Clone X

[Glen]

I have been unable to find much information about this plant, and I am hoping that Roy or someone else on the forum can share what they know about Bambusa sp. ?Clone X?. Specifically, I would like to know its origin, how and when it came to the U.S., and any opinions on whether it is really part of the B. tuldoides group. Is it easily propagated from culm cuttings? Any other information that anyone could share would be great as well.

Thanks,

Glen

[Roy]

I have been unable to find much information about this plant, and I am hoping that Roy or someone else on the forum can share what they know about Bambusa sp. ?Clone X?. Specifically, I would like to know its origin, how and when it came to the U.S., and any opinions on whether it is really part of the B. tuldoides group. Is it easily propagated from culm cuttings? Any other information that anyone could share would be great as well.

Thanks,

Glen

Glen,

Look at these links:

http://bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php? ... ight=clone

http://bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php? ... ight=clone


http://bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php? ... ight=clone

Here's also the article on Clone X that appeared in the ABS BAMBOO magazine:

What is 'Clone X'?
A summary by Betty Shor

So, Steve Carter likes a clumper that he calls Bambusa ventricosa 'Clone X'. Steve got his plant from Roy Rogers in Tampa, Florida. Rogers said recently:
"I first saw 'Clone X' in the early 1980s, growing in a backyard, several blocks from my house. December 25 and 26, 1983, we had back-to-back nights of 19?F after having weeks of 80? highs and 60? lows. Large numbers of hardy plants were decimated.
"A few months later, I walked through the alleyway, next to the backyard where I had seen the 'Clone X'. I expected to see nothing but dead culms, but the opposite was true. It was still busy and green with no dead culms. I knew then that I had to have some of that bamboo.
"Within a few years, 'Clone X' had grown out into the alleyway and I went over and dug out a few pieces. The tops I brought home and cut up into small sections and placed them in the roof drip area behind my house. The next summer, I had a lot of 'Clone X' babies from the culm cuttings.
"I tried for years to get 'Clone X' to belly, but I have yet to be able to get it to belly. I do believe, that under the right conditions, it might possibly belly some, but I haven't found out what those conditions are yet.
"I planted a piece of 'Clone X' and regular Buddha's Belly side by side and grew them for 10 years. In the 10 years, the 'Clone X' has made a gigantic clump, while having several hundred culms dug off it. It produced at least 10 times more culms than the regular Buddha's Belly during this time.
"How did this bamboo get to Tampa, Florida? I talked to the owner of the house, where the 'Clone X' was located, and he told me that a military officer from MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, had owned the house before him and that the officer had brought it back from Asia.
"What do I think that it is? I think that it is a superior seedling of B. ventricosa (Buddha's Belly). It has all the identifying characteristics of B. ventricosa, but doesn't belly and is much more vigorous. It's the most vigorous and prolific bamboo I have. It is not for small back yards. I have a _-acre backyard and it takes up too much room. I could use the room it takes for planting several other bamboos. I've had a lot of people dig on it in the last 6 years or so, and it just keeps replacing itself."
Steve Carter recently said to a bamboo acquaintance:
"My 'Clone X' is the largest bamboo mass on my place although it was planted 2 years later than many other plants here including Buddha's Belly from other sources. Roy Rogers generosity in allowing folks to dig off this plant continues to spread to others. Darwin Nelson came back from a Florida run telling me about the wonders he saw and people he met. He told me about this huge bamboo in Roy's yard that was the biggest thing imaginable. He said Roy would let us dig a start if we came back! Wow, I had to get to Florida!
"Darwin was so kind as to let me ride along with him on his next run over to collect plants. Darwin is responsible for getting so many of the new introductions into Texas and out into collectors hands. I am very grateful for folks like this that share their enthusiasm and friendship. Look at how many hands this one division has passed thru. This is typical of many of the other plants Darwin has helped get into the state."
And more recently Carter amplified:
"Darwin Nelson lives in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was very big into bamboo down here and introduced many of the plants from Florida into Texas. He had 'Spring Flings" at his bamboo farm in George West every year where the public and Texas Bamboo Society members were invited. These were very large events with food, fun and lots of bamboo to sell and trade. He moved these events to his new place at Bayside, Texas just outside of Corpus Christy for the last two events. These last few years he has not held any more events. His son is John Nelson ? Darwin Nelson is well known and respected in the Texas bamboo crowd and a great friend of mine."
Pieces of this distinctive bamboo were well distributed around south-central Texas. Nelson and Carter dug at least 7 starts from it to begin with, and they shared with others. Rogers said that this rampant grower grew back again within the year.
Now, about that name: Rogers attached the varietal name 'Clone X' to his bamboo from the alley. Like some others, he does not like the association of Bambusa tuldoides with 'ventricosa'. He says:
"Bambusa tuldoides is a bamboo that grows erect and is about 2.25 inches by 50 feet tall. 'Clone X' grows in what I call a fan-shaped, or weeping-over as some people use the terminology to describe it, stance and grows up to 85 feet tall by a maximum diameter of 3.25 inches. The latter measurements I have physically measured myself.
"The more accurate name, which would more accurately reflect what the plant looks like, would be Bambusa ventricosa 'Clone X' or for the people who truly believe that B. ventricosa is a step-child of B. tuldoides, then Bambusa tuldoides ventricosa 'Clone X.' "
In the 2005 Species Source List Rogers's plant is given as B. tuldoides 'Clone X', the same as it has been since 2002; in 2001 this entry was given as B. ventricosa 'Clone X.' The explanation (by George Shor) in the 2002 list was a quotation from Chris Stapleton:
"Ohrnberger has authoritatively placed ventricosa as a cultivar of B. tuldoides. This had apparently not been noticed by the Chinese, who are no doubt more skilled at keeping bonsai plants small. Most westerners, who are not as good at managing their bonsai properly, have ended up with the normal form, which is exactly the same as B. tuldoides."
But is ventricosa truly a variant of tuldoides? Taxonomy in flowering plants depends a great deal on the flowers. Records on flowering in ventricosa are skimpy; do they indicate a relationship to tuldoides, for which there are extensive flowering records? I believe that the debate is not settled. For that matter, I am not totally convinced that 'Clone X' is a variant of ventricosa.
On any basis of where this plant stands in taxonomy, I am urging Roy Rogers to give it a more distinctive varietal name, which he - as the discoverer, at least in ABS circles - is entitled to do. It seems to be a very significant bamboo. Something along the lines of "tall" or "spectacular" or "prolific" in Latin or Greek would do, and so would "Alley Cat."

