'Our
Bamboo
News'
2006
2006
 2004 |
 1994
|
Gayle & Roger Lewis Sr. of Bamboo Design
February 23rd.
Lynn is from Louisville, Kentucky and came by for four different species of bamboo. He
chose several 10 gallon sizes of Phyllostachys vivax, P. bambusoides, P. rubromarginata
and P. viridis. Lynn is 70+ years young and had been to New Orleans doing volunteer work
on the Katrina clean up.
Lynn was a super nice and generous man. I really enjoyed his visit and hope
he had a safe trip home.
Above is some of the large order being delivered this coming Tuesday
to Illinois by Roger Jr. and Russell. Many of these massive root balls
weigh from 250 to 300 pounds each. The specimens lying down have
2 to 3 inch canes and around 24 feet tall.
February 21st.
Roger and Russell delivered a load of bamboo to a very nice physician in north Alabama.
He will be creating a Japanese garden with his selection of Gray Henon and Rubromarginata.
Michael chose ten of the 15 gallon size Phyllostachys nigra Henon 'Giant Gray',
ten 15 gallon divisions of P. rubromarginata, and 10 more of the 3 gallon size P. rubro.
Below you can see the height of the bamboo in relation to his home.
These fine divisions will put up new canes 4 to 6 feet taller in a few months.
The inground barrier was being installed, so the bamboo will fill into desired areas of the new
garden quickly. Michael was very appreciative and was very pleasant to work with. We hope his
family enjoys the new bamboo and gardens for many years.
16th Annual SEC meeting at the Bamboo Coastal Gardens, Feb. 18th.
Several chapter officers who have held their position for years due to lack of participation
from inactive members will be resigning soon. We hope and encourage members to step forward
and help us out. Our president, Robby Russell and vice president, Mike Hotchkiss have held their
position for 8 years. Several directors such Mary Ann Silverman and Adam Turtle also need someone
to step in and relieve them. Gayle Lewis, of Lewis Bamboo Inc. and Bamboo Design, has been
a SEC director and webmaster for the SEC for several years will remain in her position as long as
possible. Some of us are growing older and stepping back or retiring completely. We need the younger
generation to move forward into the administration ranks and show us how its done.
Below right Roger and Rachel speak with Tracy and his wife who have started a bamboo
business. Lewis Bamboo will be referring customers to them as soon as their groves can
support the bamboo orders.
Above left, Roger Jr. talks with David Arnold of Tennessee. David
was just at Lewis Bamboo Inc. a few days ago purchasing more bamboo
for his collection. He helped us with the many photographs of this wonderful
meeting. We hope he enjoyed his first visit to the Bamboo Coastal Gardens.
Above Roger Sr. and Steve Ray spent a lot of time with several other bamboo
nursery owners helping the new directors ID bamboo at the gardens. Over the
years many species have been misidentified and had to be sorted out.
Steve Ray Sr. and Roger Lewis Sr. combined have over 60 years of bamboo knowledge
in growing temperate bamboo.
Above left in the background shows some of the massive clumping bamboo found
in the warm climate zone 8 of Savannah. Roger Sr. speaks with Mary Ann Silverman
about an upcoming trip. Photo above right is Steve Ray, Roger Sr. and Bert Silverman
outside the conference room where the bamboo auction was held.
Roger Jr. and Rachel with David Arnold setting up for pictures of the auction.
There were quite a few bamboo plants and several bamboo items auctioned
off with all the proceeds donated to the Southeast Chapter of the American Bamboo
Society. Around $1000 was raised by the auction and another $1000 donated for
a memorial fund for Richard Waldron.
Above left, David photographs the rare striping on 'Holochrysa' culms. Below left
Roger and Rachel right outside the audition where some giant bamboo hides most
of the building. Below right, Rachel and Sandra Kilgore talk and stroll through
the groves scattered throughout 50 acres.
More pictures and information can be seen at this link:
Lewis Bamboo meeting at Bamboo Coast Gardens in Savannah 2006
February 20th.
Nathan drove from Atlanta, Georgia to visit us and begin his bamboo collection.
Below are some photos of his bamboo. Nathan took advantage of several 15 gallon
Moso we still have left. Most Moso are being sized up from 15 to 30 gallon
containers.
Nathan works with the government and is a geologist. Knowing a lot about mother
earth and its plant life he has always been drawn to bamboo. He is now beginning
to collect different species for own property. In just a few years, he will have
some very nice Moso, Rubro. and giant 'Giant Gray' Henon groves.
February 15th.
This year, for Lewis Bamboo Inc., has started off fantastic. This is the busiest
Jan. and Feb. since we begin selling in 1994. We just confirmed another delivery
to New Orleans going out in March. We have another scheduled pickup tomorrow
with a customer coming from Georgia. This weekend is the annual bamboo meeting
in Savannah, Georgia that we are attending. We will deliver a large load of 'Giant Gray'
and 'Red Margin' to Decatur, Alabama Tuesday of next week. The following week
we deliver to Illinois. Another landscaper is coming from Dallas to pick up an order.
And finally, another order to be delivered to Kennesaw, Georgia the third week of
March. These are just confirmed orders and we still have many large orders
pending, plus mail orders going out weekly.
Jim and Doris came down from Nashville, TN yesterday to pick up some more bamboo.
Jim was here last March for his first visit and bought several species of bamboo. On this
visit, he chose some Phyllostachys viridis 'Pigskin', P. vivax and took advantage of
some of the 15 gallon size Moso (still available before all are sized up to 30 gallon).
After removing the bamboo from the containers, Russell adds our blend of
composed soil mix and wraps each one in burlap. Roger Jr. loads them and
everyone wraps the load in plastic for the return trip.
Jim has been generous with his bamboo collection. He is beginning to give away
divisions he digs from his groves. Several of his friends have wanted bamboo and Jim
is now sharing with them. His grove of P. viridis is now producing some one inch
canes in less than two years of total growth. Hopefully, this year there will be some two
inch diameter canes. His Moso from last year produced several canes, so this year it
should really take off. On one 15 gallon Moso Jim selected, we found a new shoot
that had already emerged from the soil line. The Cadillac made yet another journey
pulling the utility trailer full of bamboo.
February 13th.
Roger Jr. and Russell are almost finished with another large task. Below
are photos of 15 gallon size 'Moso' being potted into huge 30 gallon containers.
These larger sizes weigh between 225 and 250 pounds each.
Above Roger Jr. rolls and taps on the outside of the 15 gallon container.
This process is repeated until he can gently slide the root ball out of the
pot.
Above you can see the mass of bamboo rhizomes with buds. The buds will emerge
here in late March to form new canes. Using the boot for comparison, you can judge
the sizes of the current root balls.
Below, Roger begins to lower the Moso into the pot. Our special blend of compost
will be added and packed as they fill up the container. Below right you see the space
of around 3 inches surrounding the root ball. The wider and deeper containers will
have around 25 pounds of compost added to the existing root balls.
Below is one of our Moso sandwiched between a 30 and 15 gallon container.
The 30 gallon containers are not for sale now. They will go on sale after the bamboo
has put up this year's new canes. This will happen in late March and go through April.
After they have hardened off, we will begin selling them. We estimate many will put up
canes in the 18 to 20 foot height range. With our compost these rhizomes will fill these
containers in 8 to 12 weeks. The 30 gallon sizes will sell for $250 each.
There are a few 15 gallon sizes left that have canes in the 8 to 12 height range. These
are currently $150 to $175 depending on the number of the canes in the container.
February 12th.
Confirmation of another landscaping job in Decatur, Alabama
will have us very busy the next few weeks. News of that job and
delivery will be coming soon. Ten divisions of the 15 gallon size
P. bambusoides 'Slender Crookstem' went to a new home in north
Alabama today. The purpose for this bamboo planting has several
reasons. The bamboo will serve as a natural obstruction for a flight path
of local Martins. The bamboo will serve to route the birds out and
around their house eliminating the problem, plus provide an excellent
privacy screen. Indocalamus tessellatus will also be planted to provide
screening from ground level to 7 feet.
The photo above shows how easy ten nice size divisions can
be loaded into a full size pickup truck. These were around
100 pounds each with single culms (canes) 18 to 20 feet in height.
'Muroi' or 'Slender Crookstem' bambusoides is rare in cultivation
and difficult to find at nurseries. It grows to well over 50 feet and
3 inches in diameter. It has very discernible lower nodes with very
little culm crook seen throughout a mature grove. The wood quality
is excellent and very hard, making it ideal for bamboo crafts. It is
more cold hardy than typical bambusoides and can withstand
temperatures to zero degrees F. while retaining its foliage.
After a brief walk through the groves on this cold
winter morning, the load was completed and ready
to go. Our lows have been in the mid to upper twenties,
but has not deterred the need or enthusiasm for bamboo.
An interesting fact on this species is the presence of dormant branch
buds on the lower portion of the culms (canes) that can be forced to
produce branches at low levels if desired.
February 11th.
We are up at 2:00 am preparing for another delivery. This trip we are loaded with more of the 15 gallon 'Moso' to be
delivered this morning to a repeat customer. He is taking advantage of the remaining 15 gallon sizes before they are moved into 30 gallon containers. There will be around 40 of the 15 gallon sizes remaining after this order.
We begin sorting through remaining 15 gallon containers yesterday for the larger ones. Twelve were moved into 30 gallon containers and there are 60 more that will be sized up into the larger containers next week. These will be on hold until they have filled up the 30 gallon size with new canes and rhizome growth. I will post some photos of this next week and show the growth that has occurred while they were in the 15 gallon size containers.
