Growing Moso Bamboo from Seeds - My Journal

[R e x]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and this is my first post on these forums. I've recently won an auction for 300 Moso seeds from eBay. It cost me almost $16.00 USD! I started a little bamboo growing project with 10 seeds and I wanted somewhere to post the progress. "Bamboo Forums" seems like the perfect place to do it ^ ^;. I hope I'll be able to get a little help from other people who are more experienced than I am at growing bamboo (this is my first time). Oh, and, if anyone was wondering - I live in Seattle (USDA Zone 8).

I don't want to bore everyone with the germination approach I used because I'm sure you guys have seen things like this tons of times already, but here's a brief outline:

☼ First I rinsed 10 seeds in tap water.
☼ Then I soaked seeds in a 10% salt water solution for 5 minutes. [To create the solution, I filled up a small cup with tap water and poured it into a bucket 9 times. I filled it once more, this time with salt, and poured it into the bucket as well. Lastly, I mixed it up with a chopstick ^ ^~.]
☼ After that, I rinsed the seeds again. Then I soaked them in tap water for 15 minutes.
☼ The next step was moistening Miracle•Gro Potting Mix with tap water and placing some into a small plastic tub that used to hold deli meat.
☼ I then placed the seeds flat on the soil in the tub. Here's a diagram of how I laid out the seeds:
| | | | |
| | | | |
☼ Afterwards, I covered the seeds lightly with more of the moistened Miracle•Gro Potting Mix.
☼ Finally, I covered the tub with its lid and placed it on a wooden desk in my room. I opened the lid about twice a week to let fresh air flow in.

Exactly 14 days later, the first shoot emerged! I was so excited (\(^o^)/)! As of now, 3 of the 10 seeds have sprouted. I started taking pictures the day right after the day the first shoot emerged.

Here's a list of all the materials I used, the amount of money I paid for them, and where I got them from (I totally stole this idea from firemandril xD):

» 300 Moso Bamboo Seeds, $14.95, eBay
» Miracle•Gro Potting Mix (32 Qt.), $8.52, Lowe's Home Improvement
» Roast Beef Lunch Meat (8 Oz.) (I am using the tub container that the roast beef came in), $3.50, Safeway
Total: $26.97 USD

You're probably wondering why I bought a huge 32 Qt. bag of soil. I'm not sure I know the answer to that one. I only used about 2 handfuls of it ('._.).



I guess my journal begins here •^.^•!

«☼~Updates~☼»

=> All journal pictures with the exception of the most recent are now thumbnails. You may click the thumbnails to view larger versions of them. This helps speed up the thread's loading and is easier on dial-up internet users.

=> All journal entries now have ratings. A rating reflects the amount of important news updates in a particular entry. A rating meter will appear in each entry. Journal entries with low ratings contain a small amount of important news while entries with high ratings have stuff that you want to make sure you read. The following is a key that shows you how to read the meter:
Minor News Update - [lllllllll]
Average News Update - [lllllllll]
Major News Update - [lllllllll]

=> All pictures in the journal now have the dimensions 800 x 600 (or 600 x 800) instead of having 500 x 375.

=> I have officially given up on keeping the picture sizes constant. From now on I'll just post pictures in sizes I think are appropriate.


July 28, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_July2820081-1.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/July2820081-1.jpg)
This is my sprouts' first picture. You can see two shoots poking out of the soil. The first one emerged the day before this picture was taken. The second one came up just today. Can you imagine how excited and happy I was when I saw the first sprout poking out of the ground yesterday :o??? I was yelling while jumping around my house xD. This was the first bamboo sprout I have ever seen in real life! I moved the tub from my wooden desk to a ledge next to my bedroom window. I figured that the sprouts would start needing light now.

