July 19th.

This week we had two scheduled customers visit to pick out some of our larger
divisions which can not be shipped mail order. Sharon and her husband, Jack,
drove up from Homa, Louisiana to pick up the bamboo that had been custom
dug for them.

 

Above left they look over the 35 divisions they were picking up. Later they walk
through the groves stopping first at a large 'Robert Young' grove.

 

Above left, Pleioblastus viridistriatus 'Chrysophyllus' and on the right photo
they stroll through the Phyllostachys stimulosa grove. This is a great little screening
bamboo that remains reasonably short and cold hardy to -5 degrees F.

  They look skyward at the 'Moso'.
Below is what their bamboo screen will look like in just a couple
years with these large starter divisions.





Above, Jack and Sharon head home after the bamboo was all loaded. Thanks
again and we hope their trip home was a safe one. Below is another guest who
scheduled a visit the same day.


 
 

Jim from Tennessee visited to pick up some 'Temple Bamboo'. Above left he
looks over the 30 gallon sizes we have to pick from. In the right photo Jim is
shown the A. amabilis or Tonkin Cane bamboo. This famous bamboo is the one
used to make split bamboo fly rods for fishing. This rare and hard to find hand
made rods are often several thousand dollars each.
 
    
To the left, Roger and Jim stand in one of our 'Temple Bamboo' groves.



Usually at the end of walking the groves we like to finish up
at the 'Moso' grove. Everyone is generally overwhelm by
the true diameter and towering heights of the giant. This
is the one they are making all the bamboo flooring out of.

Hope you enjoy the news and keep checking back as there
is always something going on in our bamboo world.



July 17th.

For the past five days we have been on the road traveling
to Lubbock and Dallas, Texas. We had two large deliveries
to these beautiful cities.  While the journey was long, well
over 2000 miles, we enjoyed the trip very much meeting
many new bamboo growers. Both orders consisted of
'Yellow Groove' bamboo as shown below.

 


The home below was our second stop in Colleyville, Texas. Dan had ordered
some of our larger divisions that we had on special a few weeks back.
We sold out of these in just two weeks. His son, Sam helped us with the
unloading which was greatly appreciated in the Texas heat.

 

After all the protective covering was removed, we moved them to a shaded area
until they can be planted. Above right photo shows once again the reason bamboo
is in high demand. Dan had enjoyed vacant lots on each side of his beautiful
home, but now two new homes are being built right up to the property line.

 

The bamboo weigh from 75 to 100 pounds each and the heights varied
from 14 to 22 feet tall.
 

Above left shows the height of some of these divisions.

Below and above right, show some of the bamboo unloaded into the shade area.
Sam is already adding more water to them.

 


  This photo is somewhere between Abilene
and Lubbock, Texas and the temperature was 102 F. We had been on the road for
19 hours non-stop at this point averaging only 53 mph.

Below we arrived in Wolfforth which is just outside Lubbock, Texas. Jimmy
Schneider, a landscaper,  had us deliver the bamboo to his home so he could
care for them prior to installing them at Texas Tech University.


We had divisions
in the truck bed and trailer. After all the wind protection tarps were removed, we
moved them into his warehouse.

 

The limited budget allocated by the University forced Jimmy to go with the smaller
3 gallon sizes, however we opted to let them get the taller 'Landscaper Grade' at
a reduced price. These 'Yellow Groove' divisions range from five to over 16 feet in height.

 
Both customers bought root barrier for containment of the root systems. You can
see a couple rolls in the above left photo.

We have been the Southeast Distributors for DeepRoot since 2001.







July 10th.

Yesterday another return visit by Susan and Kelvin from Tennessee
to pick up some more P. rubro for screening.  Below shows the 18 to 24
feet tall divisions they selected.



Below Roger and Russell load up the bamboo as our other workers
are busy doing mail orders. Today, Monday the 10th. was another
huge mail order day.

 

We have 153 boxes going out today. Each box contains one to two bamboo divisions
plus some barrier orders.

 
Above shows the packed bamboo awaiting all the labeling to complete the process.
Below photo was made at 4:40 am July 10th and shows the completed labeling process.



UPS will arrive later today to pick these up. This will be a super busy week with
the large field divisions being delivered to Texas. The trip to Lubbock ( Texas Tech
University) with be the longest to date. The total trip to take us over 2400 miles
and there will be plenty of news so please check back with us.


July 7th.

