Fargesia nitida - growing from seed?

[Herb]

I've been advertising locally for some Fargesia nitida because I'd like to have some bamboo with black stems, but the only response I've had is from somebody who said hers had gone to seed last year and a report of another one that had gone to seed this year.

Then I happened to notice some a few days ago in a third garden that has also gone to seed. I asked the owners when this happened & they said it was last year.

They were kind enough to offer me as many seeds as I wanted to harvest, so I accepted, but from what I've read Fargesia nitida seeds are very difficult to germinate - and those that do sometimes don't germinate for many months. Anyway, I'm experimenting. Maybe if I'm patient - just maybe - I'll have one or two new plants by this time next year.

The most interesting comment about F. nitida going to seed was on a site that says it very often doesn't die after flowering, but does take several years to recover, and in the meantime looks very sick indeed.. This certainly sounds plausible because the ones I saw were putting out a few new leaves.

Another interesting comment was that F. nitida bamboo doesn't all flower in exactly the same year, but instead over a 4 or 5 year "window" & I assume we're in that "window" now.

Is anybody else trying to grow it from seeds being produced in this flowering period? Here's a picture of a few of the seed heads.

Bert

[KellieD]

My fargesia nitida started going to seed four years ago and struggles putting out new leaves each year. Those stems seed the next year. It is recommended to start from seed so there is a younger plant as divisions will be just as old as the plant from which it came.

I haven't given up on my plant yet but I will be starting seeds from it. Basically it is a grass with similar germination requirements.

Hope this makes sense as I am operating on very little sleep!

[whis4ey]

Sow the seed and you will have new plants Herb
Because bamboo goes to seed only rarely (every 100 years or so) most of the plants on earth have been provided from division. This means that they all come from similar parentage and will go to seed during the same period
Don't waste the opportunity to collect valuable seed ... there will be no more until you are 100 years older

[Herb]

Those replies are very encouraging. I'm crossing my fingers & hoping that sometime this year there will be one or two seedlings to photograph.

Actually there were so many seeds that after sowing a great many of them in pots & in grow cubes I also scattered a lot of them at random in the garden, mainly as an experiment to see if this would work. Maybe this was unwise because I don't really want the garden to turn into a Bamboo jungle.

Bert

[whis4ey]

Ouch!!!!!
I think that was unwise Herb
If they sprout pull them up right away or you will be in BIG trouble

[Herb]

Thanks, I'll keep that advice in mind, but you sound more optimistic than I feel about them germinating.

Meantime, I'm keeping a constant eye on it all. If I do find any coming up where I sowed the seeds at random, I'll dig them out & try to pot them - so long as I can get my hands on enough pots.

Bert

[Herb]

It's three months since I planted about 50 of the Fargesia nitida seeds. I put them in grow cubes, and then put the grow cubes into covered containers. (The containers were the sort you buy salad greens in at the supermarket & all had lids that are pretty well airtight, so I found I hardly ever needed to water them.)

Today I noticed that one of the containers had something growing in it & when I took the lid off, 5 out of the 6 grow cubes had shoots - of something. So I crossed my fingers and potted them up. Here's a picture of one of them. Are these indeed newly germinated Fargesia nitida? What do you think?

Bert

[whis4ey]

Herb
I have a friend in Denmark who tells me he has loads of little nitida seedlings sprouting all over his garden
He will send me pics if you would like to compare
He thinks yours is not a nitida
He also says they are easy to remove, but then they are still very small

[Herb]

Thanks Sam - I'd very much like to compare them. My seedlings (whatever they are) have grown a few inches since I posted the first picture. Here's a picture of one of them that I took a few minutes ago.

Bert

[whis4ey]

That looks something like a pampas grass or the like Herb
Here is a pic of my Danish friend's nitida

[Herb]

Hi, Sam,

Your friend's seedlings certainly look like Bamboo - and (so far at least) I certainly can't say that of my seedlings.

What mystifies me is - if mine are something else, how 6 of them got into every one of the 6 grow cubes in the same box, when I thought I was planting nothing but Fargesia n. seeds. Curiouser and curiouser, eh?

I guess all I can do now is wait & see what they grow into. I'll post more pictures as time passes, though I guess they won't grow much bigger this year, now that summer's over.

Bert

[whis4ey]

Herb
I haver a sister in law who planted seeds from my Australian Cordyline tree
When they grew they were not cordylines but some type of grass
Not for me to argue with anyone but you reap what you sow

[Herb]

Sam,

We do indeed. A few weeks ago I bought what I thought was a very low-growing Hebe that I'd wanted for a long time. Turns out I had been having a senior's moment. It was not only the wrong kind of Hebe (a Sutherland Hebe) - it was one that I already have scores of growing all over the place - mostly that took root from clippings when I was shearing the parent.

Maybe my Pampas Bamboos are Miscanthus confusa - Senior's Moment Grass?

Bert

[whis4ey]