Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

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jd.
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Location: Midwest, USDA Z5 / AHS Heat Z5

Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

Post by jd. »

Someone changed his mind about this plant, so I have a freshly dug Phyllostachys virella division already packaged to offer for sale and shipment to the continental USA.
Phyllostachys virella is a vigorous bamboo that is among the most cold hardy with a similar appearance to Ph. rubromarginata. Phyllostachys virella is currently rare in the USA.
phyllostachys virella
phyllostachys virella
This plant includes a rhizome network with a combined length of 25 or 27 feet and is ready to go into the ground or a squat pot of 10 gallons or more in size. :D

Feel welcome to submit any bids via PM. I'll alternately accept any bamboos on my list of wanted plants for trade.
If there doesn't happen to be much interest now, this plant will go back into the ground for the season.

As an aside, I also happen to have a much smaller Ph. rubromarginata plant available for sale or trade.

Update:

This Phyllostachys virella plant is now overwintering in a 15 gallon pot and will be available for shipment again in the spring.
Chances are good that one or two other smaller virella rhizomes will also become available in the spring.
Last edited by jd. on Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
pokenei
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Re: Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

Post by pokenei »

It appears there may be some uncertainty regarding this cultivar. Some sources said it's like Atrovaginata while some said it's like Rubro. From this photo, it does look more like Rubro with the large leaves.

I'd already have a Rubro. Unless it is as hardy and needmore claimed, I would be hesitant on getting this one. There's just no room for me to experiment. But, I think 25 feet of rhizomes is a good specimen...even though it doesn't look too impressive up top.
stevelau1911
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Re: Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

Based on Bambus Lexikon, virella is hardy to -18C to -24C, which is pretty top notch, but the size potential is only listed at 4-6M. That puts it around a 20ft size potential which would be very good if it can still get to that size in zone 4 & 5. Once you move to the zone 6 range, then there are around a dozen bamboos that can get up to the 30ft range with good hardiness for the climate. It seems like this bamboo may be sort of like a rubromarginata for cooler climates. I still don't know just how leaf hardy this species is. Perhaps around -6F, but if it can hold green in zone 5, it must be very hardy.

One of the problems I see is that there happen to be larger bamboos that may be close in hardiness. For example, prominens is also listed at -18C to -24C on the Lexikon site.
http://brasestruck6.de/phyllostachys-pr ... nghai.html

One suggestion I have is to split that entire clump into a dozen or so rhizome divisions right before shooting season so you can have lots of it available.


This actually brings up a very good question. What are the most desirable temperate bamboos in the United States? I think it really depends on the climate, and the purpose of the bamboo. So far my favorite bamboo is still phyllostachys dulcis, but I have quite a few species that are right up there with it.
bamboothew
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Location: zone 7b Clemson, SC

Re: Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

Post by bamboothew »

Steve, don't forget that Phyllostachys bamboos can be much larger and more vigorous in the US than in Europe. It is possible that a 20ft bamboo in Europe could be a 40ft bamboo here. It would be awesome, indeed, if virella turns out to have a size potential about the same as rubro but is even hardier :bom:

Btw, virella is not for the faint of heart here in the southeast: it is running like mad after being in the ground for only a year!
God Bless,

Matthew

===============================

Genesis 2:8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
johnw
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Re: Ph. virella for sale - cold hardy bamboo

Post by johnw »

A plant this size with soil & a 25-25ft rootstock would require a phytosanitary certificate to get into Canada. If the soil is native then doubtful you'd get a phyto without having the soil tested and that could be costly.

I'd be interested in a bareroot late March rhizome maybe 20" long yhat could be coiled to fit in a flat rate international box if you have any for sale then.

johnw
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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