range and not the typical 35 footers.  Of course a good haircut will help in hauling.

Roy Rogers

---

From: Ivan Hartley <ivanh...@att.net>
Reply-To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:14:39 -0500
To: <Florida...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Florida-Bamboo] Re: Cold Weather

I agree with you Doug, Malingensis is a superb boo in my area

I hope Roy has some little ones so I can plant some near my back  fence line, it is a sweet boo

but I would like some big ones if they can take the cold in my area as well, I have the room


Doug Perry wrote:

[Roy Rogers]

From: Ivan Hartley <ivanh...@att.net>

Looking for Parkers, Nana and Validus if they take 26f without problems. If you have these for sale Roy let me know.

-------

Ivan,

I have the Parker and Nana, but it will be a couple of years before I have any ready for sale.  I want to get a clump of each going in my yard before I start turning loose of either one of these.


Roy

[Ivan Hartley]

Do you know any good sources for them or do I need to wait till you have some available?
I will come by soon and buy some B. malingensis soon I hope

[Doug Perry]

Some of these taller bamboos might be stunted in these extreme heats while others do very well in them, and some like to be deprived of nutrients (and appear prettier to us) when they are....and of course, some really like a steady stream of nutrients and light...orchids, bamboo, bromeliads, you name it.  So I should have said it might get too hot, not so much that it doesn't get cold enough....thank you for keeping me straight.

I wonder whether signaling mechanisms for maximum growth might be connected to temperature based on what we observe about some bamboos, not just whether they die or not...as though a perfect range exists for maximum height.  I think of your maligensis (in a slightly colder zone than Sarasota), the textilis Kanapha (which doesn't seem to get 50' tall in coastal south Florida as far as I've seen), and Crowley's monster D. minor amoenus which has got to be close to 3.5" x 45' at this point (he's about 20 minutes inland from the coast-much colder).  Also, most of the bamboo at Fairchild in Miami looked rough and not even on it's way to reaching maximum heights (of course I accounted for previous years damage and the fact that it seemed like a pretty satly, marshy soil)..it was really blazing hot there and little or no canopy was nearby....but Miami is a tough place :).  

Yes, I have some temperate ground cover bamboos that look their best when they've had a good chill in that winter (and they certainly hate full, blazing sun).

Maybe temp extremes seem to define not only whether certain types of bamboo flourish, but just how well they flourish...and maybe heat is a limiting factor in some cases.  Of course, maybe, in the case of your malingensis, your're on some moist soil and give it the right fertilizer.  Or perhaps you just put out some good energy and talk to it enough :)

Hopefully someone with more botanical knowledge has some insight on this.  

It would also be helpful to know whether your malingensis is (1) on a nice semi-moist patch of soil (2) whether it's in the shade or near a canopy of an oak (the latter of which I also suspect draws water and moisture/nutrients towards it) and if you get frost for long (none hear in coastal Sarasota so far-Crowley probably did this year).

I ran into someone recently who observes that his happiest, tallest bamboos are really under shade most of the day.  I'm not sure I agree with this single observation.

-doug

--
dougla...@gmail.com

[Ivan Hartley]

I have grown Bamboo for almost 30 years and I yet know so little about it. I have only 6 common species that I have purchased over the years most From Roy.
I met Roy while visiting the Bamboo Show in Fairchild gardens many years ago 20? maybe? I always wanted a grove like the Oldhami at Shelby Gardens.

To answer you question I live on 3acres + all my adult life and most the Bamboo is near or on the drip line of the many Oaks I have on my place. You might be able to make out some of my boo on Google earth, buts its not too clear, the Oaks and Boo almost run together but you might catch the subtle differences in the green
The only thing I really do these 5 years I have been mulching them with aged sawdust/horse manure mixture.
I am 50 years old and would like to get a few more nice species to enjoy and cultivate in my last years.

Where is Crowley's and Tropical and what are the prices if I may ask?

[Robert Saporito]

On the subject of variable heights among the same bamboo species, I’m sure there are many environmental factors that have varying effects as I’ve seen the same species grow differently in many places worldwide.  I can absolutely verify that the number one factor in the overall height of bamboo is light.  They will stretch to reach the sun if they are in a competitive situation – especially if they are under a canopy where direct sunlight comes mostly from directly above and in relatively small patches (if I remember correctly, this is the case at Roy’s place).  In full sun, with no other bamboos or other trees close by, a tropical bamboo will send up numerous, shorter culms.  In lower light, they send up fewer but taller culms.  The fewer culms will, of course, be larger in diameter to support their height.

The subject species, Bambusa malingensis, never exceeds 35’ tall in the fields at my nursery (measured). They are in full sun, are spaced 15’ apart, and we have about 100 of them. All are on daily irrigation and are fertilized quarterly.

We have some field divided into 95 gallon containers at about 25’ tall.  Some of these containers , we’ve kept in full sun.  A few were sent to a local shadehouse which is 40’ tall to acclimate for interior applications.  The shade cloth is rated at 80% shade.  Within one year, the new shoots have hit the top of the shade cloth (40’).  Not only do they shoot taller culms (and not many of them), but low branching is almost non-existent.  All of this is very logical and consistent with the behavior of other plants in relatively low light.

Robert Saporito

[Ivan Hartley]

this is great information! thanks

[hermine]

At 11:50 AM 2/13/2009, Ivan Hartley wrote:

this is great information! thanks

i WOULD LOVE TO JOIN IN THIS BUT MY FINGERS ARE TOO COLD TO TYPE
HRM

[hermine]

At 11:50 AM 2/13/2009, Ivan Hartley wrote:

this is great information! thanks

[Robert Saporito]

 

http://www.bamboopalooza.com

 

March 14th