An Alternative.
 

:rolleyes:

Hey Mike that is a neat little plot you have got there.

I also appreciate the impressive account given By Paul ,who surely has a green thumb, and who is a master of more than one subject.

Having lived in India (and Africa) Honestly I have not been in many bamboo forests -the type rhino's and elephants tend to habitate. Not exactly though and more often in Elephant grass which Jim Corbett writes about in his many 'jungle books'.

I have seen many sugar cane plantations grow in Mauritius and the Fiji Islands besides in India itself and often have waded thru them.

I wonder if this could be an alternative to bamboo, Paul? They grow quite tall on average about 5-6 ft. and provide quite a dense cover to preening eyes.
But they might attract rodents. I dont suppose there are any wild pig around as it is a favourite ground for them too.

Besides they can be periodically cut down and with a powered juicer can provide health giving sugarcane juice which in these parts are claimed to cure jaundice. The overflow can be used to serve neighbours and friends or perhaps make a business out of it.

Just a suggestion as I ramble thru the threads.

Mally :coffee:

[QUOTE=mfgoode;97397]:
I have seen many sugar cane plantations grow in Mauritius and the Fiji Islands besides in India itself and often have waded thru them.

I wonder if this could be an alternative to bamboo, Paul? They grow quite tall on average about 5-6 ft. and provide quite a dense cover to preening eyes.
[/QUOTE]It could be, if it grows well around Raleigh and if Xyzzy fancies trying it.

However, I have no personal experience of growing sugarcane. I'd like to try, but it's unobtainable over here. I've no real idea how frost-hardy it is. Raleigh seems to have winters about as harsh as Cambridge though with much more snow. The summer there seems to be noticeably warmer.

I grow several other grass-like species which reach about that height. I've at least three different Miscanthus species, a Cortaderia selloana (aka pampas grass) and an Arundo donax (aka Provencal reed). I even have a small reed-bed full of Norfolk reed which lives in a couple of large glass tanks rescued from a lab clear-out. The papyrus lives indoors overwinter because it's only barely frost-hardy.

Mike: I must write back to you with more details about options and requirements for growing different types of bamboo in your garden.


Paul

Sugar cane
 

[QUOTE=xilman;97399]It could be, if it grows well around Raleigh and if Xyzzy fancies trying it.

However, I have no personal experience of growing sugarcane. I'd like to try, but it's unobtainable over here. I've no real idea how frost-hardy it is. Raleigh seems to have winters about as harsh as Cambridge though with much more snow. The summer there seems to be noticeably warmer.

Paul[/QUOTE]

:smile:
I think you are quite right Paul.
From my experience sugarcane grows favourably in tropical climates and will never survive in the temperate climes.

Mally :coffee:

Here are two pictures of "native" bamboo we found today, growing very well. We've never seen bamboo grow to such heights, especially the type in the second picture. Do you have any idea what these are?

Bamboo!
 

:unsure:

Well Mike I have seen the second type also in the foot hills of the Himalaya's near Siliguri at the base of Darjeeling.

Jim Corbett the veteran Scotsman and sportsman who spent his life in Kumaon hunting man eating tigers writes about this species of Bamboo.

They grow very tall about 20 -30 feet.

This species when dried to a yellow colour in the sun are widely used for scaffolding in the construction of modern high rise buildings in India, when they are extended to greater lengths tied together by hemp ropes

Shorter versions are used in making musical instruments and in martial Arts training.

I am unable to put my finger on the genus

Mally :coffee:

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;103174]Here are two pictures of "native" bamboo we found today, growing very well. We've never seen bamboo grow to such heights, especially the type in the second picture. Do you have any idea what these are?[/QUOTE]
The left hand one is a Phyllostachys --- the deep sulcus and the two large branches are a dead giveaway. Deciding on the exact species can be difficult, even when the plant is available for detailed inspection. "Another green Phyllostachys" is a term commonly used among bamboo fans. It could be most everything, but it's not P. nigra (which has darker culms) and very probably neither P. aurea (which has very compressed internodes near ground level) nor P.aureosulcata (which usually has zig-zags along the stem). From the relatively wide spacing between the culms I'd guess it's a youngish P. bambusoides but it could be any of a dozen different species. If it is bambusoides, I reckon it's not fully developed because the culms don't seem to be very thick.

The other bamboo is not quite so obvious. I'll examine it more closely and see if I can provide some clue as to its species. Given its location, it's almost certainly a temperate bamboo, possibly Himalayan or Chinese but that doesn't narrow it down very much.

I bought another bamboo on Friday --- a young a vigorous Fargesia murieliae --- this is getting to be a bad habit.


Paul



Paul

[QUOTE=xilman;103280]
The other bamboo is not quite so obvious. I'll examine it more closely and see if I can provide some clue as to its species. Given its location, it's almost certainly a temperate bamboo, possibly Himalayan or Chinese but that doesn't narrow it down very much.[/QUOTE]I've still not come up with a convincing identification. There's not really enough to see on the photo --- identification is easier if branches and leaves are included, as well as a view of the plant as a whole.

The lower internodes are significantly smaller than the higher ones, which makes me guess it might be a Phyllostachys aurea but a few doubts arise. First, the compression is not as marked as is typical for the species. Second, the culms are a much darker green than is usual, but not impossibly so. Perhaps the lighting and/or image processing used may be misleading me. Finally, there's indication of slight mottling on the culms, which is not typical of P. aurea but might be insect damage (though I'm doubtful). Quite a few bamboos have mottled culms and by itself is not enough to give me much of a clue as to its identity.


Paul

Next time we go to the zoo we'll chop one down and bring it home for further analysis.

On a bike ride yesterday we encountered yet another dense bamboo forest. Too bad there is no way to lug along a camera. As it is, all of our pockets are full and drenched with sweat.

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;104141]Next time we go to the zoo we'll chop one down and bring it home for further analysis.[/QUOTE]Last time we were at the zoologic gardens, we noticed etchings in the bamboo by the local fuana, [I]homo gangus tagi[/I].

[url]http://gerbilsuk.proboards15.com/index.cgi?board=care&action=display&thread=1112822949[/url]

"Native" bamboo.
 

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;103174]Here are two pictures of "native" bamboo we found today, growing very well. We've never seen bamboo grow to such heights, especially the type in the second picture. Do you have any idea what these are?[/QUOTE]

:unsure:

The first picture seems to be of Dendrocalamus strictus. This is the most common species of India. In English it is commonly known as Male bamboo.

They reach upto 8-16 m in height and to 2.5 to 8 cm. in dia.

The second clump may be Dendro... giganteus.

They are tall reaching 24m -30m and 20-30 cm in diameter. In English they are generally referred to as Giant bamboo.

For more information there are a federation of national European bamboo societies. These are the EBS in Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, and Switzerland apart from several societies in India.

I am sure there are many in the U.S. also.

Bamboo cultivation is big business in India.

Mally :coffee: