Bamboo seeds

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Deane
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Bamboo seeds

Post by Deane »

I am looking for reputable company’s or people selling bamboo seed (Fargesia or Phyllostachys) I know there is loads on eBay but I don’t trust any of them thanks in advance
johnw
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by johnw »

I've heard of no recent flowering of a Fargesia species. After a year the seeds would be of questionable viability anyway.
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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Deane
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by Deane »

johnw wrote:I've heard of no recent flowering of a Fargesia species. After a year the seeds would be of questionable viability anyway.
Thanks John do you know which Phyllostachys have flowered recently at all
Tarzanus
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by Tarzanus »

Phyllostachys arcana 'Luteosulcata' flowered for some time, including last year, I guess it's still flowering. Moso is flowering each year and most of the seeds sold online are Phyllostachys pubescens seeds.
There are claims that other bamboos are also flowering, like nigra and aureosulcata 'Spectabilis', but I'm not convinced there's any truth in those claims.

I hope someone has a respectful source of flowering bamboos and will be able to add more to the list.
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needmore
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by needmore »

Last time I saw my Indiana plants and that is approaching 3 years now, I still had a healthy F nitida old form that had not yet flowered so others may as well and that could mean that there are 'fresh' Fargesia seeds.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by johnw »

Deane

No reports of local old generation F. nitida flowering of late. "Dependable" had two old nitida cultivars flower and die about 5 years ago. They produced viable seed but the seed would be toast now. Tarzanus as well as others had mislabelled Fargesia/Borinda? spp. seed a few years ago but they all turned out to be but one species sold under several names, again seed would have lost viability by now.

Keep in touch with Brad in case his OG flowers though there will be plenty discussion here if anything flowers. Or watch out here, though they mainly deal in tropical spp.: http://bamboo-seeds-bbg.blogspot.ca/

As for Phyllos, P. arcana never flowered here. P. propinqua 'Beijing' flowered but not a single seed was produced. I suppose you be better off watching out for Phyllo or Chusquea spp.; the latter is known for short-interval flowering.



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johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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Deane
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by Deane »

Thanks for all the replys and info I will definitely keep my ears open for flowering talk on here, Stef Allzen should have some seed coming in from a China contact in October so will see what he gets ,last year he had edulis ‘songming’ and edulis ‘mixta’ and a couple of others
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by GrowingHabit »

My nigra DID flower- about 3 years ago. And its looked like dog vomit since, and this last weekend I gave up nursing it and we leveled a 12 year old grove, painful as that was to do. Left a bare eyelash fringe of about 60 old culms along one edge so the site wouldn't be utterly denuded while some replacement plant gets established. The culms its had since flowering are all mutant-huge, green (look like henon), and totally devoid of branches. That's the only thing its produced in three years. No hint of black on the culms, and they look beastly healthy for a month or two, then go entirely beige and dead from top to bottom overnight. Most shoots its sent up just abort.

The flowering never produced any seed that I could discover, and no new starts anywhere to be seen if some viable seed did slip past my discovery and make it to the ground.


No hint of flowering on my Spectabilis, and I'm holding my breath, because before now I have never mixed groves and the place will be barren if that plant goes, as well. :cry:
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by KhunDieter »

Mr. Thammarat of Boonthammee Bamboo Garden sells bamboo seeds, mainly those from Thailand and southern China (tropical and subtropical, suitable for some southern parts in the USA).
http://bamboo-seeds-bbg.blogspot.com
His catalog is not up-to-date, so best is to contact him directly via fb or email.
He sold seeds of Phyllostachys edulis, syn. P. pubescens, from Yunnan in the past, and also seeds of Fargesia species from Yunnan (which is Borinda, not Fargesia).
Currently, he offers Thyrsostachys siamensis seeds from Thailand, but also a few other species from Thailand. He recently offered seeds of several bamboo species (Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys etc.) from southern China, but I don't know if they are now out of stock.
This month, a species which is possibly Schizostachyum virgatum is locally flowering in northern Thailand. If seeds can be found in the spikelets is not sure, but it is likely that they contain seeds, and best is to collect the whole spikelets and sow them out. However, you need a mass of spikelets to get some seeds germinating, hence selling spikelets is not on option for international trade.
Similar is to say about Bambusa cf. burmanica (phai bong wan mueang loei) and Bambusa nana hort. (phai liang wan), both flowered in northern Thailand a few months ago. No seeds were detected in the spikelets. However, lots of seedlings were found on the ground around the mother plant of B. cf. burmanica, and some seedlings of B. nana hort.
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needmore
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by needmore »

Orders to to the US are illegal and subject to confiscation so don't spend big money on any just in case.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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KhunDieter
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by KhunDieter »

Orders to the USA via the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS PPQ Field Operations) are NOT illegal. Mr. Thammarat of Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, Chiang Mai, Thailand has sent living bamboo plants including seeds to the USDA successfully in the past, and he is capable to do this in future, too. All YOU need is permission from the USDA. The USDA then issues all necessary import documents.
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needmore
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Re: Bamboo seeds

Post by needmore »

Yes, you are correct, as long as people follow the protocol it can be shipped but not directly to the consumer.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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