July 29, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_July292008.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/July292008.jpg)
There are now three sprouts total! One more came up from the soil today. So now there's a tall one (emerged from ground first), a medium height one (emerged from ground second), and a short one (emerged from ground today). I apologize for the bad picture quality. Can you see the new sprout? It's below the sprout on the top and to the left of the sprout on the right. If you can imagine an "L" shape being made by the three sprouts, the new sprout would be at the corner/vertex. I don't know if that made any sense f(@.@)z, but here's a diagram to help show you what I mean:
l
l
x _ _
("X" marks the spot of the new sprout!)

August 05, 2008:
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All 3 seedlings now have leaves!! They look so happy and healthy ^o^~

August 13, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_August1320081-1.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/August1320081-1.jpg)
Something terrible happened. The tub was sitting on a ledge next to my bedroom window. When I pulled the string that lifts up my blinds, the blinds dragged the tub off the ledge. The entire tub, some of its dirt, and two seedlings plopped onto the top of my computer monitor. The rest of the dirt and the remaining seedling took a five-feet dive down onto my carpet. To make things worse, when I tried cleaning the soil off the monitor, it just kept falling into the ventilation holes (''~.~). I fixed up another batch of soil and transplanted the three seedlings as fast as possible. Only after that did I worry about cleaning up my monitor, carpet, and desk. This picture was taken four days after that disaster. I'll describe how each plant is doing. The one on the left has a twisted leaf and a new rolled up leaf that doesn't seem to want to unroll itself. The one in the middle is doing great. It doesn't seem like the transplant or the fall off the window ledge hurt it at all. The one on the right is losing both of its leaves, but a beautiful new leaf roll is coming out from the top. They're not that yellow colored in real life - I think it was the sunlight that caused the picture to turn out that way.What do you guys think? Will they make it (TwT)?

August 14, 2008:
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I swear they grew taller overnight! I think they're going to make it Y( ^-')z.

August 17, 2008:
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These seedlings are getting really tall! I can't take a very close up picture of all three at the same time anymore. For the seedling on the right, you can see that I snipped off two of its leaves. I did this because they dried up after the fatal fall from the window ledge and never recovered. I don't know if this was the right thing to do though = =;. I'm still having the problem where the bamboo leaves don't fully unroll. Does anyone know what might be causing this? I'd be very grateful for any help at all u.u~

September 01, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_September120083.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/September120083.jpg)

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_September120082.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/September120082.jpg)

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_September120084.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/September120084.jpg)
It's Labor Day! I went shopping and purchased a Yellow Raspberry plant Y( ^-')z! Anyways, I thought it would be a good idea to update my journal today because all three seedlings have grown their fourth leaf. Amazingly, the fourth leaves of the two seedlings on the sides were their first healthy leaves. The first three leaves of these two seedlings are either rolled-up or brown. The seedling in the middle is still growing very vigorously. It was the last to emerge from the soil and used to be the shortest out of the three. Now it's about 5½ inches tall! The first picture shows a shot of all three seedlings and the last three pictures show close-ups of the leaves of each seedling. If you're wondering why one of the seedlings only has two leaves, the reason is because I snipped off its first two leaves (see August 17, 2008 entry for more information). The smaller leaves that are nearer the dirt are drying up and falling. This is happening to all my seedlings so I guess it's not something I should worry about. All the seedlings seem pretty stable now and they are all growing taller everyday. The fall from the window ledge didn't take any of their lives (\(^o^)/)! Should I start thinking about transplanting them into individual planters now? Oh yeah...I almost forgot to mention that there is now a random plant growing in the container.

September 19, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_September1920082.jpg (http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/?action=view&current=September1920082.jpg)
Lots of news! I think my first shoot has come up :eek:!!! The tallest seedling has a little brown/red spike popping out of the dirt about ¼ inch away from its culm. I'm very excited and I can't wait to watch it grow :). I think it has been 68 days since I first put the seeds into soil. On another note, once all three seedlings grew their fourth leaf I transplanted them into individual 1.4 L planters. I barely transfered any of the soil from the old container to the planters, so that means most of the soil in the planters is new. I simply scooped up each seedling with a spoon, moved them into planters containing potting soil and covered the roots. They are a tiny bit deeper into the soil now than they were in the original roast beef container. Each seedling is now growing their seventh leaf. In addition, the tallest seedling seems to be growing the first branch! The second picture shows the tallest seedling's leaves.

