'Our Bamboo News' by Roger Jr. & Roger Sr.

 
July 2004 thru December  
Federal Registry Copyright © 2002 -2005




Hope you had a Merry Christmas

    Roger Jr. with Rachel and puppy Deacon       
                HAPPY HOLIDAYS


December 28,  2004

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year to everyone. We appreciate you visiting with us and hope your holidays are wonderful. God bless you and your family during the coming year.

Roger Jr. & Rachel Lewis
Roger Sr. & Gayle Lewis
and of course 'Deacon' our 11 month old puppy.


December 12,  2004

Yesterday ABS members and old friends, Pat and Pete, came for more bamboo. At the present time, I believe they have 12 species growing at two of their three homes. After a causal visit,  we toured the groves and enjoyed a sunny December day in the bamboo.

  P. viridis 'Robert Young'
  P. dulcis

    
   Above Pete examines some Pleioblastus simonii.

     


December 4,  2004

Our visitors today came from nearby Birmingham. We like to teach them fairly young the beauty and worldwide use of bamboo.  She had many comments, but most were unclear to us.  Only Grandmon, Mom and Dad knew for sure what she said.

Her Dad chose Phyllostachys rubromarginata for the bamboo screening effect to block out an unsightly apartment complex. He also purchased a very nice division of Moso to begin a walk through grove.

     

     

December 1,  2004

Today, Gayle snapped a few pictures of P. rubromarginata we dug from our grove in neighboring Tuscaloosa County.  Many jobs can not be done in the cold and rain, but digging bamboo is not one of them. Often the topic comes up about the price of bamboo being expensive.  As I have covered in past discussions, our nursery propagates by division. This is to insure that our customers receive a good product and not a tender greenhouse division. Once people understand all the labor, hard work, and dedication that is involved, it's apparent why bamboo prices are in line.

In order to access our grove we dug at yesterday, it takes a good four wheel drive vehicle just to get there. Once you connect a heavy trailer and load it down with wet root balls, then you can have an "experience" getting home. There are 204 divisions on the truck and trailer. Each division will be groomed, pruned, washed down and potted into 3 gallon containers with our own soil mix over the next couple days.


 

Roger Sr.   Tired, muddy and not exactly a photo hound.

  



November 22, 2004

We ( Gayle & Roger Sr. ) returned late last night from a 22 day trip. Roger Jr. was kind enough to handle all the work on the home front while we traveled on business. Our son's company sends us far from home for extended periods now and we are very happy to be back on the river!

November 8, 2004

Today, we were visited by Bilbo and his mom, Carole. They are performers that educate children on the hardships faced by the early settlers to North America. They are well versed in making arts and crafts and love using bamboo in their endeavors. They purchased a wide range of plants to establish their own bamboo groves. This bamboo will provide materials for arts and crafts for years to come. It is refreshing to see all the good uses of bamboo.



November 5, 2004

Roger Jr. and Rachel delivered Phyllostachys Nigra 'Henon' to the East Dale Mall in Montgomery, AL today, where a major renovation was in process.  A large anchor store was being added and there was much landscaping to be done in the surrounding area. The selection of bamboo chosen will add lush tropical foliage and a relaxing atmosphere for busy shoppers for years to come.

Here are some pictures of the installation.

    



               
October 30,  2004
Below are our friends and habitual bamboo growers. Pete and his lovely wife, Pat, now have around eleven species of bamboo and wanting more! Today he picked up three new species and some barrier to control the spreading.  With eight species planted at their nearby river home, they are now planting at their new garden home in Birmingham.

Pete keeps records of all his bamboo and how they are doing. He chose Sasa tsuboiana, Semiarundianaria okuboi and Hibanobambusa tranquillans 'Shiroshima' for their new plantings. Like we say, bamboo can become mentally invasive and we think that Pete has the bamboo bug.

                        


                          

            

             

    



October 20,  2004

With extra help from friends ( Nick & Julie ),  we loaded up 100 field divisions of 'Giant Gray' Henon that had been dug and stabilized for our latest customer. This large order was contracted for an out of state landscaper.  Many of these weigh over 120 pounds each and towered 24 feet in height after topping. We have been contacted numberous times for large size specimen bamboo needed in Texas.