[Bamboo Outlaw]

It is still the biggest, most fun plant I have.

[foxd]

I have a Buddha Belly that I traded for from a vendor who claimed some extraordinary cold hardiness for it. I would like to read the details of propagating Clone X and maybe be able to apply that to this Buddha Belly. In particular, I wonder about either air-layering or culm-cuttings. I haven't done much with propagating clumpers yet, just runners.

[Roy]

I have a Buddha Belly that I traded for from a vendor who claimed some extraordinary cold hardiness for it. I would like to read the details of propagating Clone X and maybe be able to apply that to this Buddha Belly. In particular, I wonder about either air-layering or culm-cuttings. I haven't done much with propagating clumpers yet, just runners.

I"ve propagated both by culm cuttings.

[Glen]

Roy,

Thank you for the information! This is exactly what I needed.

[Bamboo Outlaw]

I propagate Clone X with culm cuttings late in the year-Aug best results.

[foxd]

I've propagated both by culm cuttings.

How long does it take for roots to start forming? How small of culm will root? Will a culm just branching out root?

[Roy]

I've propagated both by culm cuttings.

How long does it take for roots to start forming? How small of culm will root? Will a culm just branching out root?

I haven't done culm cutting on either one of these in a good number of years. I like to get some culm cuttings going, the move them up to a 3 gallon pot and take divisions from the 3 gallon pots. Produces just the right size of plant to put in a one gal. pot (my specialty).

When I do cuttings, then in early fall I will take out my duds and dump them. Some of the cutting will have roots on then and some will also have broken dormancy and have produced a new shoot with an attached rhizome with roots. I'll then re-pot these cuttings. Then usually by the next Summer I have some rooted cutting with new plants.

What's the longest I've ever had a cutting take before it broke dormancy and produced a new shoot? A little over 2 years on a Clone X. Not normal, but in line with the bamboos character of "Never Give Up!"

I did notice yesterday, that a division of the B. t. v. "B. Belly" I took out of the ground and potted in the Spring of 2004 is just now starting to put up 2 small shoots. That's 3 Summers without any new shoots.

[boonut]

I have done culm node cuttings with Ventricosa... they do really well. I have also done air layering with several. I prefer the culm node cuttings.