December 17, 2008:
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http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_December1720082.jpg (http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/December1720082.jpg)
Hi everyone! Well...we're on winter break now and I finally have the time to do the much needed catching up for this journal. From now on I'll refer to the left, middle, and right plants as A, B, and C respectively. I have kept them in the same order ever since August 13 so hopefully this wont confuse anyone.
Anyways, here we go!
September 30 - Plant C sent up its 1st shoot.
October 19 - Plant B sent up it's 2nd shoot.
October 23 - Plant B's 1st shoot reached the height of its 1st culm.
October 30 - Plant C's shoot reached the height of its 1st culm.
November 6 - Plant C's 2nd shoot emerged.

Note: Plant A also sent up its 1st shoot, as you can see in the picture. It only did so recently and I forgot to record the date of when it occurred. I think it happened a few weeks ago. It's interesting to note that the shoot's leaves seem to be striped. Take a look at the second picture to see what I'm talking about.

Observations:
• The first and only branch of a Moso seedling's 1st/original culm usually forms near its 2nd leaf.
• A seedling's shoots, even the 1st one, will have much larger leaves than those of the 1st culm.
• A healthy Moso seedling will put up its 1st shoot around the time it has grown 6-8 leaves. A weaker seedling will shoot for the first time around when it has grown 9-12+ leaves.
• It takes about a month for a seedling's 1st shoot to reach its 1st culm's height.
• It takes about a month for a seedling to put up its 2nd shoot.
• It seems that the 1st culm of a seedling will eventually be discarded. As you can see in the picture, all the 1st culms are bending over due to the weight of their leaves. Their leaves are also beginning to dry up, starting from the bottommost leaf.

I was shocked when I looked back at the pictures of the September 19 entry. The seedlings were tiny and they had such a small amount of foliage. I realized that they have really grown a great deal within the past 3 months. I always hear things about Moso bamboo being a slow grower...but I'm not disappointed with its growth rate. Maybe the real test will be when I put them outside. Anyways, it's quite amazing ~ I can barely remember them looking like that and it was only 3 months ago. They're growing up so fast (TwT)!!

I almost forgot to mention that today I discovered what seems to be two rhizomes near the base of Plant B's culms. They look very similar to the shoots. The only difference is that they're oriented almost parallel to the soil surface plane.

March 1, 2009:
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Hi guys. I had some extra time on my hands so I decided to write a new entry. The two things that I thought were rhizomes in Plant B's pot (mentioned at the end of my previous journal entry) actually turned out to be shoots!

So in the previous journal entry, Plants A, B, and C had sent up totals of 1, 4 (2 of which I thought were rhizomes), and 2 shoots respectively. The following is a log of the most recent shooting activity:
December 29, 2008 - Plant C sends up 3rd shoot.
January 13, 2009 - Plant C sends up 4th shoot.
January 23, 2009 - Plant B sends up 5th shoot & Plant A sends up 2nd shoot.
January 28, 2009 - Plant B sends up 6th shoot.
February 11, 2009 - Plant C sends up 5th shoot.
February 28, 2009 - Plant C sends up 6th shoot.
This means that Plants A, B, and C now have 2, 6, and 6 shoots respectively.

The first picture is just the usual shot of all three plants next to each other - A, B, and C from left to right.

The second picture shows two of the more recent leaves next to my hand for size comparison. They are more than 5 inches long and 1 inch wide.

The Before and After pictures were taken on December 11, 2008 and March 1, 2009 (about 2 and a half months apart). Both pictures are taken in the same setting - my closet. This is where the plants spent the winter and hopefully by looking at these photos you guys can get an idea of my setup. They have grown an enormous amount! Culms are easily taller than 1 foot. Even Plant A (the weakling of the three) has a culm that measures 1 foot tall! I'm liking Phyllostachys edulis more and more :o. Definitely one of my favorites!

