Pacific Northwest Gardening: Bamboo ?, 2 by RickCorey_WA

RickCorey_WA wrote:
I planted a 1/2 gallon pot of Fargesia rufa from Home Depot in July 2009, and now its around 5 1/2 feet tall. It's a very cold-hardy clumper.

Unfortunately for me, it's also droopy and the culms are more like thick grass than the stiff poles I'm still hoping for when it gets a little older.

I heard (just once) that bamboo might wnat a soluble silicate soil amendment. Does anyone here agree with that? I have clay with miscelaneous amendments.

fernfarmer said:
>> If your part of Washington is also dry during the summer, you will need to mist the plants regularly
and spray 3-4 times per year with oil in order to keep them healthy.

Well, I am dry during the summer, but the only misting I do is that I get the leaves wet since I water from above, maybe twice per week, maybe twice per month. What symptoms would you look for to indicate needing more frequent misting? I don;t see anything like wilt or browness.

Similarly, what is the reason for oil sprays? I hadn't heard of that for bamboo.

Thanks for any tips. I would like to stimulate more-rapid growth, especially thicker culms.


This message was edited Mar 16, 2012 5:25 PM