If you stake 'em you might break 'em
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If you stake 'em you might break 'em
I transplanted some v. Aureocaulis "Yellow Vivax" in August, and staked the transplant with metal posts that allowed me to tie off the culms to the stakes. Very effective for windy conditions, but not so hot for snow. We had 4 inches last night, and this morning the culms were broken just above the tie off points. I didn't think to go out and untie them when I heard the snow was coming. I've heard that Aureocaulis isn't too hardy in snow, but the mother plant looks fine ....
BambooMoon
zone 8b
Snohomish, Wa
zone 8b
Snohomish, Wa
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Re: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
That's the reason I lay my potted bamboos down on the ground during hurricanes.Bamboomoon wrote:I transplanted some v. Aureocaulis "Yellow Vivax" in August, and staked the transplant with metal posts that allowed me to tie off the culms to the stakes. Very effective for windy conditions, but not so hot for snow. We had 4 inches last night, and this morning the culms were broken just above the tie off points. I didn't think to go out and untie them when I heard the snow was coming. I've heard that Aureocaulis isn't too hardy in snow, but the mother plant looks fine ....
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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
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ROY'S BAMBOO LIST
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RE: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
Bamboo culms get their strength by spreading the stress out over the entire length of the culm. They can break whenever all of the stress gets concentrated at one point on the culm, such as when they are tied up or they are leaning across and touching the top of a fence or wall.
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RE: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
I have learned this the hard way, but thanks for the retrospective advice ...
BambooMoon
zone 8b
Snohomish, Wa
zone 8b
Snohomish, Wa
RE: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
I thought about not growing vivax because I heard about its weak culms. But I darest to growest it. Why? Because it'll probably die to the ground every year. No worries.
Re: RE: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
That is a troublesome thought... I have a bunch of culms I'm going to need to stake permanently due to proximity to road and sidewalk.Mike,Marietta,SC,z8a wrote:Bamboo culms get their strength by spreading the stress out over the entire length of the culm. They can break whenever all of the stress gets concentrated at one point on the culm, such as when they are tied up or they are leaning across and touching the top of a fence or wall.
Does anyone have known-to-work-well method to avoid this breaking-point problem? My first thought is to make a microphone shock mount type support, that would allow some movement and spread the stress over a larger area.
Either something like this but with say 1" wide rubber bands arrayed one atop the other neatly:
Or like this but maybe with some kind of padding added in the interior, like a bit of water pipe insulation:
And in either case with much prettier materials
Re: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
You could try a girth hitch with a large 1/2" diameter rope. That's basically what I do and none of them have died that I did that way.
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Re: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
While not eliminating the single stress point, a method I use is to tie some arborist's webbing between two trees or posts, and hold a group of culms in more upright position between them. This also has the benefit of being quick and easy, as opposed to tying individual culms.
Regular line works too, but the webbing is flat and easier on the culms. It is the same as heavy duty (3/4 to 1 inch wide) electricians pull tape, if you have that around, but the arborist stuff is green. AM leonard stocks it, last I looked.
Regular line works too, but the webbing is flat and easier on the culms. It is the same as heavy duty (3/4 to 1 inch wide) electricians pull tape, if you have that around, but the arborist stuff is green. AM leonard stocks it, last I looked.
Re: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
The height at which you tie is a big factor too -- maybe that's obvious. The higher you go the less stress is put on the connection point. I'm not sure what a good rule of thumb is for that though...
Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!
Re: If you stake 'em you might break 'em
I'm using Green Plastic Garden Tape for now, as Nylon Webbing would be so heavy for the thin non-hardened shoots it'd just drag them down. I tried placing it so that in heavy wind each culm would end up being supported around 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up.dependable wrote:Regular line works too, but the webbing is flat and easier on the culms. It is the same as heavy duty (3/4 to 1 inch wide) electricians pull tape, if you have that around, but the arborist stuff is green.