A visitor to our website asks:
Hi! I've been doing a lot of research on Bamboo and came across your site. First I want to thank you for the information concerning the plants. I think I learned more from your documentation than I have from several other sites combined. That being said. We live on the Eastern Coast of FL and would be interested in what times of year are best to plant the bamboo and in regards to that possibly set the ground work for an appointment to look at the selections you have first hand and ask some questions etc. That's about all I can think of at the moment. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you as time allows.
My response:
I'm glad you enjoyed our website and look forward to your visit in the near future. Bamboos can be planted all year long but now is an especially good time because the roots have a few months to get established in their new location before summer canes appear. It's the roots that determine the number and size of shoots each year so a well-established root system is important.
The best thing to do is to schedule a visit to our nursery to see our demonstration garden where we have mature specimens of all the bamboos we carry. An in-person visit makes it much easier to decide which bamboo is right for your yard.
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2/12/09
When should I trim back cold-damaged leaves and canes?
A customer from San Antonio, FL asks:
I wanted to know if I should trim off the dried leaves on the Angel Mist and Dwarf Budda Belly?. We covered the Budda belly on the cold nights. The bottom 10" is green the rest brown. I gave them a little dynamite fertilizer the other day and plenty of water. Should I just leave everything alone and let nature do its thing or should I trim?. Second question, is now the time to lay down some good compost?. This year I have "Worm Castings" for compost and I'm also growing composting worms, I wanted to go a little more "green" this year. Have you ever tried worm castings? What do you think?
My response:
We're still being cautious and waiting until the end of February to trim but it's probably safe to do some snipping now. As the weather warms, live sections of cane will start to send out new leaves and, of course, as soon as it gets even warmer, new shoots will begin to appear. You can add compost and/or worm castings any time at all. There is no bad time to apply top dressings of organic matter or mulch to bamboo. Good for you for growing worms! That's something I've always wanted to do but never gotten around to setting up. We've had a compost pile for years but no worm bin. Your plants should respond with vigor!
I wanted to know if I should trim off the dried leaves on the Angel Mist and Dwarf Budda Belly?. We covered the Budda belly on the cold nights. The bottom 10" is green the rest brown. I gave them a little dynamite fertilizer the other day and plenty of water. Should I just leave everything alone and let nature do its thing or should I trim?. Second question, is now the time to lay down some good compost?. This year I have "Worm Castings" for compost and I'm also growing composting worms, I wanted to go a little more "green" this year. Have you ever tried worm castings? What do you think?
My response:
We're still being cautious and waiting until the end of February to trim but it's probably safe to do some snipping now. As the weather warms, live sections of cane will start to send out new leaves and, of course, as soon as it gets even warmer, new shoots will begin to appear. You can add compost and/or worm castings any time at all. There is no bad time to apply top dressings of organic matter or mulch to bamboo. Good for you for growing worms! That's something I've always wanted to do but never gotten around to setting up. We've had a compost pile for years but no worm bin. Your plants should respond with vigor!