Clumping bamboos seem to need a establishing period ,although there doesnt seem to be much action above the ground ,the plants are probably developing their roots and rhizome system.I think next spring they will really power on .I have spoken to several people who thought their bamboos werent doing much to begin with ,but 2-3 years later have very large healthy plants.
I grow clumping bamboos in pots and would suggest regular applications of lawn fertiliser during the growing seasons.
Be sure to water it in well and generally keep the water up to bamboos even in the ground.
Good luck

Thanks Richard it looks like Iam doing all the right things but may change to lawn fertiliser.

Looking forward to next spring

MM

Bambusa Lako has been the quickest growing out of what I have planted. I planted it Aug 2002 and it is now 15-20 feet tall with 12 or so culms. Sacred Bali which is my favorite was planted at the same time is 10-15 feet tall.

Bambusa oldhamii though has been much slower. Although it has been in the ground for only 10 months, Lako (Timor Black) and Sacred Bali were further established at that stage than what Bambusa oldhamii is now.

Anyway, this is just my experience so far...

Scott

Scott, seems I was given the wrong info about fast growing bamboo, but I am stuck with them now.
But if I do need to buy any again I will certainly look into those two that you have.
MM

Bambusa Oldhamii is really a much better screen than either the Bambusa Lako or the sacred Bali bamboo. Much tighter and thicker growth with very strong culms to resist the wind better without looking bulky like some of the Dendrocalamus species. To make the Oldhamii leafout even thicker you should trim it to a height of about 8 meters. Fertilize and water daily if possible with 24-7-14 or 15-15-15 when the temp reaches above 70* F.

It will be a while before it gets to 8mts the temp is over 70 now and it is nearly Winter so I have started to slow down the watering a bit,like twice a week.

But I will take your advise and trim but it will have to be much shorter than that if I cannot bend it. Thanks

MM

Watering twice weekly is fine when you're losing your daylight hours. Growth will also slowdown as winter sets in. When temps. go below 70F there will be no growth to record. If there is less sunlight but the temp. is still warm it is allright to continue fertilizing. Went back to reread your first post, you started with very small plants. You live in or near a tropical rain forest ? How much rain per year ?

No need to trim much but only the very tops when they become much bigger to improve the foliages appearence. This also helps to build a stronger root system and that will also help speed up the growth. With the wet enviroment you must have allmost any bamboo should thrive. I believe that Baintree is the wettest.

I live in Brisbane the Capital of Queensland it"s in the the South East,not far from the New South Wales border. No it is no where near a rainforest and rain what rain we are supposed to get rain here in the Summer months and a little in the Winter.

I have lived here four years now and the past Summer was the first time we have had any decent rain in that time, that is probably why the bamboo are not growing quickly as all they get is tap water, all that does is keep the plants alive, but what a difference when it does rain everything just shoots away.

Checking my 2003 diary for the rain fall this is in my area as I have my own rain gauge we got just over 620mm from Jan- Dec it might sound a lot but some times we get over 150mm in a few hours and as the soil is so dry it just runs off, I also live on a slopeing block.

Yes I started off with just one-two shoots in each clump, there is plenty of Sunlight here in the Winter, for about eight to ten weeks the nights and early mornings are cold but the days are beautiful, you would not want to live anywhere else.

It is in the Far North of Queensland where they get a lot of rain Cairns,Tully,Babinda,which is about 1730 kms North We do not get that kind of rain in the South East.

MM

1730 kms is about the distance from our southern to northern borders. We are likly at the same latitude ,I was told that Perth is at the same latitude as San Diego. I am 130 miles north of San Diego and in a very dry desert but close to the ocean with only 34 inches of rain in the best years,with sometimes as little as 17 inches. Compared to the pacific northwest with over 150 inches a year. I use a low pressure drip system with 12 to 15 psi water pressure at the drippers .25 inch HDPE tubing with lazer drilled holes every 6 inches. This is the greatest thing ever invented because you can leave it on for up to 3 days at a time in the hottest wheather and soak deep into the ground to draw the roots into deep soil where they are protected from drought. Healthier bamboo means bigger shoots and that results in taller bamboo. Unless your soil is sandy you need a drip system, can't live without it. Let me know if you have trouble finding some.The best that I know of is made by RainDrip here in the US. I would love to live there, i'm a collector of your natural palms as well as those from New Zealand and Norfolk.

I have been over to C. Hubby took me to Wales UK in 93 one guess as to which two cities we stayed in coming and going. Its amazing that you live near a desert yet your rainfall is higher than here that 620mm is just over 24 inches and that was a good year.

Here the soil is clay and I have about 8 inches of mulch on top of the garden including the the bamboo. I have had drip systems before and decided when we built here, not to have one this time as I have different plants that need different water requirements so I hand water with the hose I have plenty of time for that as we are retired

Here it is higher than Perth our Latitude is 27 yours is around 35 so our weather is a little warmer. Thanks for you information.

