Another futile moso experiment?

[cannamaniac]

P2110056 by smifter2012, on Flickr

Thought I'd better get them in the ground
P2110065 by smifter2012, on Flickr

[dependable]

Seems like your plants have a good chance at your location, but I know little about moso other than what I have read on this site.

Too cold to try it here, although people in colder climes have made the attempt. Of course hours of daylight and longitude factor in also.

I sometimes wonder why moso is so popular, that some of us try to grow it out of it's zone. Not a rhetorical question, friends, please advise.

[Tarzanus]

I also think, they should not have any issues growing in your climate. When you have 2 years planted outside, they get bigger and hardier.

Why do we grow Moso so much?
1. It's seeds are available all the time
2. It's suppose to grow to gigantic proportions
3. Canes are good quality and can be used in various DIY projects
4. Marginal zone? What marginal zone? Naaah, it will grow here just fine,...
5. Everyone else seems to be growing it, worth a try..
6. ...

PS: and one more thing. It seems you have quite a crowd next to those bamboos. Just a little warning - I have placed a Moso seedling in a pot outside during the sumer and it escaped. In 4 years, I begin to have hard time containing it, rhizomes are currently as thick as largest culms and they go everywhere. I mean, everywhere. I placed some bamboo branches under the largest culms and checked what lies below just a couple of days ago. Rhizome fiesta. I did not expect that many and especially that thick rhizomes, which travel on the soil surface. Regularly check it and contain it, or place it somewhere else after it establishes a bit on it's current location.

[cannamaniac]

I also think, they should not have any issues growing in your climate. When you have 2 years planted outside, they get bigger and hardier.

Why do we grow Moso so much?
1. It's seeds are available all the time
2. It's suppose to grow to gigantic proportions
3. Canes are good quality and can be used in various DIY projects
4. Marginal zone? What marginal zone? Naaah, it will grow here just fine,...
5. Everyone else seems to be growing it, worth a try..
6. ...

PS: and one more thing. It seems you have quite a crowd next to those bamboos. Just a little warning - I have placed a Moso seedling in a pot outside during the sumer and it escaped. In 4 years, I begin to have hard time containing it, rhizomes are currently as thick as largest culms and they go everywhere. I mean, everywhere. I placed some bamboo branches under the largest culms and checked what lies below just a couple of days ago. Rhizome fiesta. I did not expect that many and especially that thick rhizomes, which travel on the soil surface. Regularly check it and contain it, or place it somewhere else after it establishes a bit on it's current location.

I agree with your "reasons to grow Moso".
For such a monstrous grass it really seems to be a bit touchy and overly sensitive to non-optimal growing conditions,telling a leaf tip or side shoot to commit suicide if it isn't happy ( which seems to be most of the time).
So that is sort of number 4 plus number 6 a challenge to grow a touchy plant and get it through it's younger years..

[cannamaniac]

Seems like your plants have a good chance at your location, but I know little about moso other than what I have read on this site.

Too cold to try it here, although people in colder climes have made the attempt. Of course hours of daylight and longitude factor in also.

I sometimes wonder why moso is so popular, that some of us try to grow it out of it's zone. Not a rhetorical question, friends, please advise.

It's like wanting to have a giant redwood or other triffid to scare the neighbours with.

[cannamaniac]

I thought I would share some pictures of my not so futile experiment

P9150234 by smifter2012, on Flickr

P9150236 by smifter2012, on Flickr

P9150235 by smifter2012, on Flickr

P9150232 by smifter2012, on Flickr

P9150243 by smifter2012, on Flickr

P9150245 by smifter2012, on Flickr

Getting branches!
P9150249 by smifter2012, on Flickr

[cannamaniac]

First year in the ground and they haven't done badly considering the soil is chalky albeit with lots of added organic material.The summer was unusually hot at times, a couple of days in the low 30s which probably helped.With any luck next year will see more and bigger growth