jumbo bamboo (possibly Phyllostachys )

[sean duggan]

hi
everyone brought a bamboo from B&Q
acouple of years ago
im sure there was no real botanical name written with it just
jumbo bamboo it has yellow/golden stems green leaves(i think maybe fargesia murielae)
did anyone else out there buy one and can identify it
my dilema is do i plant it out cant be bothered with barriers etc or just chuck
it(its getting pot bound now)
sean

[themes]

hi
everyone brought a bamboo from B&Q
acouple of years ago
im sure there was no real botanical name written with it just
jumbo bamboo it has yellow/golden stems green leaves(i think maybe fargesia murielae)
did anyone else out there buy one and can identify it
my dilema is do i plant it out cant be bothered with barriers etc or just chuck
it(its getting pot bound now)
sean

A common one that DIY shed sell is phyllostachys Aurea. They have that colour stem too. It supposed to be a clumper, supposed being the operative word. I think it can be dependant on the soil, I have a feeling if I do not constrain mine its going to run everywhere, my soil is moist. It seems to behave better in drier soils. You could adopt the other philosophy that all Bamboo runs, Bamboo is evil and bent on world domination. It is a fit plant, and very fanciable. Its definately a keeper for me, but some root barrier is highly advisable.

[arby]

my dilema is do i plant it out cant be bothered with barriers etc or just chuck
it(its getting pot bound now)
sean

Mine were potbound this year so I split them up and repotted one back in the original pot and it now has loads of new shoots.

You could always try and Ebay the bits you don't want or offer them as swaps on here?

Bob

[AndyC]

Sean, your description doesn't match Fargesia murieliae 'Jumbo' as that has bright green culms which are around 5mm thick and when mature 3M high. You most probably have a Phyllostachys which may or may not behave itself.

[lisa]

A good trick with misbehaved bamboos is to dig a trench round the perimiter of where you want them kept. Then as they spread you can see the the invading culms easily and chop them off. A lot of people prefer this to the barrier method where they can sometimes still get through or just lean over the top.

[Jim Glazzard]

Hi Sean
I also bought a potful of bamboo labeled 'Jumbo'; half price and looking sad from a firm that supplies places like B & Q. It proved to be 4 small plants of Phyllostachys aureosulcata Spectabilis, with pale gold stems and green grooves on alternate sides of the culm. They're doing fine. The one I already had in the ground is 20 years old, 20 feet high, and in a neat clump only 4 feet wide, magnificent and going nowhere fast. I hope yours is the same kind.

Like all plant families, the bamboo family includes some weeds. Those are the kinds that get passed around to friends (and enemies). Not every rose is a madly spreading brier.

All the best.

Jim

[sean duggan]

hi everyone cheers for the tips
no grooves in this bamboo though and the stems are under 5mm
will keep it in a pot until i decide what to do
sean

[simon]

hi everyone cheers for the tips
no grooves in this bamboo though and the stems are under 5mm
will keep it in a pot until i decide what to do
sean

If it has no groove (Sulcus) then it is not a phylostachys. Fargesia muriellae has a form called 'Jumbo' and they do sell that in B&Q but with B&Q labeling, it could be anything. If you want a more positive ID, post a picture. Fargesia forms a tight clump and would give you no trouble so it is worth finding out what it is.