MM

Average humidity on April - June days may be around 70% as we're 10 miles from the ocean. Temp. range from 65 - 80 degrees F. Our real summer months are July to October when we experience more offshore condition when we're blasted with the desert heat of 85 - 110 degrees with 10 % humidity. Travel only 60 miles inland and you are in the desert. I would say we are subtropical with most weather conditions coming up from Mexico. We have the most unpredictable weather. Right now we are 65-70F and mostly overcast, but we had a spell of 100 to 104 for a week.In the UK they would kill for this weather but we could see it offshore for days at 85 to 95 and then the next day it will rain and be 65 degree. This can drive you batty ,i believe this to be the true reason that Californians are so wacked. But not more so than you Aussies. U knew I was in the US ?

It is sub-tropical here, but in Feb late Summer we had a couple of days of 41 C= 106F The humidity is oppressive,it wears you out it is in the high 90s when it does not rain and that is often

Our weather is the same most of the seasons, it is not hot one day and cold the next. But if we have a really hot day it would cool down about 8 C the next day to bring it back to middle or low 30s C = 90-95 F

The temp here now is 15-22 C =60-71 F it is starting to cool down fast now as next week is Winter. This morning at 6am it was about 9 C so a lot colder in the morning than yesterday but the Sun is out and by 10am its back to short sleeves.

And yes the humidity drives us batty too but you have to get used to it or move south where it is too cold, been there done that too.

Any tips on where to purchase bamboo?? I often head 'over the border' so any place in SEQ is ok. I have always had a keen interest in growing bamboo but now that it's trendy it is very hard to find, and afford.
Do you online purchase it also??

BP :o)

LOOK AT THESE PRICES. Don't know where they are located.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lako and black asper

BP. I bought mine two years ago from a grower in Agnes Water by mail order, I dont know if they are still in business. I got that address from the back of the Gardening Australia or Your Garden magazines.

Here are a couple you can look up on line that sell retail one of them is in NNSW it may not be far from you.

www.bambooworld.com.au
www.bamboo-oz.com.au so.

MM.

Sorry my mistake that last one is www.bamboo-oz.com.au

I have some Black Timor for sale. I had a large clump which grew as high as the powerlines and the elec. people came regular to chop the tops of.I sold the clump to a dealer in Gladsone but have suckers coming up all the time.

mistymorn
while it's true that there is no rainforest to speak of in Brisbane at present, there are patches in Brisbane Forest Park, and heaps in Gold Coast hinterland. Also before it was ripped out to make way for roads and houses most of the area that is now Brisbane WAS rainforest. Also the rainfall over the last 4 years is far from typical.
Tony

Hi Mistymorn

I planted my Bambusa Oldhamii about 4 months ago and they are really taking off with a lot of new growth - the tallest being about 2.5m. The original growth has not grown much at all. We live near Moree, so not too far from where you are from the sound of it.

I haven't fertilised yet and it doesn't rain heaps here so I think it might have something to do with the deep watering - I cut 50cm pieces of thick polypipe and sat it under the bamboo at an angle when I planted them. I water every 2 days and fill the polypipe up a couple of times. It could also be the raised garden beds making it easier for the root system to become established rather than straight into the clay earth here.

I don't know much about them yet but I wonder if you could dig down using a hand shovel and insert a piece of polypipe or something similar? Not sure of the root system at that age, if digging would damage them so maybe someone who knows more could advise.

Thanks nicki for your advice.
But would you believe they are flying away this year, we had terrible soil down near the back fence also the land was vacant for 20 years, and in certain places we cannot grow anything, pretty sure the locals used it as the local dump including my lovely neighbours.

You say dig down with a hand shovel O well I have too laugh, have you even tried digging down near bamboo, we tried dividing one last Spring and we did getting three good strong pieces off and they are flying away too,but it took a bent rake and a huge crowbar with hubby doing the bar bit while I was pulling the rope we tied to it.

But I think the secret to my success at long last was the fertlizing with lawn food like richard said,I do them every six weeks from November till about April so it has made a big difference, they are about 3mts ( 10ft ) high now and still reaching for the sky and getting very bushy.

I think the time I planted mine was wrong too being winter anyway they are right now. Cheers.

MM.

Glad to hear your Boo's are going well MM,i have now started adding mine to the garden,i got a "Ghost" bamboo recently - its supposed to really grow very fast.
All the best.

What is a Ghost Bamboo Richard ????

MM.

Its my new favourite bamboo Dendrocalamus minor var.amoenus.
It grows up to around 8 metres and has large leaves and is great for creating quick shade/privacy.I have been told it grows very rapidly and is a very tight clumper.

Its looks very interesting I did a bit of googling a nice colour Richard.
But sadly it's very much out of my price range, never mind.

MM.

I planted my Ghost less than 3 weeks ago and today the first new shoot is emerging!,the plant was in a 200mm pot and was not root bound.I think this plant is going to be a winner.

Richard I fertilized mine yesterday and noticed while moving the mulch
from around the drip line I had lots of new shoots too on every plant
Do you think that this is the time of the year they shoot as I divided one plant
in September and the two new separate pieces each have too new shoot isn't that great.
Glad to hear your new one is performing so well

MM.