[soccerdude]

You're seedlings look great! I just hope mine turn up as that good. Also excellent comeback from the seedlings almost fatal fall.

[R e x]

Thank you soccerdude! I'm really happy that they survived and are showing new growth. I still don't know what's wrong with the one on the left though! It's so deformed. You know how the leaves emerge long and rolled up from the top of the seedlings at first? The seedling on the left has a leaf that never unrolled into a full leaf -TwT-.
Hey, about your seeds - Don't worry! I'm sure some will sprout and grow up to be big and strong :3.

[soccerdude]

My seeds didn't sprout yet, but they should very soon. I used the paper towl method and like 15 of 30 seeds started to get roots on them. Soon as I saw roots I put them in potting soil. So it shouldn't be long before I start seeing some growth!

[R e x]

Wow soccerdude, that's awesome. I have a friend using the paper tower method to germinate Moso as well. Will you be able to take pictures and post them onto the forums to show us when they start sprouting?

[Firemandril]

HAHA i got seeds in paper towel too those i had no more pots ready for, have not checked i stuck the bag in the hot house with the planted ones (i wanted to cover all areas) Also the Alaska Fish emulsion fertilizer is like $7 at home Depot and i have not put it on my boo seeds yet i did mix up a quart and put it on my rose bush and no joke in 2 hours it made a visible difference in the leaves on the bush, so i have high hopes for the Moboo seeds in the sand with the sprayed on AFE.
Soccerdude, are you planning on keeping the MoBoo potted and moving it summer and winter if it grows?

[soccerdude]

Firemandril I am not completely sure what you are asking, but I do plan on selling some on ebay or if somebody wanted them on here could have them, but they would need to pay for shipping. I also plan keeping them inside for winter because I am pretty sure they would all die trying to live through a winter in zone 6. I have good news I have now planted 24 seeds in potting soil which all have roots on them. Also I now have one seed starting to shoot. There are about 5 left in the paper towel which did not root yet. I also have seeds using the cat litter method, but I think I messed up on them because I put them under my porch where it gets no sun at all.

See picture of the bamboo seed starting to shoot.

[R e x]

Congratulations soccerdude! I'm so jealous of you ~ ~;. 24 out of your 30 seeds grew roots?! Only 4/10 of mine did :(. That's really awesome though. You must be pretty excited :p. What kind of soil did you put them in?

I'll post a new picture tonight! I think my seedlings grew an inch (o.o ). Talk to ya later.

[soccerdude]

I am really excited. The bad part is that I have another 16 seeds and put them in cat litter, but none of them are rooting. I think it is because I put them in a place where the get no sunlight. Thats where I am gonna put my new baby bamboo plants. I heard they can die from to much sunlight. I am not sure what soil I used, but it is one of the cheaper kind.

[R e x]

Soccerdude, how are things? That first sprout should have gotten taller by now! Did any more pop up? Maybe you should start a journal too so everyone can watch your bamboo grow ;).

[soccerdude]

I plan on making a journal here soon, but I am waiting for one of the bamboos to grow its first leaf. It is amazing how fast it grew already. I will have to put a pic of how much taller the bamboo gotten. There are about 3 more bamboo popped up in last couple days.

[stevelau1911]

thats a good idea to keep a picture log. I'm planning on taking pictures of my new vivax shoot, and posting it in a couple weeks.

[soccerdude]

New Picture of seedling

[R e x]

Wow soccerdude! That leaf is huge :). I think I see two leaves actually. That really looks almost exactly like how my seedlings looked at first. Tell me if you ever encounter the problem where some of the leaves don't fully unroll.

[bambookid524]

Sometimes leaves of seedlings wont fully unroll for a week. it takes longer. You should give them time. They should unroll eventually. If not, they may need some water.

