Australian Bamboo

[boonut]

I opened this discussion to hear from the Australian's out there. Bruce Purches with Bamboo Whitsunday has been posting some great pics.

I want to hear about some of the bamboo in Australia that we don't have here YET. I have heard about Dendrocalamus Maroochy, Black Brandisii, and some of the wonderful Gigantochloas available in Australia.

Which ones do you like and why? We want to see more pics...

I for one thank everyone that helped get Bambooweb up and running and contributing to the general knowledge of bamboo.

THis is GREAT!!!! You can visit Bruce's site at: http://www.bambooman.com.au/

[Roy]

I opened this discussion to hear from the Australian's out there. Bruce Purches with Bamboo Whitsunday has been posting some great pics.

I want to hear about some of the bamboo in Australia that we don't have here YET. I have heard about Dendrocalamus Maroochy, Black Brandisii, and some of the wonderful Gigantochloas available in Australia.

Which ones do you like and why? We want to see more pics...

I for one thank everyone that helped get Bambooweb up and running and contributing to the general knowledge of bamboo.

THis is GREAT!!!! You can visit Bruce's site at: http://www.bambooman.com.au/

Boonut,

Great minds think alot (and also alike). Yesterday, I was looking at some of the images that Bruce was uploading and I saw 2 bamboos that I can't quite understand why they have not been imported from Australia. It's not like you have to hack your way out in the "tropical wilds" and find these bamboos. They are already being grown in Australia:

GIGANTOCHLOA sp 'Rachel Carson' (59 ft X 3 in. 28 F)
<img src="http://www.bambooweb.info/images/bamboo ... -large.jpg" alt="GIGANTOCHLOA sp 'Rachel Carson'">


SCHIZOSTACHYUM zollingeri (40 ft X 2 inch 25 F)
<img src="http://www.bambooweb.info/images/bamboo ... ngerii.jpg" alt="SCHIZOSTACHYUM zollingeri ">

[serenityinbamboo]

They are some beautiful boo, I want them! (& about 1000 others) Let's start a petition and persuade them!

[Eastlandia]

Two days ago I was in Carins Australia. I flew home and now I'm in Iowa. I have severe Jet-lag, however I wanted to say that I was very disappointed in the little Australian bamboo that I saw. Lots of unmaintained B. Vugaris just does not make my day. I saw several bamboo plantations from a distance but from what I saw there is little bamboo on Highway 1 from Sydney to Carins. -eastlandia

[Roy]

Two days ago I was in Carins Australia. I flew home and now I'm in Iowa. I have severe Jet-lag, however I wanted to say that I was very disappointed in the little Australian bamboo that I saw. Lots of unmaintained B. Vugaris just does not make my day. I saw several bamboo plantations from a distance but from what I saw there is little bamboo on Highway 1 from Sydney to Carins. -eastlandia

I think you can find it to be that way in most places where bamboo is not native to the area. Bamboo will grow in Florida, but the flowering cycle is so long and the method of distribution of the seeds is non-existent (or not known), that the only place you will generally find bamboo is where man is maintaining and caring for it. Where you can see bamboo, if a person has bamboo, is growing in the backyards and not front yards, unless one has a big piece of property and the house is set back.

Now Bambusa vulgaris is somewhat different in that it is easily propagated by culm cuttings and I do see more of it along the roadside in areas where there might not be houses. It could have originated at that point by someone throwing down a piece of it on the ground after they had satisfied their entertainment side or bamboo curiosity.

I did write an article one time about my planting bamboo in a remote area of Florida and checking back 4 or 5 years later to see how successful it was to adapting to Florida's climate without any human care. The only one that seemed to be adapting fairly well and had some size to it was Bambusa sp. 'Clone X' and it was only about 1/2 the size I would have suspected. I need to see if I can find that article and also check again on the bamboo since it probably has been another 3-4 years since I wrote the article.

[needmore]

The 'Rachel Carson' is a real beauty...and every time I see any Schizostachyum it reaffirms that the genus is for me the most beautiful of all.

Roy, if any of them are in Hawai'i we can get them to the mainland, I'm not sure what Quindembo was able to import.

[Roy]

The 'Rachel Carson' is a real beauty...and every time I see any Schizostachyum it reaffirms that the genus is for me the most beautiful of all.

Roy, if any of them are in Hawai'i we can get them to the mainland, I'm not sure what Quindembo was able to import.

Brad,

I see where Quindembo has recently imported GIGANTOCHLOA sp 'Rachel Carson', but I don't see SCHIZOSTACHYUM zollingeri listed. At 40 ft X 2 inches and at 25 F, zollingeri should be a good one for lower central and south Florida.

[utopia]

We do indeed have some great bamboos in Aus ,the Gigantachloas are very nice plants.I live on the north coast of eastern Australia where the temp gets to a low of 0 sometimes in winter, all 100 different species are growing very happily and fast . I am a landscaper and now use and recommend bamboo for many situations.