Near death experience

[Danilopez89]

My little palms and my new black bamboo almost got killed by my giant bamboo. I came home from the gym yesterday and saw this

I wanted to cry already 

I quickly inspected my little babies and saw that none got crushed by this killer bamboo

It could have killed my royal palm too!

My red latanias, attalea, bailey...safe! Even the black bamboo plant looked okay. Im so glad they didn't get crushed and killed. Otherwise I might of had to name my place the "death camp" too.

[Danilopez89]

Have any of you lost palms like I almost did before? 

It was actually my fault. I didn't think we would get any winds from the south. It probably just took a light breeze to knock it over. Last night I was having nightmares about my killer bamboo.

[Frond of Palms]

Here are some photos of my near death experience this past summer…the kettle grill is a hero!  I came home from work to find that a large branch from my turkey oak had snapped off and almost crushed a T. fortunie, L. chinensis, P. roebelenii and my gorgeous P. rupicola. It’s a good thing I wasn’t flipping burgers at the time.

[Danilopez89]

Wow that's scary!

That sure is a pretty rupicola.   I lost two rupicolas this summer to too much heat/sun. One was a large 15g. I was very upset of loosing that one.

[Briank]

Luckily my Phoenix C, Is 50' and its Frawns have yet to come crashing down. I trimmed it before I started planting around its area.  It gives my house the only shade as I don't have any canopy going yet other than it. 

 

Many bamboo is crazy have to trim it all the time, but it's in corner protected and is strong, have never had any bamboo fall over.  I have these Agaves growing out from behind the bamboo like crazy.  I'll take pic and show. 

[Briank]

[Briank]

I must have trimmed this bamboo about 8' last year. It used to consume a lot more of that corner.  I cut about a 2' x 8' section.  My dad wants to get rid of all of it, I don't think he understand how bamboo works.  I like it. and all the Agaves growing through it.

[Patrick]

The last time I went to our lot on the big island of Hawaii, Hurricane Iselle had made landfall about 4 months prior. We had just had our lot marked out on the previous trip. Needless to say, when we got to the lot and started rummaging around, it was hard to decipher that we were actually IN our lot. MANY trees had been felled, both Ohias and Albizias. The landscape had been dramatically altered. I had a nice triple planting of Chambeyronia hookeri that had just started to take off. A red spear of new growth was all I could see coming out of a pile of 4 Ohias that had fallen on the group! They were completely buried buy the trees.

Luckily nothing catastrophic. The first Ohia that fell was bracing the other 3 trees from crushing everything. I was able to get in there with a chainsaw at the end of the week and clean up the mess a little bit. I at least got the area opened up for the Chambies. When all was said and done they all got a fresh dose of fertilizer and I wished them luck for another 8 months until I could work them over again. It was a close call!

[Steve Mac]

I had to get rid of some Bangalows and Kentia because of their leaf fall squashing

my Chamae's and other seedlings which I thought they would 'protect'.

 

[Pando]

My Dypsis sp. maroantsetra is directly below a large 30-ft A. cunninghamiana. Every time an old frond gets ready to drop I get nervous. Today I decided to take a proactive action and pulled one down, and with a nudge from the pole saw it landed just a few feet away.

On a hindsight, I probably should not have have planted it where it is right now, but it's doing so well there. Moving and transplanting it to another location may reduce the risk of getting crushed in the long term, but the moving itself may end up killing it, or it may not like the new location/light/soil. Choices, choices...

[John Case]

Brian,

Your bamboo looks like Arundo donax in the photo. Where did you get it?

 

JC

[Briank]

Brian,

Your bamboo looks like Arundo donax in the photo. Where did you get it?

 

JC

JC,  

 

that Bamboo was planted some 25 years ago, and couldn't tell you.   This house was my grandparents house that I lived in my whole like, now they have passed and I inherited  my grandfather like to plant n grow maybe he did it, but it's been there forever we have trimmed it a lot it's a real grower! Sorry I can't give more info, been there forever w the agaves growing.  

 

Brian

[John Case]

Brian,

Your bamboo looks like Arundo donax in the photo. Where did you get it?

 

JC

JC,  

 

that Bamboo was planted some 25 years ago, and couldn't tell you.   This house was my grandparents house that I lived in my whole like, now they have passed and I inherited  my grandfather like to plant n grow maybe he did it, but it's been there forever we have trimmed it a lot it's a real grower! Sorry I can't give more info, been there forever w the agaves growing.  

 

Brian

If I amcorrect (I think I am), it is not bamboo but a lookalike plant that infests a lot of the San Joaquin valley wet areas. It is considered an invasive plant, the roots go 6 feet deep and it takes dynamite (nearly) to remove it. A better photo of it might confirm it.....the more you water, the faster it will take over. A true beast of a plant to get ride of.

[John Case]

The last time I went to our lot on the big island of Hawaii, Hurricane Iselle had made landfall about 4 months prior. We had just had our lot marked out on the previous trip. Needless to say, when we got to the lot and started rummaging around, it was hard to decipher that we were actually IN our lot. MANY trees had been felled, both Ohias and Albizias. The landscape had been dramatically altered. I had a nice triple planting of Chambeyronia hookeri that had just started to take off. A red spear of new growth was all I could see coming out of a pile of 4 Ohias that had fallen on the group! They were completely buried buy the trees.

