Zelda-
If you want to get started and your budget is limited, you might consider joining the main site for bamboo aficionados, www.bambooweb.info. There you may find someone willing to trade bamboo for other plants you may have, or even send a newbie a starter bamboo plant or two if you are willing to pay shipping.

Seems most on this forum want to trade. That makes it hard for those of us with nothing to trade, so I checked out eBay. Lots of Bamboo on there and according to the feedback scores there are some very reputable dealers there, as well.

David

David-
And how many of those can you legally purchase from (i.e., they're located in the U.S.)?

Kudzu, I'm not sure the meaning of your question. What legal questions could there be.........they have 'em, I want 'em.............I will look again tho. But legally, you yourself, are not legal in Oklahoma....*smile* just kidding.

David

Kudzu, I am looking at eBay item #220522292096 and I don't see anything that addresses your question. That dealer shows to be located in South Carolina and has a 100%, positive, feedback for his transactions. I just looked at the one item, however, only to get an idea of the going price for Black Bamboo.

David

Zelda,

That's a tough question for a lot of reasons. From what I can figure out, a lot of the "seed sellers" on eBay are buying seeds in a large quantity and bringing them illegally into the U.S. from out of country. they then divide them into small numbers and sell them in the U.S. When you buy them you assume they are ok because you bought them here. I know that some bamboos do go to seed in the U.S. I doubt however that all the seeds you are looking for are available anytime anywhere. If you are just starting in bamboo you have an impressive wish list.Like Kudzu9 says one small healthy plant is way better than a thousand seeds that may not even be viable.

David-
If you buy seeds from a reliable, U.S.-based seller, there's no problem. What I was referring to in my first post above is that you "can usually find some bamboo seeds for sale on eBay, but many of them are from foreign vendors, and you risk having them confiscated as it is illegal to import bamboo plants, roots, or seeds without a special permit. In addition, if you are successful in acquiring viable seeds, and do get them to sprout, it will be several years for them to get to any size." This is a Federal ban, enforced by the USDA, so that's who you'll be dealing with if your foreign seeds are intercepted.

Bamboo seeds also lose viability quickly, so, if you buy, it's good if you can find out that they are no more than a month or two old.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quarantine restrictions for Bamboo (plants and seeds)

David,

I looked at that Ebay sale of black bamboo and suppose it depends on what you're looking for. When I bought a start of black bamboo, I paid about $70 or so for a two or three gallon plant, delivered, from a reputable vendor. This was an entirely reasonable price. The plant arrived in a timely fashion and in great condition. I have no complaints.

In contrast, that Ebay vendor you've found is shipping bare rhizomes for considerably less than I paid, but is this plant certain to survive? No, it isn't. As I understand it, black bamboo isn't particularly easy to propagate by rhizome, certainly not by rhizomes dug this time of year.

So, as usual, you're paying much less and taking a much bigger chance. The buyer offers your money back within seven days, but you won't even know whether this thing will survive in such a short time frame. For me, not being a gambler, I'd much rather invest wisely in a sure thing.

Kudzu, I understand now. Thank you for the link. I have a lot to learn about Bamboo so ANY feedback is helpful.

Highlander, thank you for your post too. However, I myself cannot afford, nor can justify, paying $70.00 for a plant of any kind, so rhizomes is my only option. I realize, from reading about Bamboo, it takes a few years to have results, so, given my age, maybe I should just enjoy the plants I have now.

Thank you both so much. I will continue reading the posts and learning from everyone. Have a wonderful Holiday Season and God bless....................

David

For $25 delivered, you can buy a healthy 1 gallon pot of P. nigra 'Black Bamboo' from Tradewinds Bamboo Nursery.

If you can take a chance at throwing away $16 for a rhizome that most likely won't survive, then you can surely spend $9 more for a healthy viable plant.

Just my opinion, but I'd go with a sure thing.

Tradewinds Bamboo Nursery

Kt

Thanks so much KT. I will check it out.

David

Hi I need some
Variety seed Bamboo for insect to different Ground. But I need have very huge
on. Because I thinks is more useful and nice for sell to decoration in green landscape.

Please help
me about choose and selected it correctly. In my country (Iran) weather is not
normally (-10 until +50 and lower than %25 Humidity). soil is hard so but can change it. Please say me about seed and
other information.

It is very big help for me. (I need science information- some variety Bamboo seed- etc.).

Sincerely-
Abbas Eftekhari

ersalkon@yahoo.com

I would like to hear more from theese guys now 10 years later. 😊

Always buy an established plant over seeds. The growth is relatively fast and easily can be divided into other plants within a year or two (depending where you are).