How do we make bamboos not here in the U.S. more available?

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BooKing
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How do we make bamboos not here in the U.S. more available?

Post by BooKing »

Hello all: After reading several of the bamboo books written by U.K. growers and seeing alot of info on posts from people from Europe-it seems we here are missing out on alot of the really "good "[they're all good] bamboos. How do we go about of promoting and bringing in alot of these?I realize all the quarintine regulations-but how does one start in going about the process?
Also, to all our friends over the Atlantic:keep up the posts and commentary about your bamboos.

Any info would be appreciated?
Last edited by BooKing on Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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needmore
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import

Post by needmore »

Konifer, here is an overview of the steps that I've taken for my upcoming attempt.

1. Secured access to an importation permit.
2. Made arrangements with a licensed quarantine facility to have the plants shipped to them from customs - if they clear customs.
3. Pay for the plants, converting US to Euros which adds 23% to the cost.
4. The vendor has already washed the soil off of my order and replanted them into a sterile medium.
5. Obtaine plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets, hotel rooms.
6. Go to nursery and clean off the sterile medium and cut the culms off.
7. Package the gel-covered bare rhizomes into ziplocks.
8. Package the ziplocks 5-6 per, into boxes.
9. Arrange for an inspector from the NL to inspect each box and obtain ($) a Phyto sant. Cert for each box.
10. Obtain a statement from the vendor regarding the purposes of the import -ie sharing scientific materials.
11. Fill out a declaration form for the value ($) of the plants.
12. Arrange to have a customs broker ($) meet my flight back into NY.
13. Prepare mailing labels and provide postage for the plants to be sent from customs to the Q. greenhouse.
14. The broker takes all of this to customs and does her best to get them cleared.
15. If they clear, customs will ship them directly to the Q. greenhouse.
16. The plants must be opended at the Q. greenhouse in front of another inspector.
17. The Q. Greenhouse gets inspected periodically for the next year until they will release the plants.
18. Hopefully in the heated environment the bare rhziomes will quickly produce culms, otherwise they are wasted money.
19. Arrange to pick up or have the plants shipped to me once they are cleared.


I can envision a much simpler process for importing bare rhizomes but how do we get the restrictions changed, I suspect was your real question?
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
BooKing
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Post by BooKing »

I wanted everyone to see all the work that is involved in bringing in new plants to the U.S so if people ask "Why is this 100$ for a 1gal plant"-know they know the reason why...thanks for the info Brad.
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Steve in France
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Nursery

Post by Steve in France »

Best of luck with the whole trip, I second the photo request, I have video of Jos's took both times I visited.How he manages to have mature same size culms on all the Bamboos in the garden I don't know but I'm going to find out. The Ph vivax "Aureocaulis" just as you enter the garden it just wonderful.
Following is a general comment as most of you know this stuff already but as there is a growing momentum on the site perhaps some general comments on Bamboo would help new people, I know I wish I'd known a lot more about Bamboos when i started with them only two years ago, books help but you soon move beyond books for what you really need to know for growing Bamboos with a goal in mind , such as a giant timber Bamboo .Also as Bamboos are so adaptable, my info may only help those growing in a similar zone, 8 to 7 for my depending on the winter.

If you water a lot and Mulch a lot ,trim weak growth ,leave rhizomes to form a large network don't restrict the space taken up by the rhizome run except when there is no other choice , don't trim lower branches for looks to start with, you will get a huge Bamboo in a few growing seasons .When I say water I mean water and water, the difference between a well cared for Bamboo and one that is just left to grow is not a 100 % different it's several 100% different. Mulch with rich organic matter from late summer on, always watch for those runners breaking the surface and mulch over the top of them, if you don't they often form weak culms or whipshoots. Make one or two divisions every now and again as they are great for trading and gifts for people who admire your Bamboos and want to grow a Bamboo too.
Bamboos are expensive plants anyway in the main as one can only make so many divisions each year and so far all micropropped Ph Bamboos have done weird things and are not worth buying, it seems there has been some progress with micropropped clumpers.
Bamboos seem to be more expensive in the US but I'm often comparing prices with Jos's prices and he is very reasonable for everything but the most rare and if you want the most rare you have to pay :D .
He does often knock off ten or 20 euros if he thinks the plant is smaller than he would like, I got my Ph vivax "Huengwenzu inversa" for 45 euros listed at 65 euros, I was happy with it even though it was a tiny whipshoot, It's now a tiny whipshoot with a six foot single culm next to it and rhizomes running all over the place. The new culm is true to form as one would hope, green sulcus and yellow/gold culm.It was the last one he had for 2005 so I was lucky to get it.
We in Europe often get sold the wrong Bamboo, many general nurseries don't know what there selling and some specalist nurseries do know what there selling and will take big money for the wrong plant, sad but true.There are people who you can trust like Jos Van Der Palen, David Crampton, Mike Bell and Nick Macer.
It's a real shame when you have only limited Garden space and you have done your research and selected the right Bamboo for you ,then it turns out it's not the one you wanted and may have lost a few seasons in a prime part of the garden and need to extract the wrong bamboo and go in search of the right one again.
Anyway I'll stop now :D
Later
Steve
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Post by Markj »

Hope all goes well with the trip, and all plants make it through to you're place safe and sound. The Uk is nowhere near as strict with rules, imports must be 'barerooted' but that's about it, and the quarantine facility can be you're own greenhouse with only a six week wait before sale.

