Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

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bambuda
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by bambuda »

Steve--Agree with you that the murielae seedlings are slower. Others, like Fargesia yunnanensis are much faster. I have about five feet high after one year. And if I would have started right away in a larger pot, I think it would have been larger still. (--wonder if the species will be eventually relegated to the genus Borinda or maybe Yushania....)

As for the taxon, spathaceus, I think the conflict is with murielae, not nitida.
Tarzanus
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Tarzanus »

bambuda wrote:Steve--Agree with you that the murielae seedlings are slower. Others, like Fargesia yunnanensis are much faster. I have about five feet high after one year. And if I would have started right away in a larger pot, I think it would have been larger still. (--wonder if the species will be eventually relegated to the genus Borinda or maybe Yushania....)

As for the taxon, spathaceus, I think the conflict is with murielae, not nitida.
Can you post an image or two? I have Borinda fungosa and it did grow quite nicely, but it's not even close to five feet! It's a bit more than 25 inches tall, but it could most likely double that if not frost damaged this October. Culm diameter is around 0.35 inch. Next week it's going to be 12 months (whole year) old. I have it inside and I take it out on the sunny days with above freezing temperatures. It's branching out like crazy.


Two of the latest photos:
http://static.mojefotke.si/bec863d0b3a5 ... ba2402.JPG
http://static.mojefotke.si/5edd014ec0d3 ... 2a6fdd.JPG
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Paul Ont
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Paul Ont »

Bambuba- You may be correct, but, then I have to go back in my records to confirm...

Fargesia spatheca... Certainly not going to catch on quickly no matter what the taxonomists say! Anyway, I started some seeds, but as I am in the lab and greenhouse now (busy busy busy), and not at the garden, I have no idea if they have begun to sprout.
bambuda
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by bambuda »

Fargesia spatheca... Certainly not going to catch on quickly no matter what the taxonomists say! Anyway, I started some seeds, but as I am in the lab and greenhouse now (busy busy busy), and not at the garden, I have no idea if they have begun to sprout.
It used to be that there were only a handful of hardy clumping bamboos available in cultivation including Fargesia nitida, Fargesia murielae and Thamnocalamus spathaceus (as we called it). So we were willing to try growing from seed as it became available--- even though it was slow. This was in the eighties in the US, and Canada--at least in British Colombia--. Consequently, it has been more commonly available, until recently. The seedlings do seem to grow more slowly than other Fargesias I have tried.
Here is a picture of a Fargesia yunnanensis that is one year old:
Attachments
Culmsheath on a head high shoot
Culmsheath on a head high shoot
Here is a closeup of the branching emerging on a new culm
Here is a closeup of the branching emerging on a new culm
This is the overall look, now, and having been planted out about six months ago.
This is the overall look, now, and having been planted out about six months ago.
Tarzanus
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Tarzanus »

It looks like my could have be the same size if planted outside and without being frozen in the beginning of this autumn.

Leaf structure is almost the same as with my Borinda fungosa (ex. Fargesia), mine is also covered with tiny hair. It has sheaths that are quite a bit more persistent (B. fungosa), I'm not sure about all kinds of Fargesia, but as I've seen, most of them drop the sheath as soon as branches start appearing.

I'd say it's Borinda yunnanensis. I've also find German website with the same information. http://www.bambus-lexikon.de/borinda-yunnanensis.html
canadianplant
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by canadianplant »

Paul - Naming is going to be a problem LOL. According to the source I posted, is already accepted by some. Even if spathacea, is actually nitida, that is a bigger bonus for me. I know how hardy it is.

Tarzanus/bambuda - F yunannensis, got feet tall in ONE growing season?!?!

Also bambuda, refer to the links on page one that I posted. Spathacea has been confused with quite a few different bamboo apparently! I cant remember which link, but here is the general idea:

""I’m really sorry about this but it looks as though it will have to be goodbye nitida and hello spathacea. This time, however, we hope to be giving the name to the right bamboo, the Fountain Bamboo rather than the Umbrella Bamboo, and we will be putting it into the right genus, Fargesia instead of Thamnocalamus."""

So far The F Yunnanensis are far faster then the Borinda Fungosa seeds that sprouted around the same time. They sprouted rather fast as well, even after 3 weeks of being in the mail!!!
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Tarzanus »

canadianplant, Borinda fungosa I own, germinated in 9 days (second, much smaller and "crippled" one in less than 7 days). It is now around 1.5 feet high and could be twice as high because it lost all new shoots this fall. I'm quite convinced these shoots could be able to achieve 2.5 feet before they would start bending downwards because of heavy foliage and branches.

