Ideas for safely transporting #5 bisetti via hatchback?

[jpluddite]

Howdy folks.

I'm going to buy 5 to 7 number 5 bisetti in a few weeks. I'm hoping to be able to transport them via a 2009 Nissan Versa hatchback. If all else fails, I can ask the guy to ship them, but that would require that he top them which would defeat part of the goal of quickly creating a screen.

We're combining the bamboo pickup with a mini vacation, so the travel is fairly long--about 10 hours each way.

Do ya'll have ideas for how to transport the bamboo without breaking or otherwise damaging them? I might be able to bend some of them so they don't have to hang out of the car, but others may not be so lucky. If that's true, can I wrap them in sheets to protect them from wind burn?

Is this idea simply not reasonable?

[David]

When I transport bamboo I place the root ball(s) forward, and wrap the branches (all the tops of all the root balls) tightly together with black 6mil plastic, and secure everything with lots of packing tape. What you end up with is a large cone facing to the rear. Make sure to remove the plastic asap, and never leave the wrapped bamboo in the sun as it will heat up and burn the leaves. Just a note hear about exhaust fumes and open hatches: make sure you keep the air going through the car and out the hatch otherwise you can get home with bamboo and a splitting headache!

[jpluddite]

>When I transport bamboo I place the root ball(s) forward, and wrap the branches (all the tops of all the root balls) tightly together with black 6mil plastic, and secure everything with lots of packing tape.

So, the root balls should be right behind the front seats, right? Would it also work to wrap each plant separately, or is there a disadvantage to that?

Plastic is better than burlap or something else because it keeps out the wind?

jp

[David]

I think for me it is less work to wrap them all together, and yes they would go right behind the front seats. I think plastic prevents desiccation better than burlap or fabric when travelling down the road. Don't forget about the CO fumes.

[jpluddite]

Thanks David.

jp

[David]

Can you strap them to the top of the car? I've done that with my Jeep on several occasions. I have a custom made trailer to haul them now. Got tired of always rigging something up.

[jpluddite]

I'll see if it's possible to secure them to the roof.

How much can you bend them? I'm worried that they'll break at their joints.

jp

[jpluddite]

My guess is that I can easily fit 3 side-by side, and I might be able to squeeze more, but at some point, I might have to stack them on top of each other horizontally.

Should I stack them root ball on root ball, or should I offset the root balls? [They are still in 5-gallon pots]

[Alan_L]

These are tough plants and they can take some abuse. Get the pots stacked in the car however you can, then wrap the part that sticks out the back. You can bunch all of the culms, branches, and leaves together into one mass and wrap it tightly. Here's the bamboo from the last trip to Needmore I made:

http://www.itsnotworkitsgardening.com/2 ... mboos.html

[jpluddite]

Alan,

How do you wrap the bamboo together? I noticed your web site has great pictures of the finished product. Do you also have pictures of the process?

jp

[Alan_L]

I use stretch wrap (get it at Office Max or similar store), start at the bottom, and move upward. The branches easily bend upward, and you can wrap quite tightly. Sometimes I wrap the pots to keep the soil from falling out too.

Other people wrap a tarp around the plants and use bungee cords to secure it, but for a long trip like I usually make (4 hours or more) I like the security of knowing that the stretch wrap won't blow off.

[jpluddite]

How far up the culms do you start wrapping? In other words, how much of the culm is exposed above the pot before you start the wrap?

jp

[Alan_L]

Where the branches start in my case -- the idea is to 1) protect all of the leaves from being wind-whipped and desiccated and 2) reduce the mass of branches to a manageable size.

There's really not much too it -- you're probably over-thinking. I know I did a lot of that when I was new to bamboo. You quickly learn that hardened culms are extremely tough and you won't damage the plant unless you really try.

[jpluddite]

Yeah, I'm nervous because when I bought my first bamboo last spring, it was number 5 that was shipped. When I opened it, the plant was healthy, but one of the culms had broken fairly low.

But, there's a lot less to worry about if the bamboo is just camping out in the back of my car.

Cheers,

jp

[stevelau1911]

Just wondering, why do you need to get 5-7 bissetii plants? Are you trying to fill in a quick screen? A lot of people just starting to grow bamboo may underestimate the spreading and proliferation capabilities, of especially a screening type bamboo. A 5 culm division can turn into a 50 culm grove depending on the nurture.

You could probably get 5-7 different species of bamboo and have good results with all of them after a couple of years. Also 5 gallon sized bamboos should be pretty easy to fit inside a small vehicle since most of them can bend to fit into small spaces.

I've been stuffing them into flat rate boxes which are pretty small, and have them come out without culm/branch breakage for a few years already. Here are the blog with pictures showing how it's possible. I'm pretty sure your hatchback has a lot more room than these boxes.
http://stevesbamboogarden.blogspot.com/ ... mboos.html