Hi, I was given this bamboo a while back -courtesy of a friend who bought it at a school fete. I must admit that I had neglected it badly and have only recently started to give it the care and attention that it needs. It has been growing in a pot and I recently potted up a division which is doing nicely. I'm planning to grow some in the ground as a screen along a dividing fence but before I do want to make sure that I have the right id and that it is a clumping variety. The new shoots are green and turn motely yellow/green/black, gradually becoming darker black as they age. Hope that the photos below are helpful. They are of the parent plant and the newly potted one. The leaves are a bit burnt because we have had some very hot dry weather, 38C to 42C. I'm hoping that it is a Bambusa lako but don't know a lot about bamboo. Thanks
Looks suspiciously like the nicking off variety in brother's garden. Could you pot up a few pots to create the screen untill you are absolutly sure. It also looks a bit like the one friends of the forest have removed from a creek valley near us. Liz
Hi Liz, it is in pots now :). If it isn't a clumping variety I'll leave it in the pots and buy some Bambusa lako (Timor black bamboo) instead. ciao
If you notice the runners shooting away from the original clump, up to a metre, and have reappeared above the terrain in a very strong segmented growth pattern, you may very likely... have a spreading Bamboo...
Hi, thanks everyone. The plant is still in a pot and he new shoot on the recently transplanted piece has come up about 10cm (4 inches) away from the main plant. It does look suspiciously like P. nigra -I was hoping that it wasn't. I guess that it will stay in pots and now big $$$$ to buy Bambusa lako :(.
Can't quite tell in your photos, but it looks like it has a fully developed sulcus (indented groove), which would be a phyllostachys. If so, probably a variety of p. nigra.
The sulcus is present to lesser degrees in other species, but a full sulcus (running the length of each internode) is one of the distinct characteristics of phyllostachys. On larger specimens it can be absent on lower portions of the culms, but it will be present somewhere along its length. This, combined with the branching pattern and appearance of your bamboo, pretty much nails it: p. nigra of some kind (there are a few varieties out there).
Thanks heaps, I know what I'm dealing with now. I'll work at it and turn it into a healthy pot specimen. ciao bertoli
Hey bertoli, Don't stress too much at the cost of a B. lako. I have one in the yard it started as a half priced bargain from Bunnings hardware. It had 1 solitary stem thick as my thumb, which had snapped at about 50 cm off the ground here's a picture of it today 3 years later (latest shoots are close to soft drink can diameter). Just add water and fertiliser and watch it grow, seriously about 30 cm a day if given prime conditions. I definitely would go with the other i.d. for the one pictured. (watch it doesn't get away by sneaking out from under the pot through drainage holes) If you can hold out a little I might be able to organise a shot cutting from a mate that grows bamboos. It's pretty expensive but compared to the palms it's planted between there's a 3 year to 15 year growth ratio comparison and the bamboo is winning! I was a bit unsure but after seeing them at in workmates yard I planted 3 different varieties. I just wish I had enough room for the giant bamboos:}
Wow, your bamboo is fantastic!! Oh to live in Queensland (and know what you're doing of course :) ) I would love a cutting sometime - I've been checking out prices -most places don't post here or they are horribly expensive. I saw a B.lako at a coffee shop last week - it had been planted as a screen against a rough old wall -it looked fantastic but not as healthy as yours. It prompted me to check out my now id'd P.nigra. I have another clump of nameless bamboo planted in the ground which I've had for about 30 years -I've neglected it totally and it is still doing well though it does need a severe pruning/clean up because I've neglected it a bit too much and it's looking untidy. I'll get on to it - I'll post a pic when it is tidy :) if you want some you're welcome to it. thanks ciao bertoli