On the other hand, I have a seedling from the same batch of seeds and it's going nowhere. It's smaller than 3 months old Moso seedling after one year. I'm keeping it, because it shows signs of improvement and it's showing extreme signs of "weeping" characteristic.
Last edited by Tarzanus on Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
canadianplant
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by canadianplant »

Tarzanus wrote:canadianplant, Borinda fungosa I own, germinated in less than 7 days. It is now around 1.5 feet high and could be twice as high because it lost all new shoots this fall. I'm quite convinced these shoots could be able to achieve 2.5 feet before they would start bending downwards because of heavy foliage and branches.

On the other hand, I have a seedling from the same batch of seeds and it's going nowhere. It's smaller than 3 months old Moso seedling after one year. I'm keeping it, because it shows signs of improvement and it's showing extreme signs of "weeping" characteristic.

Ahh, sorry I read it too fast :D

My B Fungosa germinated around the same time as yours, give or take a few days, and more keep comming! Thats good to know about the growth from seed. I know what to expect. What size pot did you have your seedlings in? Mine are in the 750ml (about 6 cups) yogurt containers.
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Tarzanus »

canadianplant, I've created detailed diary with load of photos >here<.

750ml yogurt cup should be more than enough until spring (3 or 4 months). Make sure you drill drainage holes to the bottom of the container. I'd keep only one seedling in each of the cups - it will make it easy to transplant the bamboo when spring finally arrives. I've had it in shallow pot with around 25 cm (10 inch) diameter. Roots got quite strong and were poking out from drainage holes a lot. It's quite vigorous plant when it starts the engine. :D

I love the look of heavy foliage this bamboo makes. I love the color of the culms! That's one of the best looking bamboos as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps it's just because it's my first bamboo and my first seedling. :)

Here's a photo of small seedling's culm colored by some sun exposure. Culms that were red during the summer are now dark brown. Most of them are deep inside the clump, so photographing is almost impossible.
Image
ghmerrill
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by ghmerrill »

One characteristic of borinda are longitudinal ridges on the culm. Do you see that on this plant? The photos look like there are possibly some, but I can't tell for sure.
canadianplant
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by canadianplant »

Tarzanus - That is some decent growth for a year! If I have a similar experience (so far so good!) then im sure I will be ordering more seeds in the future. Ill post a few pics soon!

Also, question: How susceptable are the seedlings to drying out and over watering (compared to the "average" for plants)?
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Paul Ont
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Paul Ont »

Jesse- Don't let the seedlings dry out.

FYI my spatheca seeds have sprouted, so I should have many many Fargesia seedlings to plant into nursery beds this summer!
canadianplant
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by canadianplant »

Paul Ont wrote:Jesse- Don't let the seedlings dry out.

FYI my spatheca seeds have sprouted, so I should have many many Fargesia seedlings to plant into nursery beds this summer!

That is what I figured. I know some plants are prone to dampen off, and from what i have read, bamboo seedlings have a high mortality rate (cant find anything species specific though). They are still in the baggies, but the pots seem a bit light. Ill give em a good spray today!

Grats on the spathacea seed!!!! Mine seem to be growing quite well, but not as fast as the B Yunannensis, or even the B fungosa. Might be some proof that the seeds are actually F nitida, seeing as the seedlings of that species tend to grow slow (from what ive read at least). Its hard enough to find any info on spathacea anyways, let alone seedling growth rate!!!
canadianplant
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by canadianplant »

Here are some pics!!!

Fargesia (borinda) fungosa

Image
Image

Fargesia (borinda, sinarundinaria etc) Yunannensis:

Image

Fargesia spathacea (or possibly F Nitida)

Image
Tarzanus
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Re: Starting Fargesia Species from Seed.

Post by Tarzanus »

canadianplant wrote:Tarzanus - That is some decent growth for a year! If I have a similar experience (so far so good!) then im sure I will be ordering more seeds in the future. Ill post a few pics soon!

Also, question: How susceptable are the seedlings to drying out and over watering (compared to the "average" for plants)?
It seems to be much more resilient to over watering than Moso. It can also look quite dried out on the top layer of soil without signs of leaf curling. I didn't keep it dry when it came to that and can't say for sure, but it does seem to be quite resilient. I would try not to over water and rather let it dry out a bit before watering. If the soil seems dry and leaves are not curling, then I water it, if it's still looking moist enough, I leave it alone for some time. It was kept in mostly shaded location during the summer, because of it's leaf curling issues after being exposed to strong sunlight. I'm sure it could grow even more in better conditions.

Good luck with your seedlings!
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