Today we confirmed two large orders going to Texas. One will be delivered
next week and we hope to have some more interesting photos coming soon.
One order will be going to Colleyville which is close to Dallas. This order will
consist of 30 of the 15 gallon size 'Yellow Groove' purchased by a home
gardener. The divisions are 18 to 20 feet tall with multiple canes from
.75 to 1.5 inches in diameter.

The second order is going to Lubbock, Texas. This order will consist of 74
'Yellow Groove' in the 6 to 14 foot height range going to a new landscaper
we are pleased to start doing business with. These beautiful bamboo divisions
will be planted at Texas Tech. University by Jimmy Schneider of Turfmaster
Irrigation.

An order of the 15 gallon P. rubro. that are 18 feet tall will be picked up here
this Sunday the 9th. by one of our repeat customers. We will post photos
of that visit next week.

July 5th.

Sandra and Roy from Tallassee visited us Wednesday. They are beginning their
collection of bamboo with an eye on the future. In a few years they hope to establish
a bamboo business. After looking over our operation and asking many questions
they picked out some bamboo.

 

Above, Roger shows them Linearis, one of our great screening bamboo. Below left,
they look at some 15 gallon containers of P. a. Spectabilis which grows great in
very cold climates.

 

Above right, large 30 gallon containers of S. Fastuosa which is one of the most erect
bamboo in cultivation. Below left, they wander through a grove of P. stimulosa
which is an excellent screening bamboo often over looked.


 

Above right is a grove of Pl. simonii which is so dense you cannot see through it. On
specimen plants with canes one inch diameter and larger there seldom low limb
characteristics, however there are so many canes the screen is very dense.

 

Toward the end of the tour they look over some I. latifolius which
is a low screening bamboo with giant leaves. This beautiful bamboo
is used around water features very often as the leaf drop is minimal.



June 2006    News Update on our family.

"Much has happened over the years and we have proudly passed our love of bamboo
 to our one and only child, Roger Jr.  Now the time has come for us to step back
from the labor intensive nursery business. Our company grew from simple honest
principals. As time passed, we have found the importance of simplicity and God.

Gayle and I continue to live by these standards and are now in the process of greatly
 simplifying our lives. We have reduced our processions by 70% and even moved into
a smaller home to care for. Gayle and I will travel and enjoy the fruits of our
many years of hard work now."

Gayle & Roger Sr.




June 26th.

Below are some new photos of our nursery expanding to meet
the current demands. One of our duplicate groves was cut today
to make way for a new holding area for containerized bamboo.



Roger and Russell cleared this grove  in a couple hours. After all
the canes were cut down the tops were removed.

 

Around one hundred canes were saved from this grove. They did all this work
after completing the 65 boxes of mail order bamboo that UPS picked up here
around 2 pm. They also prepared 30 divisions of Moso and gigantea to be
shipped out tomorrow, busy tired men.




Above left, Roger stands beside the cleared grove. Above right and below, Russell
works removing tops and cutting canes to desired lengths.

 

Roger begins leveling the area for the gravel that will be delivered soon. The gravel
base will provide good drainage for the containerized bamboo. The bamboo will be
watered 12 to 14 hours daily during their stabilization period. Feeder roots and new
rhizome growth will occur during this period and then next Spring we will ship the
all over the United States.
 


Below is one of the latest holding areas for containerized bamboo that has been
completed this Spring. These two holding areas cover one acre.



There is currently around two thousand of 3 to 30 gallon size containers in this area.

 

These areas will be filled with four thousand containers by the end of this
Fall. For the past two years, we have gone into the Spring mail order rush
with over seven thousand divisions to sell.



Keep us in mind if you decide you want a small starter division of
bamboo or perhaps little larger one also.

Seven month old, Harper Lewis checks out a 45 gallon container of Giant Gray Henon.




June 24th.

Richard and his niece, Dana, drove down from Beaver, just outside Oklahoma
City to pick up his bamboo order. He chose 12 of the P. rubro that were 20 to
24 feet tall and 6 of the 15 gallon size rubro. that were 14 to 16 feet in height.
He also added on 10 of our three gallon 'Landscaper Grade' P. aureosulcata
'Spectabilis' that were 8 to 12 feet tall.

Below are photos of the P. rubromarginata, our number one screening bamboo
and does great in windy locations such as Oklahoma.

Below is the 'Spectabilis' with it beautiful striped canes.

