i have recently been aquiring and growing various types of bamboo and done research for several weeks now. but one thing i can;t seem to find is a Relatively Close estimation on average rainfall in the native climate of Moso Bamboo. actually now that i think of it i could just look up the location of groves in china and then look at the rain fall in that area. ok but on to the next topic. RESPONCE @ kudzu9: Like Mike_Marietta_SC_z8a had said, those could be 2 reasons, another reason is when you perchase moso from a supplier such as Lewis Bamboo, they trip the bamboo top to fit it to the box. i buy most of my bamboo from them, if you get 3 gallon sizes and up the tops will be trimmed. trippimg the top greatly hinders Moso and other giant bamboos. when the shoots grow, as previously stated in this thread, the shoots will basically syphon vital exsessive nutrients from the neighboring culms. so when you order bamboo that has had the culms trimmed but the rhizomes are still large and will be producing large shoots, then the new shoots will not be able to syphon the much needed nutrients from the other culms. so if you grow bamboo from seeds then they should not be trimmed, also as previously stated any damage to the root systems will also greatly hinder the transfer of nutrients. then the roots take damage or are bent it's like kinking a water hose that feeds the new shoots. this also is regretably a more then likely happening from ordering bamboos. for both reasons i'd recommend buying either 2 gallon sizes or buying them as seeds from a reliable source. GROWTH RATE: from what i have gathered most bamboos Culms grow +30% in hight each year and the rhizomes can grow anywhere from 2-5 feet a year depending on conditions. also the rhizomes have 2 "rumors" as to how far out they can grow which i can't seem to disprove one or the other as of yet. 1 rumor is they can grow as far out as the tallest current Culm. the other rumor is they can grow indeffinately depending on soil conditions and as long as the newer culms increase in size. So say the "source Point" of your bamboo has a culm of 80' high, then the rhizome can grow up to 80' from that spot; however say down that rhizome about 20 feet away from the source location there is a newer 80' tall culm. then that new culm can have up to another 80' away from it. so it could grow 100' from the plant site at that point, and so on. Finally: i live in the houston texas area and will be growing a japanese / tropical styled grove. so far i'm planning on using "Weavers Bamboo" for the primary walls around this 1-2 acre grove, with Nigra Black in the corners, with Moso and Giant Grey Henon throughout. i was also considering adding Windmills and Blue Palms inside near an elaborate bamboo, shishi odoshi styled fountain and underground irrigation systems invovling soaker hoses, if anyone else can think of some black, jade, or rich dark green colored plants, then please toss me an email. hopefully i'll have this grove up and running in a few years in which case anyone would be welcome to visit the grove.

In my experience, Washintonias need lots of room for their roots to get to any decent size, otherwise they seem not to grow much at all. I would think you could limit it's growth by limiting pot size. But with a 15 gallon pot, it probably won't get much taller than 6 feet.

I grew S.ethiopia. and And i grew outside where it did fine in Hayward. Suckered in a large concrete planter(like those used for cig butts and sand,only with a hole for drainage)in full ALL day sun.When it was brought in to a tropical greenhouse it grew slower.Not sure if it liked the indoor peat mix or prefered the cooler nights outdoors. One at UC Davis is huge-gigantic!. In a warm greenhouse. Maybe Pat,it is the soil mix.Try not to use peat and try one of those sandy cycad,cacti mixes.And some shadey cooler spot in summer from the Houston inferno summer nights.

Wow, you certainly have patience aegis! You are somebody I would normally ask if I was having that problem! You will eventually figure out the combination to that pesky lock, of that I am sure! I recently won a similar war w a couple of non-blooming stinkers that I had. I took mine as a personal challenge and they were either going to bloom or die! I put my two stinker plants (Fantasy Gold and a noid I lovingly refer to as my cabbage plant) and put them under my brightest lights and increased the timer to 14 hours of light from the 12 they had been getting. I then changed from my normal Optimara fert and went back to my old fish emulsion fert (Espoma that I can get from Home Depot) which is a little higher in nitrogen. Also, since it is organic I felt comfortable increasing the mix ratio/potency of the fish fert within my wicking reservoirs. All of my plants are on damp river rocks but I made sure that these two plants stayed plenty humid. (After all, I was not about to let two little plants kick my butt.) After 4 weeks of this special regimen, both of these plants gave in! My Fantasy Gold is finally blooming and so is my cabbage plant! I have since placed both of these plants back into regular rotation with regular food and they seem to be doing fine. (In a few days, I will have a few more open blooms on the cabbage plant. Once I do, I will post a pic here.) Maybe somebody will know what it is. I got it as a rescue plant more than a year ago. First I had to save it, then get it to flower.