Growing a bare root golden bamboo seedling from scratch

[bettaMagenta]

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about this purchase - the pics show lush, green bamboo, but knowing it's a bare root, dormant plant, I wasn't too put off… now we wait and see. This is going into my bamboo water garden (I'm rebranding my old Askento4 tank) - it's already got a few submerged lucky bamboo towers, 20 or so emergent lucky bamboo stalks with a foot of growth, some Chinese Evergreens, and a pink variety, plus this new hydroponic bamboo tree in a hang-on pot.

Checked out the link, and yeah, the comments are pretty rough, but that actually set my expectations - I was prepared for a bare root plant, and what I got looks more alive than the trees I get from the ag service for the farm. Keeping my fingers crossed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CL6C7G ... prod_image

[bettaMagenta]

Here's my new addition on day one - not exactly a supermodel, I'd say.

[Burgermuncher]

That's a legitimate bamboo plant you've got there. My experience with growing bamboo outdoors is that those stolons can be super aggressive and wreak havoc on surrounding structures. I recall my black bamboo, similar to golden bamboo, spreading rapidly and popping up in unexpected places - even through my asphalt driveway and a section of the city road.

It completely destroyed the planter I initially started it in. Eventually, I had to remove the entire thing because it was getting too close to my water and gas mains, which was a major concern.

You've got it contained for now, but if it takes off, it'll likely outgrow the container and possibly destroy it in the process. The growth can be extremely fast, so keep a close eye on it. I'm curious to see how it'll do partially submerged - it might actually thrive in those conditions.

[bettaMagenta]

I've come across this type of bamboo being referred to as Buda Belly Bamboo before. The pots they come in are usually cheap plastic, which isn't ideal since the roots can easily escape into the tank, just like with my other plants. If it starts getting out of control, I'll just have to trim the roots back - maybe my big pink kissers or adult Tin foil barbs will lend a helping fin, haha. Although, they don't seem too interested in nibbling on the Chinese Evergreen roots that are already growing out of their pots.

[FinMaster]

That's a legitimate bamboo plant you've got there. My experience with growing bamboo outdoors is that those stolons can be super aggressive and wreak havoc on surrounding structures. I recall my black bamboo, similar to golden bamboo, spreading rapidly and popping up in unexpected places - even through my asphalt driveway and a section of the city road.

It completely destroyed the planter I initially started it in. Eventually, I had to remove the entire thing because it was getting too close to my water and gas mains, which was a major concern.

You've got it contained for now, but if it takes off, it'll likely outgrow the container and possibly destroy it in the process. The growth can be extremely fast, so keep a close eye on it. I'm curious to see how it'll do partially submerged - it might actually thrive in those conditions.

My experience with black bamboo was a real learning curve. Had it behind a pond, in a large plastic pot, but it just wouldn't grow. Decided to replant it in the soil, and boy, did it take off - right through the bottom of the pond liner. Luckily, Tetra had a great guarantee, so I got a replacement liner, but with a caveat - no future claims for bamboo damage.

Had to call in a landscaper to remove the bamboo, and he had to dig deep - 24" of soil to be exact - to ensure it wouldn't come back. To be safe, I had a concrete pad poured and installed an above-ground hot tub instead. No more bamboo for me, that's for sure.

[bettaMagenta]

Not exactly the outcome I was hoping for, that's for sure.