The new 30 gallon sizes will most likely be ready this summer and will be sold for $250 each. The remaining 15 gallon sizes are still $150 to $175 each and have very well established root systems with 8 to 12 foot canes. The root balls of the 15 gallon sizes weigh around 100 to 125 pounds each. The 30 gallon sizes will weigh well over 200 pounds each.
February 8th.
On the 1st. of Feb. we reported:
"We are working with a Louisiana based newspaper currently. We are doing consulting
work with the editor and several gardeners on a Moso grove in that state.
Pole production management for future marketing is the goal."
As of today, we have not received a copy of the news paper article yet, but the phone calls are sure coming in.
Lewis Bamboo was listed as a source for Moso. We have sold almost our entire stock of 3 gallon Moso.
There are still a few 3 gallon left and some 15 gallon sizes. Next week we have two scheduled appointments
for customers coming to pick up 15 gallon size Moso. We will post photos of the visits and show some
rhizome growth of these giant Moso.
We just confirmed an order to be delivered to Atlanta, Georgia in March. It will be for 120 divisions of 'Golden' bamboo to be used for privacy screening. Our client shopped around and could not find a better price.
ABS meeting on Feb. 18th. in Savannah, Ga. Some of Lewis Bamboo will be
in attendance for this annual meeting if you would like to join us. There will
be plenty of bamboo to see and it always is great fun. Go to the web site of the
Southeast Chapter listed below. Gayle Lewis is the webmaster for the chapter
and has up to date postings with directions.
http://www.sec-bamboo.org/
February 6th.
Below are photos from yesterday's visitor from Texas. Kim sent two drivers out to pick
up her order. Ten of the larger field divisions of P. rubromarginata were chosen as the
bamboo for privacy. Also Kim selected two of our 15 gallon size Moso bamboo to start
a large grove of timber bamboo. Several large 5 gallon divisions of Sasa palmata were
purchased for the 5 to 7 foot height bamboo she needed.
Roger Jr. and Russell load up the order in the 16 foot trailer Kim sent for
transporting the bamboo.
Above the bamboo is completely wrapped so the wind does not damage
the foliage or root balls at interstate speeds.
All
completed and headed back toTexas where the bamboo will be planted at its new home.
February 5th.
We have another client driving in from Texas today. I will post photos of their visit tomorrow
and the beautiful bamboo they have selected. Below are some pictures of our recent buy. It is
unbelievable that we have done so much business with large landscaping companies that we have had
to restock our inventory of large containers.
Above was taken in May 2005 of our of container purchase. I thought these would
last for 5 years or longer. In the above right photo, I ponder if we had bought too many.
Now we are out and had to buy more containers for up coming orders.
Pots not shown are 1000s of one, two and three gallon sizes that have already been
unloaded. We always plan on selling our bamboo to private gardeners and never
dreamed of anything else. However, large landscaping companies have become a
principal part of our business. There may come a day in the future that large
companies demand more of our time, but we thoroughly enjoy the gardeners who
visit and get the 'bamboo fever' as we call it. We hope Roger Jr. will always run
Lewis Bamboo as we have in the past, but all successful companies must grow to
meet the present demand.
February 2nd.
The Bowers, Edward and Edwina, paid us a nice visit yesterday. They drove down from
Murphy, North Carolina with a trailer for a load of bamboo. Edward selected forty-five
of the potted 3 gallon size Phyllostachys rubromarginata 'Red Margin'. Next they chose
fifteen of the P. aureosulcata 'Yellow Groove' and a P. nigra 'Black'.
Here and below they are touring the groves with Roger Jr. and Russell.
Above Roger moves a giant 65 foot Moso cane so they
can see where the top emerges from the bamboo canopy. It
is always nice to have customers visit our bamboo farm.
Roger and Russell said the Bowers were very friendly
and really enjoyed the bamboo.
After a two hour stroll through most of the bamboo groves,
they were ready for all the bamboo to be loaded. Privacy via
bamboo will be theirs again shortly. We hope to see them
again and really appreciated the nice visit.
February 1st.
1. A little update and we will post new photos in the next few days. Lewis Bamboo Inc.
confirmed a new landscaping order yesterday. This order will be going to Dallas, Texas
The installation will be for a client that is doing a beautiful Asian garden. It will be
photographed by a national publication this summer and we should be able to post
that information as it becomes available.
2. A new customer will pick up an order today here at our bamboo farm and we will
post news on that tomorrow. There will also be a pick up of large field divisions this
coming Sunday the 5th.. This order will be going to its new home in eastern Texas. It
will consist of large divisions of Phyllostachys 'Moso', P. rubromarginata and Sasa
palmata.
3. We are working with a Louisiana based newspaper currently. We are doing consulting
work with the editor and several gardeners on a Moso grove in that state.
Pole production management for future marketing is the goal.