That said, there have been a few problems with imports so anything really intresting sometimes finds itself in Ireland/Holland (very lax / no customs) and once in the EU then posted to the UK.

Brad, will these all be new in the USA, there's some great plants there.

Cheers.

Mark.
Bamboo...Please note... This plant is seriously addictive and you may lose interest in other, less rewarding plants!
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Post by Markj »

Also, just from reading the above posts, you can tell how much trouble importing can be, but exporting can also be troublesome. A fairly well known bamboo 'author' :roll: once sent some stuff to New Zealand in normal packaging, talk about trouble I'm not sure if it's over yet :(

Mark
Last edited by Markj on Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Thuja »

Good Lord, the US still thinks that bamboo is really Triffids which invaded from outerspace. :roll: Brad, it might be cheaper & easier to rent an ocean-going vessel, sail over there, load up, hide the stash, and sail back. Maybe we all need to get together for an ocean voyage similar to Columbus', except this time we explore the Old World for rare and unusual treasures.
--Mike
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Post by Markj »

Hi Mike, talk about 'old world stuff', I'm sure Mike bell mentioned that someone from the states ( Lynn Clark, poss ) spent six months collecting in the Andes only to for the airline to lose the plants :twisted: , any more news on this overthere.

Mark
Bamboo...Please note... This plant is seriously addictive and you may lose interest in other, less rewarding plants!
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Post by BooKing »

Mike, I get seasick kinda easily so I'll wait here getting all the pots ready with potting soil while you guys sail the sea.I'll even have coffee and tea waiting when you guys get back... :D
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Post by fredgpops »

Brad - What's your take on why the ABS isn't more involved in obtaining new species. I thought part of their charter was to bring new bamboo into the states. My exposure to ABS is low plus it is pretty much restricted to NCABS. That being said, it appears that growers exert a lot of power
over the ABS so what is brought in and how it is distributed is controlled by them. Last time I was in Europe, hoof & mouth disease was rampant.
When I returned to the states, customs made me take my golf shoes out and they ran them them a cleaner. Of course, the sneakers that I was wearing, used for hiking, had sheep poop all over them but that was not deemed a problem. Rgds
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Post by Iowaboo »

A bunch of idiots are running everything, and now their trying to scare us in submission with the avian flu. yippie!

It seems like Brad is putting a lot of time and energy into this adventure he is going to be setting out on. Sounds like a long list of things have to be done in order to deem the bamboo safe for the United states. I would think it should be hard to import stuff in this country so diseases and pests do not enter, but their are loop holes in the system.


With all the problems chicago and new york has had with the asian longhorn beetle, somehow, even with "strict regulations" , their were some found at a factory in sacromento a few weeks/months ago.

Also, people that enter the country do not have to be quaranteed for a certain period of time, yet; they could have diseases/viruses that are way more harmful to the U.S.'s well being than some bamboo pest.

It is quite frustrating when american citizens need permits and are cornered by laws , but with free trade, people from other countries can send crap over here without any laws of our land to follow, which puts our country at jeopardy.

But anyways, what are the all varieties of bamboo that Brad is trying to get over here?
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ABS imports

Post by needmore »

Fred, I assume that the reasons are that the ABS essentially has no staff; the board are volunteers who meet quarterly and then return to their daily lives; funding is certainly an issue; and then who goes, who cares for the plants in quarantine, who owns the plants and how can they be split up if bought with ABS funds? All of these points could be addressed and I assume there are others, but organizations move slowly.

I know that the NE chapter has done some importing, through Susanne Lucas and Chris DeRosa. The founders of the ABS were basically a group of folks who were importing bamboo and then came up with the ABS.

I think I posted my import list here in another thread, if not I'll repost. I believe it is 29 plants of 22 different species, all are either Phyllostachys or Pleioblastus - nope that wrong there is an Arundinaria Tecta Omega, which appaarently is Tecta that has somehow been improved in Europe.

Although it is tempting to bring in some more of the rare montane clumpers, I can't justify doing so myself as they likely will be unhappy in my garden and my load this time is maxed out. So there will be several desirable species that I'll have to leave behind for someone else to import.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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Sponsor a new boo?

Post by Thuja »

I could see one way we could help is by sponsoring a boo that we would like to see imported into this country. Since Brad is going to all this trouble maybe we could contribute money for a plant & all the time & trouble it takes to get it here and thru the quarantine period. Of course there'd be no guarantee that the plant would ever make it thru all the hoops but that would be the risk involved. For example, say I wanted to finance the purchase & importation of Fargesia papyrifera (KR 4174?) that Mark mentioned, what would that cost?

Just a thought.
--Mike
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Post by fredgpops »

Brad - They say "A little knowledge is dangerous". I know a bit about Strybing, B.O.T.A, and the Quail/SCABS connection so I don't buy your argument. Lots of money, volunteer time, and grower involvement to achieve whatever the organization wants. Kind of disappointed in your response. Rgds
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Post by Iowaboo »

Brad, no need to repost, I went searching and found the christmas list on the Himalacalmus cupreus thread.
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