Watering schedule for Thamnocalamus tessellatus

[firemountain]

Just received my 2 Thamnocalamus tessellatus from the bamboo sourcery last week. Kept them watered and indoors for a few days to adapt a bit to the CA weather climate. I had just planted them several days ago in the ground , and was wondering how much water to give them, with our Jersey temps being in the 60's during the day, and the 40's at night. As of now I have been giving them a 2 gallons of water every other day for the past week.....is this too much.

Also....would these plants survive the winter in a planter in my shed. I originally figured that they would do better being in the ground and having me cover them from the wind this winter.

Any help/advice regarding these specific species would be greatly appreciated, since they are new to me.

Thanks....

[moriphen]

They have been extremely hardy for me, my water regiment was 3 times a week for the 1st two months (Sept / Oct 2009 )then I stopped watering at the 1st hard frost. As for the amount? I'd water till the ground was wet and could not hold anymore water. There where exceptions, when we had rain or cloudy overcast days, I would defer an additional day. By April 2010, I watered once a week with about gallon of water per plant, again if we had drought conditions I would water if the leaves rolled to my surprise they never did. My other bit of advice is to plant into a raised bed of yard soil mixed with mulch (shredded October leaves are a good choice). I've also mixed in peat moss as well but only use that if you know your soil isn't too acidic (PH 6 or lower). Lastly the wind break isn't a bad idea, it will certainly help you hold leaf mass over the winter and start you off in a better position next spring.



The two to the left are from Bamboo Garden planted Sept 2009, the 2 on the right are from Bamboo Sourcery planted Sept. 2010. Both planted and cared for as stated above. The vine in the center is self seeded tomato started growing last august. The white smug is one of my JR Terriers.

M

[firemountain]

Thanks for the advice.....the only thing I did not do is plant them on a raised bed. I had ordered the plants 3 weeks ago, and was hoping to get them sooner since we were still having really good weather. I just wanted to get them in the ground as quickly as possible to establish their roots..... esp. with our temp. changing soo quickly here.

Do you think it's too late to pull them up to est. a raised bed area with good soil??
Or am I better off waiting until the early spring before they come out of dormacy??

As of now I have been only using water, but I have been toying with the idea of hitting them with "Biotone" to help est. their root system.

Any thoughts??

[moriphen]

How long have they been in the ground? Under a week, I'd suggest moving them into a raised bed. Over a month? I'd leave them in the ground, between those two time frames its your personal choice. Never tried bio-tone, but at 1st glance it looks like a dose of natural "good" bacteria with an additional slow release balanced fertilizer. If you have it on hand then adding it won't hurt, but I'd expect falling soil temps to negate many if not all of the benefits rather quickly.

M

[Alan_L]

Why the raised bed? Is it because of better soil? Better drainage?

[firemountain]

Yes....the plants have only been in the ground for a week. I actually just pulled them up last night and raised the bed. Gave them a shot of the Biotone Starter Plus this afternoon. While I don't know how much the product will work with these temps, I have brought sickly shrubs and small trees back from the dead with this stuff, and really like it.

Thanks for the advice... I am planting these behind my weeping Atlas to create a nice effect as opposed to looking at my vinyl siding in the front of my house. I am curious to see how this plant fairs with my Scabrida and F. Jaiuzoughou in terms of winter hardiness.

[moriphen]

Why the raised bed? Is it because of better soil? Better drainage?

I do the raised beds for a couple of reasons, improved drainage and increased organic content (shredded grass, leaves, dog excrement mixed with local soil) what is unmentioned is the increased growing season. A raised bed gives you warmer soil temps in the spring much like a baby pool is warmer then a nearby lake during the summer. When fall approaches the bed can extend the growing season by delaying frost. Cold air is denser then warmer air and this can cause the early light frosts to stay below the raised bed. I do not use wooden enclosures and as a result the raised beds tend to decay away over time.


M