Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

Post by NobeyamaGP »

Thanks everyone! I'm going to wait a couple more months then place my order. Thanks for the input. I'll update with pics when I get my bamboo.
NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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I'm still waiting for the weather to improve before I get moving on my bamboo plans, but today on my way in to work I saw what I think is a small stand of native giant river cane! I've driven this same route since I moved last fall and I can't believe I never noticed it! I'm going to try to get some pictures tonight on the way home. Hopefully I can find out who the land owner is and see if they would let me dig up a few shoots to transplant when the weather gets warmer.
NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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Went out at lunch and got some pictures. Definitely some sort of bamboo. Can anyone confirm from this picture that it is definitely river cane?
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needmore
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

Post by needmore »

Sure looks like the Indiana stands of A gigantea I'm familiar with.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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Nice! Thanks for the verification. Hopefully they let me dig some.
Alan_L
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

Post by Alan_L »

If you haven't dug bamboo before, try to get as long a rhizome length as you can.
NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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Alan_L wrote:If you haven't dug bamboo before, try to get as long a rhizome length as you can.
I haven't. Thanks for the tip, Alan!
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Glen
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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NobeyamaGP wrote:Went out at lunch and got some pictures. Definitely some sort of bamboo. Can anyone confirm from this picture that it is definitely river cane?
Interesting...that looks just as good as native stands of the same species growing in zone 9a in Southeast Texas. What kinds of low temperatures does this grove experience?
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Glen
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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NobeyamaGP wrote:Nice! Thanks for the verification. Hopefully they let me dig some.
Try to keep the rootballs from falling apart. This is usually pretty easy, unless the soil is extremely sandy. I usually wrap small rootballs in grocery or garbage bags, and tie them pretty tightly.
NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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Glen wrote:
NobeyamaGP wrote:Went out at lunch and got some pictures. Definitely some sort of bamboo. Can anyone confirm from this picture that it is definitely river cane?
Interesting...that looks just as good as native stands of the same species growing in zone 9a in Southeast Texas. What kinds of low temperatures does this grove experience?
Thanks for the tips, Glen! This year has been pretty cold around here. In January we had 2 weeks that only got up to just below freezing for the high. The worst day had a high of 7F and a low of -7F with a wind chill closer to -20F. This grove is located in a valley between two hills next to a stream so I'd imagine it was shielded from the worst of the winds.
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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I found Indiana A gigantea to be quite fussy to transplant, it did not seem to like pots and I never quite found the conditions in ground it wanted. I had a few clones at one point, not sure how many remain but none thrived. I think you'll mostly find it growing in deep sandy silt along stream banks and those are the conditions it seems to require. Most of the clones were ugly brutes, a couple were not. I think it was either Orange or Washington county where a nice stand grows on state land, the grove was split in to two different forms with an obvious dividing line - one side was around 10 feet tall with long dark green leaves, the other was around 3-4 feet tall and looked different. There did not seem to be environmental differences where the line started so I suspect it was a result of a flowering that created a couple of different clones that dominated. Just conjecture though, FoxD who may still lurk here was with me that day he may recall.
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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According to historical accounts, Arundinaria gigantea once grew in eastern Texas in virtually impenetrable monocultures that could reach miles across, normally in bottomland soils.

Now, it is generally seen as an understory plant restricted to the edges of rivers and streams. Most colonies that I have seen are probably no more than an acre in extent.

It is easy to grow and transplant here, and it likes all the water it can get. It has no problem handling dry periods, but long term dry conditions will cause the plant to stay fairly small.

I wonder how much variability is present in this species. What I have seen in Texas all looks alike, really very similar to the pictures above from Indiana. Would the northern clones tolerate our heat, and would our southern clones handle Indiana winters?
NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

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Since I last posted I ordered 4 different bamboo plants. I went with Fargesia "Rufa", Phy. Aureosulcata "Spectabilis", Phy. Aureosulcata "Aureocaulis", and Phy. Atrovaginata. I was hoping to get Phy. Nuda, but the nursery I used didn't have any ready when I ordered.

I received my plants on Monday and am working on planting them this week. Last night I planted the Rufa near my house and found what I had suspected when I bought the property last Fall. My land is on top of old coal mine property. I have about 12-18" of somewhat rocky soil with occasional coal chunks and underneath that is what seems to be solid rock.

My hope is that since the rhizomes are generally shallow growing, my bamboo will be ok. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of situation?

On the bright side, if my bamboo does grow, root pruning ought to be fairly easy since I just cut down until I hit rock.
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

Post by johnw »

We grow Rufas in a garden righ ton the coast, the soil is extremely rocky with some soil atop. A foot of soil would be a generous amount in that area! Rufa does very well but then again the night fogs, the lack of summer heat (78F is a heat wave) and low soil temperatures are a very big help. A couple of pix follow.

First shoot, barely out of the ground, noticed on Fargesia apicirubens Daba Shan #2 yesterday.

john
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NobeyamaGP
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Re: Growing Bamboo in Southern Indiana

Post by NobeyamaGP »

Thanks John! Those Rufa look wonderful! I'd be happy if mine looks half that good. Right now it's a fresh planted 2 gallon division, so it has quite a bit of growing to do, I hope.
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