jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 19, 2015 9:23:28 GMT -5
Bory or snake skin bamboo   Henon or blue bamboo  Castilon bamboo  Vivax bamboo  |
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Apr 19, 2015 11:51:00 GMT -5
I like it.The electric company cleared a 20 foot wide swath through my bamboo stand,right through the center of it,that was under the power lines.Still have enough left! Around 38 years it has been growing and spreading.
snuffy
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 19, 2015 16:38:55 GMT -5
Always did like bamboo.....................
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 19, 2015 20:58:35 GMT -5
I like it.The electric company cleared a 20 foot wide swath through my bamboo stand,right through the center of it,that was under the power lines.Still have enough left! Around 38 years it has been growing and spreading. snuffy Most power companies avoid clearing it snuffy. Lots of bean poles  |
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Apr 19, 2015 22:03:41 GMT -5
A very cool "grass", thats for sure. We do not see it in Montana, but I have a friend who has managed to get some to grow in his yard. Sorry, I have no idea what kind it may be, as I have not even seen it, just taken his word for it.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 6:05:00 GMT -5
A very cool "grass", thats for sure. We do not see it in Montana, but I have a friend who has managed to get some to grow in his yard. Sorry, I have no idea what kind it may be, as I have not even seen it, just taken his word for it. These bamboos are from one of over 1400 species. There must be at least 50 in this one family, and they vary in their hardiness to a degree. The coldest may be -20F. But the other 1400 vary greatly in their hardiness. Some are from high altitudes and can handle extreme cold. Others must stay above 35F or even hotter. -2F wiped out one variety last year and made a mess. Many varieties set seed every 60 or 120 years. When they do set seed the above ground canes die. Oddly, when a particular variety does set seed the above ground canes die. Anywhere and everywhere that particular one is planted. The above Castilon seeded out about 30 years ago and it took years for the roots to re establish groves, world wide. |
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Post by snowmom on Apr 20, 2015 6:08:03 GMT -5
not sure if there is bamboo that would grow at the 45th parallel, I saw huge stands of it when visiting texas and Arkansas in years past and was a bit jealous. All that free material for trellis and shade structures, crafts and etc. Here I suppose non native phragmites grow where bamboo would. that is invasive and quite a problem for this area. So much of the stuff you all grow in the warmer climates seem so exotic!
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Post by snowmom on Apr 20, 2015 6:10:52 GMT -5
I had heard that about various bamboo species setting seed and dying at the same time. I wonder what the ecological or natural advantages of such a life cycle would be? All things that depended on it for survival would perish, or adapt to other species. fascinating stuff.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 6:32:56 GMT -5
I had heard that about various bamboo species setting seed and dying at the same time. I wonder what the ecological or natural advantages of such a life cycle would be? All things that depended on it for survival would perish, or adapt to other species. fascinating stuff. I have had two varieties seed out. It does exactly what they say-it dies, except the roots. Devastating to bamboo farmers. It has another odd behavior, at least the family that I grow. It reaches full height in 30 days, a cycle of the moon. Never grows another inch after that. So a 60 foot tall variety like Henon, Bory and Vivax above will grow 2 feet a day for a month. Pretty darn fast. It is shooting now. Of the 30 types I have they will start up over the next 2 months, some earlier than others. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 6:38:04 GMT -5
Some semi-sweet Vivax starting up on it 30 day journey to full size:  Harvested some shoots for dinner fare:  P. Dulcis, the sweetest tasting bamboo never makes it too the dinner table thanks to the sweet tooth deer:  |
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Post by snowmom on Apr 20, 2015 6:46:31 GMT -5
hah, competition for dinner. bamboo is just so unique and interesting. amazing stuff.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 6:53:06 GMT -5
This is a stand of Henon. Yellowed to the left because it is growing on a plate of granite bedrock and lacks nutrients. Water coming out of pipe pretty much runs year round. It is piped from a spring 2000 feet away and captured in this pond. This pond serves as a gravity feed water source laying above plant nursery. The water has been flowing out of that pipe for 25 years.  Walking past the gang mower and turning left thru the Henon:  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 6:57:22 GMT -5
hah, competition for dinner. bamboo is just so unique and interesting. amazing stuff. The deer are feeding their babies and have a voracious appetite at this time. They are bold at this time of year. I park tractor/truck/ATV/trailers near plant stock, anything I can to dissuade them from eating my stock. Motion detectors the turn flood lamps and boom boxes on. Trip wires that set of booms. They are a challenge. |
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Post by snowmom on Apr 20, 2015 7:02:25 GMT -5
tasty, though!  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 7:05:16 GMT -5
tasty, though! Yes the meat is Vegetable to meat conversion. The deer taste much better when eating fresh greens during the warm season as opposed to the bitter acorns in the winter. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,590
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Post by jamesp on Apr 20, 2015 7:08:22 GMT -5
Another view of gravity feed pond, nursery below, larger storage pond below. All stair cased:  |
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