3 shoots in a one gallon pot is quite good size actually. It is one of the slower multiplex when it comes to growth but even slower is faster than most other plants. If you amend the soil well, mulch it 3 feet at least out in all directions and fertilize it the plant should have by fall grown from 3 culms (shoots) to 7-10. Next year if treated well it should double to triple what it had in the fall. BUT just like with us you have star performers and duds.....so you roll the dice and take your chances:) It is a very pretty bamboo btw and absolutely perfect for what you want it to do and the perfect south sunny location. Just keep it watered, fed and mulched with something that will break down and it should be a happy camper.

I'm so glad to hear from someone who has experience with the plant. I just looked at the pot size again--it is actually 2.29 gallons. Thank you for the care instructions, too. I'll work on planting it in the next day or two. I appreciate your help!
Marcia

It will require DAILY watering in a that situation.
I've had it in a 75 gallon pot in a similar exposure
and I had a lot of problems keeping it looking good
due to the watering issue. In the ground it preforms
much better and looks much healthier.

Mine will definitely be planted in the ground and mulched, Stonecrabber. I hope it will do OK. If it doesn't, I'll look for some other plant for that hot spot.
Marcia

Got it planted this afternoon. This baby bamboo has a lot of growing to do!

planted 2 about that size 1 year ago now they are 15ft. tall 2 2 1/2 inchs thick still growing

Mine has added a bunch of new leaves but hasn't grown too much taller yet. Looking forward to more growth. I really wanted one of the blue bamboos, Bambusa chungii, but didn't like the price and wasn't sure I had room for it!
Marcia

Marcia,

Bamboo isn't like a tree.....those culms/stems will NEVER grow any taller or get any thicker. What will happen is this summer (maybe sooner) the plant will send out new culms and the diameter they come out of the ground is as big as they will ever get. They will grow to their full height in a couple weeks and never get taller. As the plant underground grows it will send out thicker taller culms each year until it hits it's maximum size then all future culms should be the same size.

Thanks for the lesson, Bamboo Rabbit. I appreciate it. This is the first bamboo I've grown. Now I'll know what to expect.

Here is a photo comparing the plant in early March on the left to today's photo on the right--looks a bit better than when first planted.
Marcia

{{gwi:404693}}

Marcia,

The plant looks very happy, you are doing great with it. You will probably get culms very soon. Adult plants tend to shoot at a set time each year but young plants can send up new culms all late spring and summer. Because bamboo is a grass it responds very well to nitrogen. It will amaze you just how fast those new culms will grow.

mines dead to the ground, shooting up "saviour shoots" again this year. i wouldn't plant it again....:)

I guess time will tell--there are always new plants to try :-)
Marcia

I think the odds of yours freezing in Sarasota are pretty slim:)

Marcia I like your rain barrel set-up. It looks very natural painted the same as the house ..blends in nicely. I need to do something like that.

Bamboo rabbit, very interesting about the bamboo growth patterns. I didn't know that either.
So people who grow them in pots probably won't get really big tall culms unless they already come that way?
DH wants to get some bamboo, we could use a living screen on one side of the front of the property for about 130 ft lol.

SJN,

I think I may have written my explanation poorly. What I meant is bamboo grows from the ground up to it's full height then leaves out.once it does that the culm will never get thicker or taller but the subsequent years culms will be bigger than the previous years until the max size is hit. To use Marcias plant as an example....if she had left it in the pot this year it would throw out new culms and if it was happy they would be bigger than the 3 already in the pot. But things in pots tend to stay smaller so max size in a pot will never be as big as max size in the ground. While bamboo can get larger in a pot or the ground it can also get smaller......if the roots are damaged or it is unhappy it can send out smaller culms.

Just the other day I was propagating bamboo and the single culms I cut out of the ground with a reciprocating saw were about the circumference of a nickel......I put each in a one gallon pot and topped them to balance the leaves with the roots. In a few weeks they will send up new culms (or die lol) and those culms will be smaller than the parent due to the damage I did to the plant.

I am looking to plant some of the golden goddess and wanted to know if 18" wide bed is ok. Also how deep do I need the soil? what soil is best for them

Thank you..

Try this forum

Bamboo

Mine turned to be 'not GOLDEN GODDESS.' Rather some other goddess that got quite large!

Marcia, that is sooo funny! Hopefully your goddess is a clumper and not a runner.

And a picture really says a thousand words! Thanks for the pic.

Carol in Jacksonville

I have Golden Goddess (Bambusa multiplex golden goddess) I think. When I bought it there was no tag, but perusing pictures, that is the one that most resembles what mine looked like (I divided it way too early and this set ut WAY back). One thing about bamboo I have learned is to know the species. The variety names are not universal and you could end up asking an expert on bamboo about 'Golden Goddess' and they will have no clue what you are talking about.

So far, it seems to be a clumper and grows maybe two new canes a year, but I pity anyone who decides to dig it out!

another tale tell sign is that when young the baby shoots come out greenish pink to magenta. Which it appears yours were in the original pictures.

Thank you, Robert. It was obviously mislabeled!I am awed by it but not really happy with the look, since the leaves are up so high and I wanted to use it for screening around my rain barrels.

Do you, or anyone else know why the older culms are covered with a light brown, fuzzy covering? Some kind of fungus or mold or ...?

Marcia