'strap or rope' ? No straps or ropes I can see, you may be looking at a chopstick that is lying across the back of the pot in the last photo? I can't even wire these trees in the pots because most only have one drain hole, tried drilling a few wiring holes out and the pots just shatter, even the cement ones. If this one becomes hard to stabalize I'll use chopsticks and support it by tying them to the tree. So far no problem though.

Carlota, thank you for sharing your story. I, too, have found the Rose Forum to be a place that has helped me through difficult times. It's been very supportive for me, and has meant a lot to me to be here through the many years. I visit the Forum every day, for hours a day. There are many special people here, and they've helped me deal with life's difficult times, and illness.

One of them, the decora which had the little shrubby growth at the bottom recovered and made new small shoots in the late summer, and this spring they made shoots nearly as big as the originals making a full recovery. the other one, makinoi which had only 2 large culms with very little foliage eventually lost their leaves and didn't make it so it was a goner. It seems like severely root bound plants can make a full recovery as long as they still have viable buds and the rhizomes haven't dried out completely, but there is a point where the shoot buds are no longer viable and the plant is pretty much dead as they become a living stick. Many commercial nurseries take over-sized divisions sticking them in pots with minimal soil which leads to root-bound plants very quick, and as these divisions dehydrate very easily, the lose viability very fast. Many times, nurseries are only worried about the bottom dollar so they don't care if the plants die because they already made their money and apparently aren't interested in repeat customers. If you are planning on getting bamboo plants, I would suggest first trying to find a local grove of bamboo you can dig from, and then perhaps looking on bamboowebforums to find a forum member you can make a road trip to to collect many bamboos at once. It is definitely worth the time. If you can't find anyone then I would suggest bamboogarden in Oregon because I know it is a legitimate bamboo nursery.

Trance, I am so sorry to hear of your fathers accident. I wish him a speedy recovery. Knowing that he is in the best place at the moment getting care from professional should make it a little easier on you. I hear so many stories like this when doing my work as a handyman. Our mothers and fathers always want to to the job themselves, they don't realise that there bodies are not the same as they used to be when doing jobs around the house. Only last week a very good customer of mine was changing a light bulb and slipped of the chair and suffered a fractured arm. It their younger days this type of fall would probably have just caused a bruise. My father is just the same, wanting to do everything himself because it is an easy job. Yes it is easy for a younger person but when you get into retirement you should leave these jobs alone and enjoy your time time doing all the things that you have wanted to do but didn't have the time to do because of work. This year we asked a local handyman to take care of the DIY at her house. When we call her we ask if everything is ok and if she is has any odd jobs that need doing. If she tells us what need doing, we immediately contact ourhandman who goes around and gets it fixed. Peace of mind for us and a little work for the local handyman. He has done a few jobs this year for her and she feels comfortable with him in the house. Not having to call different tradesmen in to do each individual job is brilliant. Mum is comfortable knowing that the same person turns up every time. I really do hope you dad gets well soon and you all have a fantastic Christmas together. Get your parent sorted out with a local handyman that they feel comfortable with and after a while he will start to retire and leave the hard work to them. best Wishes... Here is a link that might be useful: Handyman