Roger Jr. and Rachel headed out toward Dallas, Tx. after lunch Saturday and delivered these on Monday the 18th.
Below are photos of the loading process and the Rave Theater in Hurst, Tx. where they ended up. Large concrete planter boxes will be the new home for these. The bamboo will be lifted into place via the large crane you see in the photos.

              



  

  


     

       

After a couple days of travel time, Roger & Rachel arrive in Hurst, Tx. at the new Rave Theater.
Landscapers at the job site unloaded and were very pleased with the new bamboo.

       

                     

      Workers stand next to one group of 'Giant Gray' they unloaded.  The large crane below will be used in planting and positioning the planters. From what we understand in one area visitors to the mall will be enjoying the bamboo from elevated walks. This is another beautiful area of country where our bamboo will be established. We have a list of sites that that got their bamboo babies from us and plan to revisit in a few years.

   


Great weather for the delivery with beautiful skies of Texas. The Rave is still under construction at the mall, but should be opening within weeks.

          
       

   

            

Customer Mike Marshal from Green Earth Landscape wrote about the order:

Hey Guys,

 

Just wanted to drop you a note letting you know much we appreciate all the work you put into providing us with the Henon Giant Gray for the Rave Theater Complex in Hurst, Texas. We dropped a pretty good size order in your lap with a very small window for delivery since we were on a very strict completion timetable. Not only did you have to immediately start digging for a sufficient curing time, but of all things you had hurricane Ivan bearing down directly on Alabama, just a few days away. Roger, we couldnt be more pleased with every point of contact we had with your company including the pinpoint delivery a few weeks ago. The bamboo was excellent and everyone involved was extremely happy with the quality of the bamboo, including height and caliper. It already makes an impressive statement against the massive walls. Skys the limit now. We had to crane all of the bamboo over to the planters and managed to plant all but about ten that Monday you delivered. Look forward to working with you guys in the future, but I cant imagine how youll be able to improve on quality and product the next time around. Good luck.

 

I'll post some pictures on my website end of this week www.greenearthlandscape.com

 

 

Mike




October 2,  2004

Fred and Nick drove 14 hours one way from Houston to pick up their new bamboo divisions. Like many others, Fred was in need of privacy screening and with these large divisions he should have instant results. Over the years, the bamboo will double up in numbers and provide a thick lush evergreen of privacy. In the next couple weeks there will be photos and details of a very large order that we will be delivering to a mall in Dallas, Tx.
Below are the photos of the load and another satisfied customer.

                                                                     

  

   

   



September  2004

Power and phone services were restored four days after Hurricane Ivan struck. Work is on going to get our business back to normal.  We had winds in the 70 mph range and lost some trees and had some minor bamboo damage. One of our major concerns was the power lost which made watering difficult on a large order we are preparing for Dallas, Tx.

Below are photos showing some of the 100 large field divisions we have dug for the TX. order. This species is Phyllostachys nigra Henon 'Giant Gray' and will be going to a new Dallas theater complex in October. This bamboo matures to a true giant and is very drought resistant. It makes this species a prime choice for areas like Dallas which is very hot and watering can be limited. Roger Jr. stands beside one of the 18 to 24 foot divisions which weigh from 80 to 120 pounds each.

   


                     

                                     

 



September 15th. 2004

After several months of hard work we currently have next Spring's stock at 4300 dug divisions. Many are potted and the rest are in a stabilization process prior to potting them up. Two large orders are in the works with one stabilized and awaiting pickup. The other will be delivered by us and is awaiting final arrangements before wrapping them up. Photos of these orders going out will be coming soon. Mulch your bamboo heavy this Winter, according to characteristics of wildlife here on the river it is going to be a very cold Winter.

