Bamboo seeds in ebay? has any one tired them?

[needmore]

I would just like to point out that importing bamboo seeds into the US is against federal law unless they go into a licensed quarantine greenhouse for a year and have been inspected when they come into the US.

Bill

You bloody wet blanket you!

[mike best]

I thought boo seeds have very limited shelf life and so if it sits over yonder in dah institution would you still want them after a year and would they still be usable.

Yes good point and I am not surprised it is illegal but If I recall my history, were there not many great artist and scientist that risked being hanged for one reason or another by the church or government for following a higher calling?

[svendrix]

Yikes on the federal law part, but to be honest I don't remember if they were shipped from Germany or somewhere in the US now that I think of it (I'm not trying to suggest one way or the other).

BTW, is it illegal for seeds in general, or bamboo seeds only?

[mike best]

I Googled around a little and I can't find this law, can someone make a suggestion where to look before we all start looking like OJ. I am always confused on all these laws, it would be more convenient if it was posted at bambooweb.info so we could be informed.

First it was my Home Owners Association talking about banning bamboo and listing it in the bylaws as an invasive species, then the mega power company telling some poor guy his boo was invasive and they were going to remove it completely cause it is or was in the power line, also there was the post about the UPS guy that made the poor lady cry, and now even if your poor old great grandmother mails you some boo seeds in your birthday card from Ubud, Indonesia then you are breaking the law.

I think I am going bamboo, (some place with no Internet, no phone, no motor car, not a single luxury....)

Oh there was one good boo moment this month for me: I got a baby Parker!!! A cute little baby Bambusa sp. 'Parker's Giant' ! Now everybody go AHHHHH!!

[bambooweb]

The quarantine restrictions are at http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralIn ... ntine.html

I don't know of any other plant having the same type of restrictions.

Bill

[foxd]

I've tried germinating three different types of bamboo seed and here are my results.

MOSO germinated as long as I didn't try using a heating pad.

P. heteroclada germinated. Didn't try a heating pad.

F. nitida didn't germinate at all. No heating pad.

[foxd]

Speaking of bamboo seeds, while I was posting my earlier reply, a query to a person accidentally showing up on a contact list gave me a lead on Bambusa distegia and Dendrocalamus membranaceus bamboo seed. What are the odds?

A check of the Bambooweb species list shows that Dendrocalamus membranaceus is now listed as Bambusa membranacea. As far as I know, neither will survive the winters here. Though admittedly, I am conducting an experiment with some Buddha Belly surviving the winter. But at the moment, I don't have room for another experiment.

[mike best]

The quarantine restrictions are at http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralIn ... ntine.html

I don't know of any other plant having the same type of restrictions.

Bill

Thank You for the Link, thanks- Mike

[Brian_K]

I'm growing these from seed:
Dendrocalamus sp. "unknown"
D. Strictus
D. strictus look alike but with larger leaves
Plant labeled as D. hamiltonii
Himalayacalamus falconeri
Chimonobambusa yunnanensis
Fargesia nitida
Bambusa bambos

[wfoster]

So what i gathers so far is:

EBay seeds = bad

Seeds from German dude on EBay = illegal if forign address

Seeds from my wife's family in Indonesia = trafficking (maybe my next trip to Jakarta i can slip some rhizomes in my tighty whities)

So who is a reliable source? All these stories now make me want to try some eBay seeds just as an experiment minus the seeds heater.

[foxd]

I have found some bamboo seeds available on Amazon.com from a place called Hirt. Seedman.com also has some bamboo seeds. The ones I've seen for sale are:

Phyllostachys edulis
Phyllostachys heteroclada
Dendrocalamus strictus
Bambusa arundinacea
Bambusa distegia
Dendrocalamus membranaceus
unknown Dendrocalamus species (Giant May Sang)

I have yet to see any Fargesia or Chusquea seeds for sale.

[svendrix]

Hirt's has some CRAZY types of seeds! I checked them out on Amazon after someone posted a week or so about them selling bamboo seeds, and just started browsing through their Amazon store. So many types of flowers/trees/and especially fruits that I have never heard of or seen, but are very cool looking and sounding!

They also have their own website: http://www.hirts.com/ which isn't as easy to just browse a whole page at a time, but if you know what you are searching for, you can find it quickly if they have it.

They sell in pretty small quantities only it appears for bamboo (20 to 30 seeds of a species at a time only which doesn't seem to be enough for good germination, that is unless they are totally fresh).

I cut and pasted the following from their website (and no I am not going to include their Heavenly Bamboo seeds! ;D):

Moso Bamboo 30 Seeds - Phyllostachys pubescens - RARE
Our Price: $4.99

Water Bamboo 20 Seeds - Phyllostachys heteroclada
Our Price: $4.99

Giant May Sang Bamboo 20 Seeds - Dendrocalamus- 50 Feet
Our Price: $4.99

Iron Bamboo 20 Seeds - Dendrocalamus strictus - HUGE
Our Price: $4.99

Giant Thorny Bamboo 20 Seeds - Bambusa arundinacea
Our Price: $3.99

Standard disclaimer: I have not ordered from them, so I can't vouch for them, just throwing some info out there from my own looking. I'd love to find a good source of good and economical bamboo seeds here in the US so I can play around trying to grow them all, even if the less cold hardy won't leave a container inside my house! =D

My 2 3/4" Fargesia Nitidia seedling that I recently transplanted to its own container started throwing up its 2nd through 4th baby culms (less than 1/4" tall so far) the other day. I so did not expect that to start happening so soon!!! =D Unfortunately I accidentally knocked over another new seedling while misting with water and the shoot tore off while trying to raise it upright again. The two new Moso seedlings more than make up for that however... =D

---Sven (who is definitely interested in any seeds that are left over beyond what you want for your own purposes... heh =D)

[wfoster]

ok i am going to try:

Giant May Sang Bamboo - Dendrocalamus-
Iron Bamboo - Dendrocalamus strictus -

from http://www.hirts.com/

[mantis]

I know the hatred towards buying bamboo on eBay, but I figured for $9.95 I'd take my chances.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0168171173


Considering I'm seeing this plant sold for over $100 + shipping other places I figured for $17.90 shipped it's worth the gamble. I also checked his feedback, and he's sold quite a few divisions of the same plant in the past, and everyone has been very happy with what they received.

Plus, I like the seller's name.

I'll post an update when it arrives.

[Roy]

I know the hatred towards buying bamboo on eBay, but I figured for $9.95 I'd take my chances.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0168171173


Considering I'm seeing this plant sold for over $100 + shipping other places I figured for $17.90 shipped it's worth the gamble. I also checked his feedback, and he's sold quite a few divisions of the same plant in the past, and everyone has been very happy with what they received.

Plus, I like the seller's name.

I'll post an update when it arrives.

Not so sure about the seller when he makes this statement:

RARE Bambusa Vulgaris Vittata HAWAIIAN STRIPE