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Friday 29 August 2008

I Have Green Panda !!!


I have been on the prowl for a hardy clumping ( which means "behaving") type of bamboo for a few years now. I have read about them .. wondered about them .. yearned for a chance to try one out and BANG ! all of the sudden I find Green Panda fargesia rufa at one of my haunts Canadian Tire ... yes .. I AM CANADIAN .. I guess you would have to have that TV commercial to get the full impact of that statement (something to do with beer ... I think ).. in any case .. being the pessimistic soul I am I had to buy two of them .. just to be on the safe side .. I have two locations in mind and I'm hoping these puppies work out for one heck of an eye catching WOW ! factor to my gardens .. and here I thought I wasn't going to be excited about much this time of year when it came to my garden .. I thought there wouldn't be any surprises left in the season .. but I'm one happy camper now ! Anyone else with experience in this department please let me know what you think of it ?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Didn't even know there was a form of bamboo that behaved.... Be interesting to see how yours turns out. Keep us posted on its progress!
Brenda

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Brenda .. there are so many cultivars of bamboo it is amazing .. and new ones coming all the time. Clumping is the key word to plants that might have a bad reputation .. like ornamental grasses .. I'm just interested in it surviving our winters .. it says zone 5 .. and I am going to make sure it is well mulched in for the winter .. there is a neighbor down the street that has the most amazing display .. and I think it is this one .. so fingers crossed I can get the same affect (in a few years ?) : )

Gail said...

Sounds wonderful, I have the perfect spot for them, so I shall be paying close attention to how they behave for you before I purchase them! Bamboo kind of takes over in Nashville gardens!

Linda said...

I am Can-EH-dian!!
Glad you found your bamboo, looking forward to hearing how it survives the winter and grows next spring.

Joanne said...

Garden surprises are great, aren't they? You mention a Wow factor - how large will these grow, and what will you plant them near? They look delicate in the pics.

The Hunky Gardener said...

That's some nice bamboo...eh! I live in zone 3a (yes, not zone 3 but zone 3a!) so I can't help you out :(

Don't get me wrong, us zone 3 people are tough gardeners!

Kylee Baumle said...

I just bought Fargesia denudata last week, which is a clumping bamboo and it actually says, "Bamboo that Behaves!" on the tag. We shall see! I understand your excitement over finding this, because I nearly hyperventilated when I found mine! LOL!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kylee ! .. I stopped by your blog and saw "skinny black cat" .. poor little soul .. and those VERY scary cicada killers ugh !
I'm glad to hear from another bamboo mom ? LOL .. I researched this one before and couldn't believe I found it yesterday and at HALF price .. so I was HAPPY : )
I'll be so curious myself to see what happens too !

Hunky ... Living in that zone I would expect nothing else but TOUGH gardeners ! haha .. wow .. your choices are a bit restricted but I know you must make the best of them right ? after all you are a fellow Canuck ! .. I'm hopefull this bamboo is going to perform the way I imagine it in my head .. then again what is in our head hardly compares to the bare facts of gardening most times ? : )
Fingers crossed !

Crafty ... you and I both are going to be too curious .. maybe you might even think of it yourself if mine behaves and flourishes ? .. I'll be our test case ! LOL

Hi Joanne .. they may look delicate in the pictures .. and actually their form is what makes them look so attractive .. but after reading and seeing other pictures they will make a dramatic "stand" in the two places I have for them .. I'll take lots of pictures so the progress and site location will be easy to compare : )

Hi Gail .. I'm going on good faith that "clumping" really does mean clumping .. which so far from research it has been specifically bred for this cold hardy bamboo .. so even in your warmer zone .. it should behave ? .. I'm really excited about this .. hope it survives and I can see some action in the Spring ! LOL

Anonymous said...

Ooh, Joy! I want some!!! Lucky girl!

The Hunky Gardener said...

I may have a group of followers but you are the only one with a gnome so you are my favorite!

I wrote a post on getting hunky husbands into the garden. Just thought you may like it!

Rose said...

Congratulations on finding the bamboo--it's always exciting when we find a plant we've been searching for for a long time.

I've heard it can "take over," so I hope yours has some manners--will be looking forward to seeing how it does.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Rose ! .. YES ! .. I am amazed at finding this .. and on sale, so the DOUBLE Happiness dance happened in the garden center .. yes .. sad but true : )
This one is clumping .. and that is the secret to "behaving" plants .. so I'm hoping this is the real deal and that is what happens ! I'll be taking pictures as it stretches out ? LOL

Hunky .. you are so sweet ! Dave the gnome, WG (weather gargoyle) and TG (thinking gargoyle) all join in to say "Yes ! and .. "We are CANADIAN EH !" haha
I'm going over to have a peek at your post .. but I am lucky .. my hubby is the "grass master" so I don't mow the lawn .. and I have to admit he is a great help in the garden when I need it : )

'ben" ! Hey, if you were closer I would share some with you !! you can pretend mine is yours too ? LOL

Amy said...

Oooh, exciting...who knew you could grow bamboo in Canada?!

My knee is slowly improving and I'm able to do a lot more now. I've been switched to a maintenance exercise program with once a month physio check ups while I wait to see a surgeon again (probably after Christmas at earliest).

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Amy .. yes, it takes a long time to see specialists no matter where you are .. ubby trying to see an ENT .. late November is the earliest.
YES ! bamboo in Canada .. but there is cactus we can grow here too, did you know about that ? .. funny plants here can get on even through our winter .. yikes !

Giddy said...

Well, Duh. Had I read this post before the following one, all my questions would have been answered. I promise to read your posts in order from here on out.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Giddy ... you cracked me up when I read your responses ! Hey, I do that too girl .. so you are not alone ! on earth or in space ? LOL