  

Above right, we begin the tour showing them some 30 gallon containers
of the more colorful and rare species of bamboo. Below we work through the
various groves. To the left is 'Sweet Shoot' Dulcis and then on to the giant
Moso which has many 70 foot tall and 6+ inch diameter canes.

    

After touring the groves we begin the loading process below. Richard also picked
out several containers of Pl. linearis for a short screening bamboo.

   

Above and below we load his 25 foot long trailer.

   

The loading and wrapping process went very smooth taking a little over one hour.

 

We really enjoyed meeting Richard and Dana. Hopefully they will have a safe trip
home today and we look forward to his return visit.





June 16th.

Hank and Susan visited us from Houston, Texas and took
home a truck load of bamboo. Below Roger shows them some
'Temple Bamboo' with its quasu persistent culm sheaths. 



Below left, is S. lancifolia a very nice ground cover bamboo with beautiful
foliage.

 
 

The medium height Linearis grove is shown below left.  Phyllostachys viridis Houzeau in the
right photo is a giant timber. It grows to over 3 inch diameter and 45 feet tall in a full
sun planting site.

 

Houzeau



Below, Susan picks out two containers of the Sassella masamuneana 'Albostriata' along
with a couple Pl. pygmaeus the shortest ground cover bamboo grown.
 
 

Shown below is the 'Tanakae' which Hank loved. He picked out a nice 3 gallon
division.



They also loaded up Moso, Green Onion, Black, Golden and the beautiful Spectabilis
shown below.



All the bamboo was loaded with care and will soon be in Houston to
start producing beautiful groves. Thanks Hank and Susan, we enjoyed
your visit.



June 14th.

New visitors to our bamboo nursery today were Tal and his wife, Nicki
from Helena, Alabama. They have been growing bamboo for several
years and are now adding to their collection. Below Tal picks out two
of the 15 gallon size Moso. All these containers have multiple canes
ranging from 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. Behind Roger are some of the
30 gallon size containers of Moso.



Below left, is one of the 'Giant Gray' Henon groves. Below right, Roger
shows the Pseudosasa amabilis or 'Tonkin Cane' bamboo which is used
to make the famous split bamboo fly rods for fishing. They picked out a
nice 3 gallon division of this bamboo to start their own grove.

 

Below left, they look over one of our two groves of Phyllostachys vivax 'aureocaulis'.
This beautiful giant timber bamboo is suited to even cold climate gardens as it is cold
hardy to -10 degrees F.


 



Above is Pleioblastus hindsii. This hard to find species has to be the most
erect Pleioblastus we grow. It has large leaves and grows to 15 feet in height.
Around 80% of its foliage is on the top quarter of the canes.



 
Above, they pick out a container of the 'Green Onion' bamboo. This one is hard
to pass up once you see it in person. This bamboo can be grow to full size as an
indoor container bamboo. Its low light requirements make it our number one
recommendation for an inside bamboo.



Above are photos of the 'Koi' bamboo Tal and Nicki ordered. We dug two
large 14 feet tall divisions for them two months ago. We babied them until
they were ready for their visit to our gardens. We hope they had a safe trip
home and will enjoy their new bamboo.


June 12th.

Shown below are 96 boxes that UPS will pick up today. We are slowly beginning to get
caught up from our backlog. We are booked solid with around 200 mail order divisions
going out weekly until July the 10th Hopefully, after the 10th we will be finished with
our Spring rush and can relax a little before the Fall ordering begins.



June 5th.

As for business, it seems that the Spring rush is continuing into Summer. Due to
pending orders, we are currently taking mail orders for the second week of
July. We are shipping out between 135 to 180 divisions per week.

We just confirmed another large order of field divisions going to Oklahoma. This
order has ten of the 30 gallon sizes with many divisions being 24 feet tall. There
are ten of the 15 gallon sizes which are 12 feet tall. Ten of the P. aureosulcata
'Spectabilis' in the 8 to 10 foot height range.

 

We will be delivering to Houma, Louisiana on June the 16th. and will have
plenty of new photos of that trip. This customer has chosen the giant timber
bamboo 'Slender Crookstem' to provide privacy from new neighbors. They
expressed concern about their once private backyard with pool and spoke
about the many new residents that have moved to Houma due to Hurricane
Katrina. Below are photos of this beautiful bamboo.


This custom order will consist of 33 divisions in the 16 to 20 foot height range. These
will be planted on five foot centers along the back of the pool area. In just a couple
years they will have complete privacy from a new two story home now over
looking their yard.