Which blue bamboo?

[watchnerd]

Does anyone have any opinions or feedback on choosing between:

Borinda papyrifera
Himalayacalamus hookerianus
Thamnocalamus crassinodus

SF Bay Area, zone 9-10 (depending on source). Pretty flexible on location in terms of sunlight.

[marcat]

WN if you live in zone 9-10 why not a B. chungi or a D. minor
MarCat

[watchnerd]

WN if you live in zone 9-10 why not a B. chungi or a D. minor
MarCat

I didn't know those were blue!

Oh, sheesh, now more choices....

[watchnerd]

WN if you live in zone 9-10 why not a B. chungi or a D. minor
MarCat

Okay, so these are tropicals.

While I might be in zone 9-10, the SF Bay Area is mediterranean, not tropical. Bambusa will grow fine here, but it doesn't thrive like it does in the Gulf states and our natural rain patterns (dry summers) are the opposite of what Bambusa seems to prefer.

That being said, the huge size of B. chungii is tempting, but I doubt it would get to max height in the SF Bay Area.

Still...thinking...

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Does anyone have any opinions or feedback on choosing between:

Borinda papyrifera
Himalayacalamus hookerianus
Thamnocalamus crassinodus

SF Bay Area, zone 9-10 (depending on source). Pretty flexible on location in terms of sunlight.

I'm growing all three .... but I'm zone 7b... over in the UK ....so I suspect that's not much help.

My papyrifera is young and took a pasting this winter almost total defoliation - but reports of it over here are good and it should recover well in the next few weeks.

My 'Kew Beauty' has suffered around 50% leaf loss - but is a nice bamboo and has sized up well in the last couple of years. - lovely striking blue 1st year colour

My Hookeranius is taken indoors to the conservatory during the winter- she's doubled in size and culm thickness over 2 years and culms mature through lovely purples and blues.
A class plant - but hard work!


Laz

[watchnerd]

Because I couldn't decide, I ended up ordering both the B. Papyrifera and the H. Hookerianus. I should have them in hand in about 2-3 weeks.

The T. crassinodus will have to wait for now...

[rhum23]

you could also try borinda albocea, lushiensis, yushania maculata which looks blue young and brown when old.


sincerly

[ghmerrill]

You will be very happy with both species, but make sure the papyrifera us in an easy to see spot. Its one of the most spectacular bamboos out there.

[watchnerd]

You will be very happy with both species, but make sure the papyrifera us in an easy to see spot. Its one of the most spectacular bamboos out there.

Either the hookerianus or the papyrifera will go on my patio in a spot right next to 2 huge picture windows, one from my bedroom, the other from my living room.

I'm not sure which will get the honor.

I also order some chungii to plant in my back yard just to mix it up a bit.

[watchnerd]

you could also try borinda albocea, lushiensis, yushania maculata which looks blue young and brown when old.


sincerly

Both the b. albocerea and the b. lushiensis look really really similar to b. papyrifera I ordered.

What's the difference?

[fredgpops]

Is the hook a teagues blue or standard hook? The teague is a deeper blue. Also, my experience is the more exposed the hook gets to the sun, the more green it gets. My papy, Borinda boliana, Thamno and even Borinda fungosa chocolate gets blue early on but they all move on to different colors as they mature. The teagues blue hook is the champ for constant blue color in my book. rgds

[watchnerd]

The hook I got is a Teague's Blue, although the background of any Teague's Blue seems to be a bit up for debate.

See:

http://www.smgrowers.com/info/Blue_Bamboo.asp

[fredgpops]

The best light blue - F. nitida (also called blue fountain) & H. porcatus (also called blue porcatus). These guys stay light blue forever. Both need shade to maintain their color. My gen 1 nitida goes on like the battery rabbit. It never flowered. Visitors are always blown away by my porcatus. Mother plant lives at Tradewinds Bamboo Nursery (Gib). Rgds

[watchnerd]

WN if you live in zone 9-10 why not a B. chungi or a D. minor
MarCat

I also ordered a b. chungii.

So while none of these plants have arrived yet, the blue bamboo list will be:

Bambusa chungii
Borinda papyrifera
Hamalyacalamus hookerianus

[gbock]

WN if you live in zone 9-10 why not a B. chungi or a D. minor
MarCat

I also ordered a b. chungii.

So while none of these plants have arrived yet, the blue bamboo list will be:

Bambusa chungii
Borinda papyrifera
Hamalyacalamus hookerianus

David, I have all three in the ground, and here's my experience in zone 9b:

Bambusa chungii (planted in April of 2010): Prolific culm producer and very fast grower. Went from 4 ft to 12 ft in less than a year. Older culms turn green, but new culms are a beautiful bluish white.

Borinda papyrifera (planted in November of 2009): Prolific culm producer but culms are slow to increase in girth. Culms bend over under the weight of the leaves (which I find a bit coarse). It will be more upright when the culms begin to approach 1". Nice tight clump. New culms are a light blue and seem to retain their color well. Culm sheaths are semi-persistent, which detracts from the overall look.

Himalyacalamus hookerianus 'Teague's Blue' (planted in September of 2009): By far the slowest grower. Has produced one (1!) new culm per year since planting. Elegant leaves and stunning culm color, which can vary from shades of blue to purple on one culm. I think this will end up being a fantastic clump but it needs time.

Hope this helps!