Luckily nothing catastrophic. The first Ohia that fell was bracing the other 3 trees from crushing everything. I was able to get in there with a chainsaw at the end of the week and clean up the mess a little bit. I at least got the area opened up for the Chambies. When all was said and done they all got a fresh dose of fertilizer and I wished them luck for another 8 months until I could work them over again. It was a close call!

Patrick,

Is your camera broken? My poor body is in withdrawal not seeing the fabulous Leilani Estates!

 

JC

[Briank]

I will take some better picks up close tomorrow and cut one tomorrow so you can get better idea. I would say it about 1" in Dia and is like you said beastly.  It just looks like bamboo to a  tee.   It's about 12-15' tall. 

[John Case]

I will take some better picks up close tomorrow and cut one tomorrow so you can get better idea. I would say it about 1" in Dia and is like you said beastly.  It just looks like bamboo to a  tee.   It's about 12-15' tall. 

As a rule, leaves on bamboos are on branches off the main stem, these appear to be attached to the main stem directly.

[DoomsDave]

Oh hell, a little burracho bamboo ain't no thing

 

[Steve Mac]

It looks like Thysanolaena maxima to me, or what we call 'tiger grass'.

[John Case]

It looks like Thysanolaena maxima to me, or what we call 'tiger grass'.

Steve, his post noted that the stems get about an inch in diameter....I don't think that Tiger Grass gets that large; it had crossed my mind, though. Better photos are coming!

 

Thanks,

 

JC 

[Josh-O]

I wish I took a picture of the royal frond that landed on my car the other day. I got lucky the windshield did not break

[DoomsDave]

On a serious note, if palms get hit, they usually aren't one bit the worse for wear. They're tough.

I once dropped a Cedrus deodar limb onto a couple of Chambeyronias, yike they got banged up.

They grew out of it, don't even remember which ones they were any more.

That bamboo, no worry.

Trampling lummoxen feet are a bigger problem by far.

[Danilopez89]

Killer bamboo strikes again! 

I hate the wind! It ruins my whole day. Makes all my pools dirty and I end up getting out of work at sundown. 

My poor bamboo was looking all beat up already today. I hope I can get it in the ground soon, or at least in its permanent spot on my backyard. It's too big for myself to move it to my backyard so I'll have to wait until I grow more muscles or until I get some help.

Are these tough plants or should I be more careful with it. Like I said it was looking a bit stressed out today with many yellow leaves and made me a bit concerned. 

[Briank]

Get one of those palm dollies makes moving it easy !  And it's just bamboo nothing to fret about.  If it was a Chambeyronia or Large box Bizzie then I would be freaking out too lol.  Not sure we're your at but if in Diego I can help.  With this little rain might want to grab the shovel get hole ready!!

[Brad Mondel]

That "bamboo" you have there Briank is actually Arundo donax. It is naturalized in many states. 

[Danilopez89]

Get one of those palm dollies makes moving it easy !  And it's just bamboo nothing to fret about.  If it was a Chambeyronia or Large box Bizzie then I would be freaking out too lol.  Not sure we're your at but if in Diego I can help.  With this little rain might want to grab the shovel get hole ready!!

Thanks Brian! Im not too far from SD. Only about 2 1/2 hours. Let me know what time you can make it today...

LOL I'm just kidding Brian. But thanks for the offer. 

The whole plant is actually not too heavy, it's just that I have to move it to the other side of my house and it gonna be a bit of an obstacle since the bamboo is so tall. I might even have to demo a bit of my dog's house to get it where I want it.

[Pando]

Speaking of moving stuff, I got one of these things recently - worx great, saves my back.

[Darold Petty]

BrianK, what the others said, it's Arundo donax, for sure.  

[Danilopez89]

Speaking of moving stuff, I got one of these things recently - worx great, saves my back.

wth is that thing? How does it work. 

[Pando]

It's Worx Aerocart. Much better for my back than a traditional wheelbarrow, plus it comes with a few attachments to move larger pots and boulders easily and gently. I got a refurb for $99 at a recent sale on Ebay. You can also buy a snow plow accessory so you're prepared for winter!

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Daniel, You need a boo plantin' parteeee & an aerocart!  Once it's in the ground, it'll create a great wind bloc. We're planting lots o boo around here, since there will be another hurricane one of these days.  When that happens, those big ole clumps will be like catchers mitts stopping the neighbors stuff from smashing windows.  And it doesn't get all of those nasty palm diseases we've got around here.  

[Danilopez89]

Daniel, You need a boo plantin' parteeee & an aerocart!  Once it's in the ground, it'll create a great wind bloc. We're planting lots o boo around here, since there will be another hurricane one of these days.  When that happens, those big ole clumps will be like catchers mitts stopping the neighbors stuff from smashing windows.  And it doesn't get all of those nasty palm diseases we've got around here.  

That's the plan here too. I need it to fill in a corner for some wind block and hopefully some more cold barrier for my not so cold tolerant palms in my front yard.

I could really use an aerocart right now. I wonder if it digs holes for you too?