I have been doing some research on finding bamboo also and came across this site: bambooweb.info. Here is the link to the vendors.

Here is a link that might be useful: bamboo vendors

My Home Depot always has some clumping bamboos for sale. They aren't cheap, though. Good luck with the bamboo vendor list above. Hope you find what you are looking for. We wouldn't be without some here and there.

Marcia

here in St Pete, HD and Lowe's both have clumping bamboo and I bet they can order it for you.

There is a great place I bought a whole bunch of bamboo online: tropicalbamboo.

Both the HD bamboo and the tropicalbamboo I bought are great, have taken off in the year I've had them.

teeka

Thank you all for info. Will continue bamboo seeking tomorrow.

Jerzeegirl, yes, there is a lady on the list of Bamboo Vendors who sells, but by appointment only, about 6 miles down the road. Will give her a call.

I'm hoping to build a short bamboo hedge but have never grown bamboo before. Keeping my fingers XXed that I don't kill them. :)

I have a feeling it's hard to kill bamboo - that's why I'm interested :-)

Too bad you aren't closer to Polk County. I have enough Buddha belly I want destroyed and taken out to do a hedge 1000 feet long. If the close place doesn't work out for you the nursery already mentioned is one of the best on the east coast and would be worth the trip. You might get someone to deliver, you may need lots of plants that might not fit into what you drive.

If there is any way possible, please visit Tropical Bamboo Nursery in Loxahatchee. It is worth any drive! You can see examples of each variety as mature specimens.

They have a Bamboo building that you can eat in (great picnic spot) and display gardens that are stunningly gorgeous! There are shady walkways lined with Boos and other tropicals. The staff/owners know their stuff and will patiently answer questions.

I go there as often as I can. It is such a lovely place! Seeing the Bamboo varieties used in an appealing design is soo helpful!

They have only non-invasive, clumping varieties. I'm very pleased with the Buddha Bellies I bought from them, that make up my Bamboo/Banana hedge. I also got Asian Lemon, Angel Mist, Graceful Bamboo, and a cool variegated one.

Lisa

Yippee! I got a small B.Oldhamii in 3gal and will wait for call to see if buddha belly is available. So, I guess I can just remove the boo from the pot and re-plant it in garden, right?

gcmastiffz ~ you've got me curious. I just might visit to Tropical Bamboo to learn more. I notice you have soursop, lychee and even (Indian) mangoes in your profile. Wow! Do you have seeds to trade? Got durian or rambutan too?

jerzeegirl ~ thanks. You've lessen my fear of killing the poor boo(s).

cycadjungle ~ (sigh) wish you're my neighbour :( Do boos have seeds? Or be reproduced from leaves?

Bibik, no soursops, but I do have Atemoyas, Cherimoyas and Sugar Apples. Have Sugar Apple seeds if you need some.

Lychees are a disappointment. I have 3 varieties, and non has fruited. Longans are a better choice for me.

No Durian (Ugh!), or Rambutan, but Excalibur knows a local nursery source for Rambutans. The trees get HUGE, and are very difficult to raise here.

I do have Breadfruit and Cacao, as well as around 390 other fruiting plants, on what looks like an awful lot of empty lawn!

In your zone you can also raise Peaches, Apples, Plums, Sapodillas, Kiwis and lots more!

I can share cuttings in winter of many plants that will do well for you.

Lisa

cycadjungle ~ (sigh) wish you're my neighbour :( Do boos have seeds? Or be reproduced from leaves?

I propagated mine from culm cuttings. One culm normally produces about 10 to 20 new plants so you can multiply your established plants quicker than just splitting the clump up. If you want to try it some time I can go through the procedure with you.

Have you checked out Valkaria Tropical Gardens? Dr. Brown has several types of bamboo on the property and sells them as well. It's just north of Grant in Brevard Co., not a bad drive for those of us from Indian River Co. The Gardens are open only on certain weekends - usually the first and second weekends of each month from April - December.

Here is a link that might be useful: Valkaria Tropical Gardens

cycadjungle
can you post your method of bamboo propagation for culm cuttings?
I have never heard of it, just dividing clumps.

Thanks

Denise

Will check Valkaria the next time I head up to Melbourne. Tks.

cycadjungle ~ Yes, yes, I am definitely interested! Do I have to wait until they are established in groundsoil before I cut anything to propagate? I'll be moving boo from pot to ground this weekend.

OK, first of all, on the plant you just bought, do you see a 1 segment culm in that pot laying on its side? If so, that is how they started that plant.
Before I start, let me explain one reason why some bamboo is expensive. Some of the Bambusa species propagate easily by cuttings and some do not. Some need special combinations of root chemicals to make them root. If you look through some price lists, you will see that Bambusa pervariabilis viridistriata is more expensive than Bambusa eutuldoides Viridi-vittata and that is because people are having a problem producing them in mass by stem cuttings and have to split them up. So, keep in mind that all of these might not start from cuttings, BUT ventricosa and oldhamii both start easily by cuttings.
Many people can do a cutting with 1 segment but an old man 20 years ago who was very good with bamboo told me how to do it and it has been better for me to do it this way. You take a full sized culm and cut it off at ground level. The bottom part will start a new plant, so you won't lose anything in the long run. The top part of the culm, may not have enough hollow area in it to root in, so I only use the bottom part that is more hollow. You start by cutting the culm just below the node. Then on the next cut you go past the next node up and make the cut just below the second node. So, what you have is at the bottom there is a node and this is where your roots will come from. Then you have a complete section that is intact. Above that node you have more or less, a vase that is the full length between nodes. Just above that is the other node that starts your next cutting. Can you picture what I am trying to describe?
OK, so this is why this works so well. You fill the top part of the cutting with water and this will seep through the top node of the cutting and go into the intact section and will feed and moisten the node where the roots will come from. Because the lower section never gets dried out by being exposed this will increase your success as opposed to the 1 node cutting that can get dried out if you forget to put more water in the "vase". If you put cuttings in a mist bed with a timer, you can get away with a 1 node cutting, but the average hobbiest doesn't have a setup like that so the 2 node cutting works a lot better. Keeping them in shade and giving them lots of water will help increase the number of cuttings that work. All the cuttings might not work, but this should do just fine. You could probably use a rooting hormone on the bottom part, especially if you use one of the liquid types of rooting hormones, but I have never needed that on the types I have done it on. They take several months and it is always best to do it when it is warm, like now is a good time.

[~] water in the top "vase"
[~]
==
[~]
[~] middle section is left whole
[~]
==
[~] lower section treated with root growing hormone (& buried in soil? If so, covering the lower node?)

Yes, there is a short piece (segment) sort of sticking out 45* from the soil amongst some of the growing boo stems. Wow, I find this really exciting. Cycadjungle, you're my boo guru! :) Thanks!

You have it right, you bury the node. Another trick that I haven't had the nerve to try yet is cutting the top off, the make new culms. You will see that cutting produced quite a few small culms. When you get larger culms, some people will take everything off above ground, which can also be used for more cuttings, but each culm that is taken down to the ground will bunch up and produce a cluster of new, small culms. So by doing this, you can root in your cuttings, wait till they produce some new culms and then by cutting some of those off, will make the new cluster 5 times thicker. That helps make a thick hedge fast.