[R e x]

I'll try to explain the situation that one of my seedlings is in. Alright, from what I have observed it seems like my bamboo grows a really tall leaf-roll that stands almost vertical at the top of the seedling. This leaf-roll will eventually unroll and become a horizontal oriented leaf. But once the unrolling process begins, a little point emerging from the stem will become the new top of the seedling. One of my seedlings is having trouble unrolling its new leaves and the point actually gets stuck inside the new leaf rolls! I had to manually pull the point out of the leaf-rolls twice already. I don't know if that made much sense, but I hope you kind of have an idea of what I'm talking about (/(@w@)\).

[Dean W.]

Rex,

Congratulations on your seeds. Sorry to hear that you dropped them on top of your computer.:eek: You know instead of having to buy the roast beef you could have bought some cheap containers at a dollar store. That is what I do for palm seeds. Unless you really like the roast beef.:)

Dean

[R e x]

Wait a second guys. There are these weird little pointy things at the base of all my seedlings near the soil. Here's a picture.
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/th_PointyThing.jpg (http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/PointyThing.jpg)
Can anyone tell me what these are?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - Thank you for the suggestions Dean. I just used whatever I had lying around the house at that moment heheh ^^;.

[stevelau1911]

it should be a second shoot coming up because young bamboos usually shoot up a few off of the same stem.

[R e x]

So you think that those might be new shoots? Should I cover them with soil or something? The thing that has me confused is that these pointy things have been there for a while.

[bambookid524]

Judging by the size of that seedling it is definitely not a shoot. It takes a little while to shoot for seedlings. Usually at least a month. Sometimes seedlings have some branches, Usually not but sometimes.

[R e x]

I'm pretty sure it's not a new shoot. It hasn't grown...or done anything at all for that matter. The seedlings are a month old bambookid524. I think the picture tricked you into thinking the seedling was short but that picture was actually a shot of only the bottom part of the seedling. It's actually a lot taller than that :)! Thanks for all the help -^ ^-.

[R e x]

Here's a picture of what I believe to be my first Moso Bamboo shoot! If anyone knows whether or not this is really a shoot, please let me know.
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/Firstshoot.jpg

[stevelau1911]

It definitely looks like a shoot because mine look exactly the same when they are coming up. If its going at a 20degree angle or horizontal, its a rhizome.

[R e x]

YES!!! I'm so excited! Thanks for the confirmation. I bet that rhizome tip will come in handy in the future!

[stevelau1911]

I meant 20degrees horizontal to the the ground, not the culm would be a rhizome.

[stevelau1911]

heres an example of moso rhizomes, they are going nearly horizontal, but if I let them get too much light, they will become culms, and start growing upwards.

[R e x]

Wait a second stevelau1911! Where are the rhizomes? Is it the pink thing near the bottom of the photo or the two spikes more to the right side of the picture?

[stevelau1911]

they are all rhizomes, except the bottom one is about 2 feet long and has been growing since the middle of august.
There is exactly 1 rhizome for each of my 7 culms.

It won't start shooting until probably april 20 or so.

[stevelau1911]

you should also start seeing them if you mulch on top because they like to grow in to the mulch once your new shoot gets established.

[GNiessen]

What would be a good mulch for such a small plant? Peat moss? Or shreaded news print?

[stevelau1911]

peat moss should be the best if you can get it because it can hold in moisture, control temperature to help roots and rhizomes develop faster. Just make sure if you have it in a pot that it never gets root bound because from my experience, a 1 gallon plant will create a rhizome/root diameter of 5-7 feet in 3 months of growing.

Don't put it outside until it starts having a few rhizomes though which should be next spring.

[stevelau1911]

at this age it should reach the height of the original culm in about 2-3 weeks, and probably surpass it. Your plant should look pretty bushy in a few more months.

[R e x]

Wow! That's very good news Steve. So in 2-3 weeks, the shoot will be as tall/taller than the original culm? Do you think any other shoots will come up out of the soil? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions but I'm completely new at this! I think I read somewhere that you have grown lots of different types of bamboo from seed. Anyways, thanks for the great information.