Today we had to discontinue the discount we were offering on purchases of 100 Moso in the 3 gallon containers. These were offered at $58 each if 100 were bought. Five customers took advantage of this offer while the supply lasted, but while we had several thousand to offer back in March we are now down to 297. Most gardeners have went with one to five of these and they are gone like wild fire! When these are sold  ( $69 each  plus $6 S&H ) there will not be any more available. These are a one time deal as I stated back in the early Spring and it is like the old advertising saying goes, when they are gone they are gone.


August

Here are photos of our last out of state delivery. This order went to Scott in Georgia for a backyard screen. He seemed very pleased with the bamboo he received. Roger Jr. addressed all questions he had prior to the sale and on delivery. We also do free follow up consultations anytime it is needed and are happy to work with customers in any way. Roger and Rachel delivered this order and once again all went smoothly.

Below you can see loading and wrapping of the bamboo so it is not damaged during transit to its new home. All root balls are in burlap that can remain in place during planting. When plants are delivered, they have already been stabilized and ready for planting. These divisions were 12 to 16 feet tall. The average root balls were 18 to 21 inches across and weighted 50 to 60 pounds each. Scott also ordered the plastic root barrier from us to contain his bamboo to a specific area.

 
 



Below photos show the final stages of the loading.
     

              

                   

Below is Roger Jr. and Scott with his new bamboo at his home in Georgia.

            


August 2004

The Master Gardener's Association invited Roger to be the primary guest speaker at their quarterly meeting. There were 19 total in attendance and the meeting went great. Drinks and food were furnished by the gardener's association and was held in a very nice facility in downtown Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A brief business meeting was done and then turned over to Roger who begin the Introduction to Bamboo. After the talk and picture show was concluded, a Q & A session proceeded. As usual, this can be the fun part of our meetings and all seem to enjoy it, plus learn a lot. Many of the myths about bamboo were once again dispelled. Many of the master gardeners had bamboo and several more said they will be obtaining some. Several of them own landscaping companies and have had many inquires from their customers wanting bamboo. They did not know much about it and had trouble finding which species were suited for their needs and location.  The gardeners now seemed very happy in finding our nursery close by. Hope you enjoy the photos of this last bamboo meet.

     Roger Jr. who now runs Lewis Bamboo, Inc. sets up the computers and begins the show.

                   

    

  Roger did this for educational purposes and did not charge or sell anything during this event. Lewis Bamboo tries to promote bamboo for its beauty and utility when ever possible. A display was set up with many bamboo arts & crafts. There were also bamboo paintings done by Roger Sr. with many of his bamboo crafts done over the years. Several books were present for the members to look over. Bamboo socks were there for everyone to learn about and applications to join the American Bamboo Society were made available to everyone.

    


August 9th

With another busy weekend behind us, we look forward to a couple days off this week. This time of year is generally not too busy, but this month so far as been the exception. Roger Jr. will be addressing the Master Gardener Association in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this week. We will have more information and photos of this event later.

An order will be delivered to the New Orleans Audubon Zoo this week and we will be going down in November to see how it is doing. When possible we do a follow up visit to commercial sites we have deal with to ensure all is well. We now have our bamboo growing at five zoos across the country. Below is a list of some commercial sites.

 New Orleans Audubon Zoo
 Memphis Zoo
 Denver Zoo
 Atlanta Zoo
 Mobile Zoo
 Lake Austin Spa Resort, Austin, TX.
 Hyundai Plant, Montgomery, AL.
 Mobile Botanical Gardens
 Golf courses in Milledgeville, GA and Birmingham, AL.
 Rave Movie Theater, Hurst, TX.
 East Dale Mall, Montgomery, AL.


July 28th

With most of our summer vacations over now we are starting the task of restocking. This will continue for the next three months in preparation for 2005 Spring orders. The bamboo divisions we are taking from our groves now are one and two year old plants. These make the best starter divisions as they have established feeder roots out from the primary rhizome. The primary rhizome for the starter plants will have from 3 to 8 buds depending on whether it is a 2 or 3 gallon size.

The Fall orders are beginning now and should continue into September for our neighbors up north. After September we recommend gardeners in zones 4 and 5 wait until May 2005 to plant. Work is on going with our web site and updates have been added to several pages.