Videos
Very First Video!
How to Divide a Clumping Bamboo
Bamboo Maintenence
Thinning a Clump of Fargesia Scabrida
Installing Pavers
Concrete Demolition, and Installation of a Paver Walk and Patio
How to Divide a Clumping Bamboo
Thinning a Clump of Fargesia Scabrida
Concrete Demolition, and Installation of a Paver Walk and Patio
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Very nice. It appears to be a much easier process than I had envisioned. My only question that wasn’t really covered is about the best time of year to divide. You said not to do it when the bamboo is shooting, but are there specific times of year that are better than others?
Conventional wisdom is that fall and spring are the best times, but I haven’t found that to be especially true. It depends a lot on the bamboo and the climate. We have pretty mild summers here, and I have the best luck from mid-March on through August. The foliage seems to suffer much more over winter on my fall divisions. As I mentioned in the video, it’s probably not the best idea to be dividing a bamboo during active shooting (although the F. rufa I used for the video did just fine) so I try to do my clumpers after the really nasty weather, but before they start to shoot in earnest. The running bamboos shoot later, so I do those in April, or wait until after shooting is complete, usually August or early September. There are many exceptions, however. If you have a question about a particular bamboo in a particular region, I can probably give you a more useful answer. Thanks for the comment!
Good morning!
I just stumbled across your site, and I am enjoying it very much. Your videos are well done and very informative. You should have a show on the HG network.
Tomorrow I am going to The Bamboo Nursery to pick out a few clumpers for my 1/3 acre yard. The plants would need to be pretty tall, evergreen, and able to take some afternoon sun- although they would be growing in proximity to Cedars and firs. Do you have any suggestions? I live in Vancouver, WA.
I am going to go check out Chusquea Culeou, Fargesia Robusta, and Thamnocalamus Tessellatus.
Again, great job! Love the Website.
Mike.
Probably the most available of the clumpers that will work for you is F. robusta. Also, a little bit shorter, (maybe) but holds up over winter better, is Fargesia scabrida. My favorite is F. scabrida.
I am so glad I found this website. Very informative. I have my transplated dwarf bamboo in the sun, so I will surely grab them and give them some protection.
One question, is Phyll. Bissetti an invasive bamboo?
Will be looking forward to more videos.
Thanks
Thank you for checking out the blog, and for the comments! As for the P. bissetii, yes it can be an aggressive runner. Here in Western WA, it will run pretty aggressively even if conditions aren’t exactly ideal.
Just saw your comment on when to divide in an August ’09 posting. Thanks
I also just happened to stumble across this blog site, I wanted to say that youve done a very nice job. I have a bamboo nursery I opened a couple years ago that sells online. We are located in Maryland and had our first full year of online sales this year, I really enjoy talking with others who are interested in bamboo and am always happy to see a site like yours. I am just starting my blog site and am looking forward to passing on my bamboo knowlege and experiences as you have. Keep up the good work! I think you’re due for some more posts and videos. I’ll look forward to it!
Thanks,
Gary
Maybe this is a dumb question but if I wish to plant clumping bamboo to create a screen, how far apart should the clumps be spaced? I haven’t found ONE mention on this site regarding spacing of the plants.
i have sticky black spots on the top of the leaves ? HELP PLEASE
Without seeing it, my guess is “sooty mold”. It is a fungus that grows in leaf sap, or more likely with bamboo, in aphid excrement. Aphids feed on the underside of leaves, dripping their sappy excrement on on the leaf tops below. Sooty mold thrives in it. It’s mostly seasonal here at my nursery. I have tried hosing off the aphids, and that seems to help. Also, keeping your plants thinned out will help.