I did air layering with Dendrocalamus Sinicus about a year and a half ago. I did the air layering about two nodes from the base of the culm. When I saw roots, I cut the culm. It took a year and a half to see new shoots. I was worried that the culm did not have viable branch buds at the base. The culm was about an inch in diameter. I had two nodes below soil level. About a month ago, it put up a new shoot about 3/4" in diameter from a node with just barely any branch bud there. Nice experiment, but not something I want to do on a regular basis.

The lesson learned is that you shouldn't give up if you see any life at all in the culm.

I also started to toss out a culm node of B. Lako just recently and then noticed that it had about three shoots just starting out. I saw no sign of life above the soil for about 2 months.

[jonjfarr`]

Hello All!
I'm a little surprised to see so much enthusiasm for Clone X. I thought I was the only one. Clone X is a special bamboo for me because it was the first species of bamboo I was allowed to cut on. I didn't know a thing about bamboo, didn't know the name of this species, and had no idea how to deal with this very special bamboo.
At that time, I thought all bamboo must be this difficult to cut poles from. It has the longest branches and lots of them, inter thatched with all the canes, and to make matters more challenging, a mature stand of Clone X clumps very tightly. You might look down at a cane and think, this is on the edge, no problem, but once your eyes follow the cane upwards you notice it's completely interweaved deeply into the clump. My diesel Dodge pulled out a couple like that. But when you look at the outer canes you begin to see the pattern and it becomes all about technique.
After a few visits, I started cutting out the roots for propagation. The culms on the outside are a pleasure to cut out, while the roots in the middle seem to pleach into one solid thick mass of rhizome. Forget it. Above the 5th or 6th internode, the zig zag disappears, but seldom does it grow perfectly straight.
This plant is special to me, because I now propagate bamboo professionally, and although I no longer cut Clone X, starting with that species gave me an appreciation for how easy other species are to deal with. So, if Clone X is the first bamboo you cut, don't get discouraged. I've cut tons of Clone X poles and roots, it's all about technique and just a little force. When cutting Clone X, let it lead you, or you will eventually give up.
As far as pole strength, I don't think there is an equal to Clone X. Density, rigidity, the extremely thick walls of even a younger cane have got to make it inch for inch one of the world's strongest. As far as clump strength, UNREAL! You couldn't drive a steaming locomotive through a mature clump because Clone X is not only unified underground but also above ground like it's one giant tree on super steroids. The Clone X clumps I used to cut are around 10 years old. Each one began as a single root division. Now, I couldn't even guess how many thousands of canes there are in just 8 clumps. They are very wide, but not the heights reported earlier in this forum. However, environmental influences are likely. Having said that, in my experience, there is a lot of genetic variation with most Ventricosas, so who knows? There are a couple of bamboos in this area that even seasoned veterans have a hard time giving an exact species identification. I know of one mature clump of Ventricosa with just a few small dead "Buddhas" in the middle, but there are canes three inches thick. And a sister clump next to it, flowered and lived with no problem. Ok, Buddha=Ventricosa, 3 inch canes does not =Ventricosa. Whitish banding above and below each node=Clone X. Zig-Zag=Ventricosa and Clone X.
So, What is it? I decided to believe that Ventricosa will just keep me scratching my head forever. Clone X has got to be one of the most overlooked and unappreciated species unfortunately. What a great bamboo.

[Roy]

jonjfarr`,

I think the reason you see little enthusiasm for Clone X is that it doesn't have an identifiable family linage. At least with those who ID bamboo. How you have described Clone X, I am in total agreement with. For people who do not have a large piece of property, I discourage them from buying it, as I describe it as my "2" bamboo. It gets 2 big, 2 prolific, and 2 hard to get rid of once it is established. But, I have a lady, north of me, who has been buying about 10-15 pots of Clone X a year for about a decade, and she says that she has almost now completed making a giant Clone X impenetrable screen enclosing her 10 acres. And she says she loves it. It's definitely a great bamboo, but on a small lot, it's 2 much of a good thing.

Roy Rogers
Tampa, Fl

[Alan_L]

...making a giant Clone X impenetrable screen enclosing her 10 acres.

I would love to see photos of that!

[Arkansas]

Anyone ever over-winter CloneX in zone 7?

[foxd]

Anyone ever over-winter CloneX in zone 7?

I've been interested in trying it in Zone 6. Ventricosa has been holding steady here for the past three Winters.