Reputable seed sources.

Ask questions about growing bamboo

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bennaz0610
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:36 pm
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Location: Lancs

Reputable seed sources.

Post by bennaz0610 »

I know bamboo is difficult to grow from seed, yet I will not feel rewarded until I manage it. It's easy to buy a boo, I have numerous I bought. Now I want to do it from the start.

Can anyone who has had success share seed sources, what suppliers yielded the most boos? I'm in the UK but don't mind shipping in.

Thanks.
bennaz0610
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:36 pm
Location info: 0
Location: Lancs

Re: Reputable seed sources.

Post by bennaz0610 »

I found one for anyone in the UK who may be looking and find this. An eBay seller by the handle botanical_rarities_shop sold me 3 varieties of seed. B.Tulda are going insane and yielding 80% in a week germination. I got D.Barbatus which this morning I could see the first tap roots appearing. And P.Nigra which looked also like they were slowly sending out roots.
Tarzanus
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Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:05 am
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Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Re: Reputable seed sources.

Post by Tarzanus »

I think buying bamboo seeds is a lottery. I have tried many times and at first, I only received dead seeds, because bamboo seeds are viable up to a year if stored properly, then they become almost impossible to germinate.
I tried buying from Aliexpress from a Chinese vendor. Got 200 seeds that were supposed to be Phyllostachys pubescens 'Moso' and they germinated extremely well. The thing at that point was, I ran out of space for all my bamboo seedlings and I eventually killed them off. By that time I already had several Moso seedlings I got from an Ebay vendor located somewhere in Belgium or France. The seeds I got then sprouted OK and I still have 2 Moso seedlings 6 years later.

Buying Bamboo seeds online (or offline...)
You will not know what you have bought. You will be able to ID the plant in a couple of years, but with some bamboos - Borinda (Fargesia) whatever seeds, you'll need to wait for things to become clear. Some bamboo seeds in circulation have strange and catchy names, but in fact, most of the seeds are from the same bamboo, Borinda gaolinensis.

If you like growing seeds, go fo it. Try growing as many as you can and you will most likely find at least some that will be extremely vigorous. I have got some very aggressive seedlings that way. Good luck.
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