Travis M. Wrote:
> "HumanJHawkins" JHawkins@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote in message
> news:1146078745.642536.19220@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> newgardeners wrote:
> Hi, we have just been given some bamboo, the picture below
> shows
> them in the garden.
>
> [image:
> http://tinyurl.com/sx92b
>
> q1) Can anyone tell from the picture what type they are?
>
> q2) Are they too close to the fence?
>
> q3) Will they grow quickly to above/fence height
>
> First question for you... Are both plants of the same variety?
> If
> you don't know for sure look at them real closely to check this
> first.
>
> We will need a few more close-up pics... One of the whole plant
> but
> up close, and a couple real close-ups of the branches, leaves,
> etc.
> Characteristics that help identify bamboo a
>
> - Size and shape of leaves
> - Color of culms and leaves
> - Number of branches at each node
>
> Also, it helps to see the new culms as they shoot... Some
> bamboos
> look identical except for their new shoots. It is likely that
> there
> is a new shoot or two on these plants at this time of year, so
> shoot a photo of that too if you can.
>
> Without this additional info, any answers will be unreliable at
> best.
>
> .........and sometimes the only way to tell is by the flowers.
>
> --
>
> Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Wa****ngton
> USDA Zone 8
> Sunset Zone 5
Travis is trying to give you more than you need.
I can tell from your URL and your garden that you are in England.
Almost certainly your donor didn't buy them from
"really-obscure-bamboos-R-us", (otherwise they would tell you precisely
what you have) and almost certainly didn't buy a bamboo that would die
in an English garden. There are only about 10 genuses of bamboo
commonly sold in Britain, indeed unless you go to a specialist there
are barely 10 species commonly sold. So even if we don't get the
precise species and variety, we will probably identify it well enough
for your needs. But we do need a close-up of the culms to do that. In
fact even without a close-up, I would punt a guess that at least one of
your bamboos is Pseudosasa japonica, the most commonly grown bamboo in
Britain.
I can tell you one thing straightaway, you almost certainly have
running bamboo. Bamboos come into two basic kinds - clumpers and
runners. There are only two genuses of true clumping bamboos commonly
grown in Britain, Fargesia and Thamnocalamus, (and "commonly" is
stretching it for the second named) and even from a distance it seems
unlikely that yours are one of those. So you have runners. Admittedly
most runners only run fairly slowly in England (so most English sellers
describe all the bamboo that they sell as "clumping" even when it
isn't). But nonetheless before long your bamboo will probably be under
the fence, maybe not this year, but perhaps next year or the following,
whether you put it hard against the fence or at the front of the bed.
So unless nextdoor's garden is solid concrete, you should consider
whether your neighbour will mind having bamboo growing in their garden.
If not, you should think about installing a proper underground barrier
to prevent it spreading that way, and that will be easiest to do now.
You might also want to enclose it fully with a barrier, so it isn't
popping up where the slate scree is.
--
echinosum
|
