Indoor Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus)

[Indoor Bamboo]

I have just ordered seeds of Dendrocalamus S.. I have always been facscinated with bamboos (whether indoor or outdoor) but right now, my passion is to grow one (tall 8 ft or > ) indoor specimen to my 30' ceiling home. I have been reading a lot of articles - one I read where he started the germination process using sand for concrete, another one mentioning just submerging in distilled water w/ drops of super thrive. Either way, I would like to begin the journey..I know I will be proud if I will successfully grew one...
One question at a time. How do I begin the germination of seeds ? What advice is best? I live in zone 8 or 9 (northeast florida). Currently our temp. right now is between 80 - 90 F.

Any advice from you will be well appreciated.

[kenaibilly]

Hi there, I've had very good results using the following seed starting method.
1: Soak the seed in warm (80 to 90 degree F.) water for 2 to 3 hours and I add a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide and liquid sea weed to the water before soaking;

2: Plant Bamboo D. strictus seeds 3/8" to 1/2" deep in seed starter mix that is very moist by laying the seed on it's side on top of the firmed down mix and covering to the required depth with pumice or perlite. Mist the surface of the seed flat with warm water / liquid sea weed solution if you don't have Superthrive;

3: Cover seed flat with clear plastic dome and place it in a brightly lit (but NOT in full sun) spot where the seeds can remain at about 86 F and DO NOT LET THEM DRY OUT!!!!

General: I usually place 2 to 3 seeds in each 2 1/2" to 3" pot and if you have more than 1 Bamboo be sure to keep them well MARKED and separated. Remove the dome and mist the soil surface with the water / liquid sea weed solution several times a day until you see the FIRST sign of growth. Now is the most critical time in your new 'babys' life. Too much water and she's toast, not enough and she's toast.... there are a lot of ways to 'toast a Bamboo' believe me!!! As soon as you get a fair amount of seedlings showing pull the dome off and set it aside for next time. Mist, mist, mist these little ones for the next few weeks and don't let them get too hot and keep them out of the sun until the first 'culm' pops it's head up and you should be able to sit back and enjoy your fruits of labor. Don't expect all of your seed to be viable and germinate... fresher seed is usually better seed... if the seed was allowed to fully develop before harvesting and was handled carefully will all be beneficial too.

Enjoy and welcome to Bamboo parenthood, kenaibilly

[Mark Meckes]

Great instructions kenaibilly, Thanks!

Re: seed viability ... F.A.McClure in his book 'The Bamboos', published 1966, pg 204, writes ...
Deogun (1937:117) reports briefly the results of experiments on the storage of seeds of Dendrocalamus strictus carried out at the Forest Research institute, Dehra Dun.
Seeds showing an initial germination capacity of 56 percent were stored dry in sealed tins.
Doegun does not give either the moisture content of the seeds when sealed up or the temperature at which they were stored.
Germination after 1, 2, and 3 years was 54, 43, and 5 percent respectively.
No seeds germinated after storage in gunny sacks for 1 year, under conditions otherwise not described.

I got lucky and became an adopted parent of a small seedling (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=734) of this species several years ago, which I keep as a potted plant and bring indoors in the winter whenever the temperature dips below freezing.
Fortunately our 'living' room has a 12ft ceiling with a skylight.
Because this species produces multiple branches at it's nodes in a culm's second year, it is amenable to topping and trimming without looking too hacked up ... which I may need to do this year to get it into the house this winter.

Last summer I planted it in the ground, then I dug it up quite late in the autumn (Nov), which shocked it somewhat, though it grew back nice small delicate leaves.
This spring I potted it up into a larger 10 gal pot and planted the pot nearly up to it's rim in a garden bed, which should make it easier to dig up this coming autumn.

Mark