[stevelau1911]

I've only grown moso from seed which died because I planted them outside too soon, but I already have a well established moso plant anyways so I'm not upset. I also grow vivax, and aerosulcata.

From observing my own bamboos you should be getting a clump of small shoots in a few months from almost the same point, maybe 3-5, then it will stop shooting for a while to go dormant. In a year you should start getting rhizomes that travel out only a few inches, and your culm count should double each year. You should have about as much above ground growth the same time next year as my moso bamboo right now, about 2-3 feet tall.

The only thing I'm excited about is the noticable growth underground because the rhizomes are usually 2 to 3 times the diameter of the existing culms. Theres no telling how much bigger next year's new shoots will be.

If you plant your moso next year, mulch it heavily, loosen up a lot of soil, and by the fall time you should be getting some serious rhizome growth.

[stevelau1911]

By the way, I don't dig up my rhizomes just to take pictures. A few of them grow directly beneath my mulch.

[R e x]

Thank you Steve. That was very informative. I haven't decided when I'm going to put them outside yet, but I'm definitely going to keep them in here for the upcoming winter season. You're so fortunate you have Vivax. I've been looking for it everywhere but I can't find it! I heard it grows a lot faster than Moso and has great tasting shoots. Do you have any pictures of your Vivax that I can look at?

[stevelau1911]

If you are looking for big increases in size, year to year, Vivax is good, but you will also have to trim the rhizomes because the one I have on the picture here is over 4 feet from the original plant, growing 1/2 an inch a day, so it will probably end up over 6 feet. All my vivax rhizomes are between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch which is about double the diameter of the existing culms.
This means I am expecting culms next year to be at least an inch be 8 feet. You should be able to ask a person on this forum for a vivax rhizome if you want this type of bamboo.

[R e x]

I don't know about that one Steve. I heard Vivax is semi-rare and desired for its fast growth characteristics. I would have to be very lucky in order to find someone to spare me some Vivax! I'll guess I'll try asking around.

[stevelau1911]

http://www.bambooplantation.com/

If you can't find anyone willing to spare you some vivax, you could purchase a 1 to 3 gallon plant on this web site. Considering you live in Seattle, you should still be able to get a plant established enough to put up shoots in the spring.

[R e x]

Hi there! I'm posting this because I just wanted to let everyone know that my next journal entry will probably be in December. This is because college takes most of my time away :(.

Stevelau1911, you were right! The shoot reached the height of the first culm in 3 weeks. The second shoot from the same plant is growing even faster. The leaves on the 1st shoot are amazing! They are about 4 inches long and almost 1 inch wide. They are becoming bushy, just like you predicted!

Again, my next journal entry is going to be a little less than two months from now. I'm very excited and I can't wait to return!

[CaroleMeckes]

Good luck with your tests in school.
We look forward to hearing from you again,
Carole

[R e x]

(How do I delete this post?)

[R e x]

Hi guys, I'm back! And...I aced all those darn tests! Heheh. I hope you guys take the time to check out the updates I've made to my Moso Bamboo Journal (on the 1st page of this thread)! They've grown a lot and look almost completely different from how they did in my last entry. Enjoy ^ ^!

Also...
I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I should do about Plant B's 2 rhizomes (well at least I think they're rhizomes). Should I cover them with some soil or just leave them the way they are? Thanks!

[richiegabrio]

Wow soccerdude, that's awesome. I have a friend using the paper tower method to germinate Moso as well. Will you be able to take pictures and post them onto the forums to show us when they start sprouting?

What exactly is involved in the paper towel method. Have you heard of the peat pot method in a miniature green house?

Richiegabrio

[bambookid524]

The paper towel is probably the most simple method of germinating seeds. It has worked for me on several occasions

You take a paper towel and moisten it to the point where you can barely squeeze water out of it. Then you place seeds in the moist paper towel and fold the paper towel over the seeds. Then you place it in a ziplock bag to retain moisture and leave then in there until you notice roots or any growth from the seeds (not mold).

