I have some black bamboo(Ph. nigra)divisions putting up some fresh shoots now. I would be interested in any non-white water lilies. Chris

Posted by hello_c_j_here 7 Cary, NC (My Page) on Sat, May 3, 08 at 20:36 Hi, I have only 1 Wamin... it didnt do well in the cold here... just now resprouting. The pics are all Vents. Can you send me a few pics of the trades your offering? clutedad@nc.rr.com Thanks I am not getting notice of replys from this site either... not sure why Auto notice isnt working... let me know (clutedad@nc.rr.com)

Bump...

Ok. Let's clear this up. Bambusa Ventricosa "Buddha belly", which is the original buddha belly, has a tendency in humid environments to grow without swollen internodes, rather, it has long straight internodes. If you want it to "belly", you have to keep it in a pot, or keep it slightly underwatered, or both. Same rules apply to Bambusa Ventricosa Kimmei. Now, bambusa vulgaris wamin, the second species to be commonly named buddha belly, is less cold tolerant, but will dependably produce swollen internodes. Any of these species are considered dwarfs if their internodes swell. Wamin is an open clumper and ventrioca is a tight clumper. As for growth rate, a healthy bamboo shoot grows to it's maximum height in about 40 days. So if its to grow to 100 ft, then it will grow an average of two and half feet per day. Some have been measured to grow up to four feet in one day. The width of the shoot does not change. So if you see a buddha belly like this one in my garden, is five inches thick, then that's how thick the shoot was when it came from the ground. After the 40 days, the shoot becomes a cane, dropping it's sheaths, branching and leafing out. Each year, a healthy bamboo cane (culm) sends up one or more shoots, up to a maximum of eight in it's life time. Each cane will live about ten years before dying. But by that time there will be lots of younger canes around it. As the canes mature, their inner walls get thicker, but the cane remains the same thickness.