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'Our Bamboo News'
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2005

Set up your appointment and
visit our bamboo nursery.
December 21st.


The delivery of Ben and Ellen's new bamboo went well and they were very
pleased with all the divisions. In their modern downtown home there is bamboo flooring and cabinets being used throughout the beautiful new construction. To the right is a photo of some of the bamboo in their home.

Below, Ellen and one of her many designers stand beside some of the bamboo
being unloaded at their new home. Large elevated landscaping beds have been built just for their new bamboo. With ample sun light and and the controlled watering
system the bamboo will do excellent.



        Roger unwrapped and carried all the bamboo around
        to the newly constructed planting beds. Since the site was
        within 50 miles of our nursery there was no delivery charge.


                       



                          Below right, the large beds with irrigation systems that will contain the
                          10 gallon size divisions of Phyllostachys nigra 'Black' bamboo.

                                 

                     Above and below, some of the bamboo is shown beside the planting beds. The
                     bamboo was temporarily placed beside an 8 foot tall privacy fence. Several
                     divisions of Indocalamus tessellatus were also selected for an under story bamboo.


 
                                                                                            

                                                                                              

         These 10 gallon size 'Black' averaged 8 to 12 feet in height
         with 40 to 60 pound root balls. These divisions were potted 
         for 1 year before being placed into our sale ready inventory.


                                                             
              


                                                                                                           


Below an aerial photo shows the bamboo and planting site. Ben and Ellen
promised to send photos of the finished project when completed.


 

We hope your family will have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

Check back soon for more news and thanks for visiting our site.


December 20th.

We have been busy with last minute bamboo orders for Christmas and
along with Gift Certificates being mailed out. Today, we are delivering
bamboo today to a new landscaping firm in Birmingham, Alabama today.
We will have news with photos of this coming soon.

December 11th.

Ben and Ellen notified us yesterday that they will  soon be ready for their new
bamboo. We will have them all wrapped in burlap ready to deliver as soon as
their planting site is completed.

TRAILER LOAD OF TESS. & BLACK BAMBOO



December 7th.

Ben and Ellen from nearby Birmingham, AL visited today to discuss the
landscaping plans for their new home. They have moved back to their native
Alabama after Ben served our nation in Congress for many years. They have
specific areas and plans for their new bamboo and were excited to bring their
vision to life with P. Nigra 'Black' and Indocalamus Tessellatus.

Roger, Ben and Ellen on their tour       Roger showing our visitors P. Moso
Above, they admire our large P. Viridis 'Robert Young' and P. Moso.
 

Roger Jr. Explains how bamboo grows and later, to the right Ben and Roger discuss
what will go best outside of their new, downtown home. Ellen (in the background) decides
which species is her favorite.

how bamboo grows        Roger talks bamboo!


Below, examples of the beautiful species they chose.

            


Our lovely little "puppy" watched over their visit and really took to our
guests. We enjoyed  their visit very much and look forward to seeing pictures
of the finished product.

Deacon!



November 22nd.

Below are some of the Robert Young dug for a repeat customer . They are
all being placed in pots for the next 8  months to stabilize and grow new
rhizomes with feeder roots.



Due to the size of the 45 gallon root mass we move them around
with the tractor. Each of this size will weigh around 350 to 400 pounds
in this species.

    

Above right and below, Deacon the 180 pound Great Dane gives a little perspective.
Deacon keeps an eye on things when we are not around.

   

Below one of the 45 gallon sizes sit along side 25 gallon containers. This
specimen measured 3.25 inches in diameter.

 

    

Above photo shows the 45 foot height of a 45 gallon size. Our large
field dug divisions are all placed in containers for a minimum of 6
months and up to 24 months before being sold. This allows time for
them to grow new root systems and fill up the containers they are potted
in. We never sell freshly dug divisions since they lack the root system after
being severed from the grove during the digging process.



November 17th.

As cold weather is settling in, we are doing a lot of potting of the new divisions that
we have dug during the last couple of weeks.  Also just getting things ready for the
next Spring rush that always begins the first week of March.



Outside one of the entrances to Lewis Bamboo, the above photo shows new soil composting in
progress. Rich river bottom soil is used as one of our custom ingredients

Below, early morning photo shows river fog rising behind a grove of bissetii.

 

Below, beautiful 'Giant Gray' Henon grows along side an entrance way into the groves.
November 13th.

Today Dorman and Mary from Boldo, Alabama came out to visit us.
They selected some Phyllostachys nigra 'Henon' so they can have some
large bamboo. After recently retiring, they are now excited about
enjoying their grandchildren and looking forward to watching their new
bamboo grow.




October 30th.



We hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

October 24th

Out of state guest from Athens, Georgia visited us Monday. Richard and Ingrid
were excited to add to their existing bamboo collection. They have 'Black' and
'Golden' bamboo in containers at the present. Both wanted some giant bamboo
to plant around their 10 acre home and have large walk through groves to enjoy.

 

Below, Roger tours through some of the timber bamboo to choose from.





Richard looks over some Moso and Giant Gray Henon.

  

Shown above are the four of the 'Robert Young' Ingrid chose to take home.

   
Above, one of our Gray Henon groves. They picked out four of the
3 gallon size 'Giant Gray' more 'Black' and four of the 5 gallon size Moso.

   After picking out 13 specimens
to take home we give them a 6 foot tall division of the P. bambusoides
'Slender Crookstem' to have also. This over looked giant timber bamboo
is very fast to size up and produce a wonderful walk through grove.




Above, we begin loading up their bamboo. They were very nice and excited
about all the new species of bamboo they had. We enjoyed their visit, they
both promised to return next year for more bamboo.