Check out my thread "multi species grow log". That has pictures of seeds after I removed them from the paper towel.

I have also tried the peat pellet growing with the mini greenhouse. (sometimes theyGet too humid for the plants)
I have had better success starting the seedlings off in paper towel and once the pop root out I transplant them

Good luck,

Steve

[soccerdude]

Paper towl method does work really well. Plus its simple and easy to do.

[R e x]

Hi richiegabrio. Here's a picture of some Phyllostachys edulis seeds germinating in a paper towel:
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/_-_-_-_Rex_-_-_-_/DSC02107.jpg
I just took the paper towel out of the bag and unfolded it to take a picture of the seeds. Like Steve said, this is one of the simplest ways to germinate seeds. All you need is a zip-lock bag, a paper towel, and some water. You definitely don't need to buy a greenhouse or peat to germinate these bamboo seeds. If you do decide to use the paper towel method, make sure you don't use too wet of a paper towel. After sealing the zip-lock bag, I think it's best to place it in a place where it wont be disturbed.

[erm1981]

I will try to take some pictures of a moso grove I have that I started from seeds that I got off ebay. It appears to be true to the species type now that the culms have gotten a little bigger. Out of about 200 seeds I had 2 plants that were really vigourous. I planted the seeds back in 2003 and now the best plant has about 30 culms. Some are about 1/2 inch in diameter. I expect this spring I will have some over and inch in diameter. I live in Anderson,SC and also have a bigger grove that I started from clones taken from the Anderson, SC grove. Now if only I could get some moso bicolor......mmmmm

[bambookid524]

Please do post the pics! I haven't really seen any seedlings older than a year or two. I'm curious to see how much they've spread.

The bicolor is very hard to find but im in the process of trying to get some now, so if I do, I'll let you know,

regards,

Steve

[erm1981]

Ok I can do that when they shoot this year. Hopefully there will be no late freezes. Let me know if you find the Bi-color for a decent price.

-Evan

[stevelau1911]

I just bought 60moso seeds off of ebay. I am looking forward to growing bamboo from seed.

The seeds now are listed at -4degrees hardy so I hope that holds up.

If I succeed in germinating a lot of them, I will put some of them outside in the shady area in buried pots to try and overwinter while trying some indoors. If I have an excess of seedlings, I will probably give them away.

I'm still wondering on how to raise the temperature of the plants to encourage germination.

[CaroleMeckes]

I'm still wondering on how to raise the temperature of the plants to encourage germination.

try bottom heat

[R e x]

erm1981 - I'm really looking forward to those pictures. I'm curious about the leaf size. Do they new culms eventually just start putting up smaller and smaller leaves as the culms themselves get larger?
Anyways, good luck for this shooting season - wishing you many large new culms!

PS - I share the same desire to grow P. edulis 'Bicolor'.

Stevelau1911 - Hey there. I just wanted to let you know that I've been around on eBay long enough to know stuff like which sellers sell more viable seeds, which sell duds, etc. so if you ever need help with choosing sellers, or with anything in general about eBay or germinating these moso seeds, let me know.
About the temperature - since it sounds like you're going to germinate them indoors, it may not be necessary at all! But if you would still like to try, bottom heat would be the way to go.

[stevelau1911]

I might try putting the seed tray close to a heat vent in order to get germination.

[R e x]

Is it still very cold where you're living? Since you have heat vents, I think it's safe to assume wherever you live retains constant warm room temperature. I think you'd be fine germinating them almost anywhere indoors, but go ahead and try putting them near a vent! I'm curious about using heat to germinate seeds, moso in particular, because I have heard tons of mixed reports about it.

About pflanzen-exoten - I've heard that they are very nice to work with, but sometimes their customers get poor germination rates with their rarer seeds. Anyways, buying this kind of stuff from out of the country can be risky. Be careful stevelau1911!

