how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

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Eric
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how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by Eric »

I think I've read that moso is by far the most used timber bamboo in China, but what advantages does it have compared to Ph. bambusoides? I believe I've read that Ph. bambusoides grows straighter with even thicker (and presumably even stronger) walls. The internodes definitely appear longer on bambusoides, which seems like it would probably be desirable for most uses. If you were going to buy a truckload of large diameter bamboo poles for random uses on your homestead (i.e. if you ignored any of the differences in how they grow or other potential uses besides the poles), how would you compare the two species?
fredgpops
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by fredgpops »

Lived in Hong Kong for a few years and scaffolding of choice was Madake. Rgds
Eric
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by Eric »

Thanks, Fred. That more or less disproves the over-simplified accounts I've read about moso in bamboo nurseries' descriptions. Based on what I know about the attributes of madake and moso, madake does seem like it produces the superior poles for timber in every respect.

I'm going to go dig up a piece of madake rhizome this morning. The friend I know with a stand of madake said there aren't any small culms in his stand, so hopefully I can get a piece of rhizome to grow.
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by needmore »

But I wonder if one can not grow Moso in Hong Kong so I would interpret that as Madake has pretty awesome culms good enough for any serious use but in comp to Moso I don't think you have the answer yet.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
fredgpops
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by fredgpops »

Moso is used for flooring and decking. Have heard of problems re bamboo flooring but not sure it was moso based flooring. My guess is the attributes of both are pretty comparable. The acid test is thickness of the walls. Rgds
fredgpops
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by fredgpops »

Just saw data on moso that it does not reach max potential in zones less than 7. Height is less than 1/2 of warmer zones. Rgds
Eric
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Re: how do moso poles compare to Ph. bambusoides ?

Post by Eric »

I'm in z7 NC, so I think I'm in a pretty good area for both moso and madake. The man that let me dig up the madake lives quite close to me, and he has both mature moso and madake. Both have grown to at least 60' tall for him (and so presumably can for me here, too.) I brought home one random madake pole cut into pieces (so I could fit in the back of my pickup) and laid the pieces back together again when I got home. I left everything from the first branch up in the grove, but the pieces from below the first branch measured 36-1/2' long, and there were bigger culms in the grove than that one. High branching seems like another very desirable trait in a timber bamboo. I planted the madake 20' from my moso, and my moso already has a 4 year head start. I'm thinking I'll let them grow together for now and if I find that I like one better than the other, I'll keep harvesting all of the one for shoots and poles until the other chokes it out. Does that sound like a plan that could work?
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