| Anyone know what juvenile Dendrocalamus asper should look like? I've trawled all the bamboo sites but few pics available of immature plants.
Went mad the other day and bought 6 supposedly different clumping bamboos from Bunnings. I know I shouldn't trust their names, but they did come from a reputable wholesaler here in Victoria and when I was in the trade, I had no problems from them. The are in 200mm pots and look as if they have been tissue cultured. Can't be seed raised as they are all the same size and 6 bamboos would never have flowered all in the same year and produced fresh, viable seed.
The haul included Bambusa balcooa, B. lako, Dendrocalamus asper, D. hamiltonii, D. minor (I think 'Amoenus'), and D. strictus. Two of them promptly fried their leaves to crisps in the shade of a tree, including the D. asper, but are okay. Obviously hadn't been out of a glasshouse for long. Banged them in the shade house with high humidity and they motored away.
I was in the store the following week and they had a new batch in and amongst them was one labelled Dendrocalamus asper, but it had completely different foliage from the first asper I had bought. Naturally I couldn't resist it. The new one has very broad, bright green, shiny leaves and the first purchase of asper had it indistinguishable from the other five original purchases with fairly fine immature leaves of a dark, dull, green colour. Now I'm terrified that I've bought six of the same species with different labels on them!
I've taken a pic of the two aspers side by side but not sure how to post pics here or even if I can post them. The Help section doesn't work. Instructions appreciated.
TIA,
Dale |