[stevelau1911]

I'm only hoping for at least 5 to germinate, and I might buy from another seller a handful of seeds just to ensure I get guaranteed germination since its not too expensive.

My house temperature averages 70F so is there anything else people can use to germinate seeds?

I've heard of heat pads, incubators, but I still don't know anything about those.

Who would supply very good seeds? I'm thinking of getting a few from seedwonder.

[stevelau1911]

try bottom heat

If I was to use bottom heat, would the heating pads on ebay that say they increase the temperature 10-20degrees be ideal?

If so should the heating pad be turned on all the time or only a few hours a day?

[CaroleMeckes]

I've never used bottom heat or tried to start lots of seeds, although I did try growing bamboo from seed back in 1998 (I had 30 plants started) and 2 or 3 plants made it for a few years. I lost one after I put it in the ground and the other 2 also croaked (think I forgot to look after them well enough).

re bottom heat:
I just remember hearing and seeing a successful nurseryman showing slides of his nursery and he said that he used "bottom heat" in his greenhouse to improve the success of the growth of the newly potted bamboos. It was a pretty big operation. I'm pretty sure he was not growing bamboo from seeds - so you will have to experiment...
Carole

[stevelau1911]

Sounds like a pretty good idea considering it only costs about 12$ for a heat pad and not much for a seed tray at lowes and utilizing window light.

I'm planning on trying the paper and towel method and a seed tray with a humidity dome once I get my seeds.

I'll probably start posting some pictures once I get my project going.

[bambookid524]

What I've heard of people doing is germinating seeds by the paper towel method, and using bottom heat.

A lot of people just set the little plastic bag on top of a computer tower, or video game console. Something that gets a little warm when being used.

I've never tried this myself, but I guess I'll give it a shot with some of my Phy. Heteroclada seeds.

[CaroleMeckes]

Also the top of the refrigerator gets a little warm.

[bambookid524]

Very true.

I just put about 10 seeds in some paper towel on top of my computer towel. I will see how they do :)

[R e x]

"Who would supply very good seeds? I'm thinking of getting a few from seedwonder."

- I'm sorry but I wouldn't particularly recommend seedwonder. That seller sells moso seeds at the lowest price on eBay at the moment (500 for about $20), but out of 50 of their seeds I've had 0 germinate so far. They said they would send me another 500 for free, but I don't think those would germinate too well either. Seedwonder's a nice seller that has good feedback, but their moso seed source in India shipped me seeds that have lost viability.

"A lot of people just set the little plastic bag on top of a computer tower, or video game console. Something that gets a little warm when being used."

Actually.. when Plants A, B, and C were still in their little plastic tub together, I used to cover the tub with its lid and place it on top of my broadband modem! It would get extremely humid inside the tub and my seedlings loved it!

[bambookid524]

I'll have to try that!

One thing you SHOULD NOT DO, is put them outside in a clear container because the sun's rays will go through the plastic/glass or whatever and FRY the seedlings.

So NEVER put them in sunlight in a clear, sealed container.

[stevelau1911]

I planted my seeds on the 9th, and in my paper towel set, 1 seed appears to be rooting out of 30, and its only the 12th. I keep those at 75F. I thought it was supposed to take a week or 2, but i guess some seeds germinate faster than others.

About frying moso seedlings, will a covered container indoors with indirect light fry them? There appears to be a layer of dew so it doesn't seem like too much light.

[R e x]

Hey there. Here's something I noticed, it might help you out:
It seems that if you wait until the roots of the seeds in the paper towel reach about an inch in length before removing them and putting them into soil, the chance of success is very high. Higher than, lets say, maybe a seed with a root only 1/4 an inch long.

About the covered container indoors with indirect light - that's exactly what I did for the three seedlings of this journal. They were in a Tupperware-like plastic container with the lid on, sitting next to the window in August heat/sun - so I'd say that your setup is fine.