October 22nd.

After another busy Sunday preparing mail orders to go out tomorrow, we took
time to get the photos of the Florida delivery. Below are the 303 divisions of
3 gallon 'Golden' bamboo that went to a landscaper in Pensacola.

Above and below show the bamboo loaded and covered up for the 300 mile trip
to the gulf coast. On heavy loads that exceed 9000 pounds we use a 3/4 ton diesel
4 X 4 to pull these loads.



Below, the bamboo is all unloaded and arrived 100% undamaged. These tall 'Landscaper Grade'
specimens were 6 to 8 feet tall. Our regular size 3 gallon 'Golden' are 3 to 4 feet tall and are
available for $40 each. We have a special currently with free shipping when you purchase them
in groups of 4. For $160 you can have four of the 3 to 4 foot tall divisions shipped right to your
door by UPS.

 




Above shows the houses built right up to the property line that will soon
be completely screened out by the beautiful green foliage and golden canes
of this fast growing species.



October 21st.

We returned after midnight from delivering 303 divisions of Phyllostachys aurea 'Golden'
to a landscaper in Pensacola, Florida. The customer was unable to pick them
up as scheduled so we were more than happy to carry them down. The load
exceeded 9000 pounds so it was slow going. The Florida State Agriculture
Inspection team worked with as usual and the trip went without any problems.

We will post some new photos of this delivery right after we rest up a little..


October 15th.

We returned yesterday from two deliveries which took us out of state. Linda of
Shipes Landscaping in Santa Rosa, Florida met us bright and early to help
with the unloading. She is just a super nice client who has ordered several times
in the past.


 

Linda ordered 32 of these divisions and we carried her 3 extra ones as they
have been great customers over the years. These were 3 and 5 gallon sizes and
ranged from 6 to 8 feet in height.

 

The series of photos below show our gigantea at the exclusive resort Sand Destin in Destin,
Florida. We have shipped and delivered this bamboo to them on different occasions. Linda
arranged entrance into the resort so we could photograph the plantings that were done
several years ago.



   

Above is the large resort seen from the Country Club side. In the right photo 'gigantea'
grows along both sides of a boardwalk. This is a very up scale community and all the
landscaping was beautiful. Many areas of the resort have remained natural which provides
the native wildlife sanctuary.

The bamboo now averages around 8 feet in height along the side walk and is
very dense.
 

'Gigantea' is the native bamboo to North America. Since it is a native species, it is
widely accepted in many exclusive housing developments.

http://www.lewisbamboo.com/gigantea.html



Below are photos of the 20 Moso we took to a repeat customer outside
Fairhope which is on Mobile Bay. Michael purchased some of our Moso
last year. It had done so well he wanted 20 more. We were happy to
carry him some that were 5 to 8 feet in height which we would have
been unable to ship UPS.
 



Moso http://www.lewisbamboo.com/seedlings.html

We currently have these in several sizes. They range from $100 for the 3 gallon sizes all
the way up to $250 for large 30 gallon sizes we have potted up right now.

We hope you enjoy all the news as much as love doing it. Everyone we meet in
our bamboo world is always unique and a pleasure to do business with. Just email
us with your questions or give us a call, we will be happy to get some bamboo on
the way to your home.




October 8th.

We arrived back home late Saturday from another out of state delivery. This trip
took us to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were met by some excited folks at noon
on Friday. Becky and Douglas had arranged plenty of help with the unloading
which is always a welcomed benefit. Douglas is a producer for the TV network
series 'Survivor' and was out of town when we delivered.

Above photos show the bamboo unwrapped and Roger Jr. going over some details
with the crew. They had selected Phyllostachys nigra 'Black', P. h.p. edulis 'Moso',
P. rubro. and three large 30 gallon sizes of Semiarundinaria fastuosa.

 

Everyone begin working and the unloading was done in a matter of minutes.

 

With the bamboo all in position they begin immediately with the
planting.

Above left photo is taken from a second story deck looking down at the
bamboo. The above right photo shows a planter that some of the bamboo
was planted into.



Above the happy new bamboo growers shown with several of the specimens
planted and ready for watering. We hope they all enjoy their new bamboo
for years to come and we hope to visit them in a few years to see how it
all looks. We head out next week to Florida for another delivery of large
bamboo divisions. If you would like to mail order or have a customer
delivery of the larger sizes just let us know.



October 7th.

We are currently in Chattanooga, Tennessee delivering a load of large bamboo
divisions. Photos will be coming soon of this delivery.

October 6th.

Our most recent visitors came to pick out some privacy screening bamboo
and the giant Moso. James called last week to set up an appointment.
During the course of the conversation it turned out that his father was
my great uncle which I had never met. It was wonderful to meet them all
and they also visited with my parents for a bit. It is truly a small world
and the bamboo community has now added some fine members.

There tour and photos are shown below. They were excited about all the
bamboo and are scheduled to return this coming Spring to see the Moso
emerge from the ground in April.

 

John and Deana along with his father, John, begin first by looking at some of
the display 30 gallon specimens of collectors bamboo.

 

Walking the trails above they stop at the Stimulosa grove shown on the top left.
This species is really starting take off as a top screening bamboo.


 

Above right shows some tall and erect S. fastuosa 'Japanese Palm' bamboo. We grow
two species of fastuosa and both are great screening bamboo. This species has quasi persistent
culm sheaths. Both handle salt spray conditions associated with coastal planting areas of the
country. If you would like to see more about these two click on the link pages below.

http://www.lewisbamboo.com/Fviridis.html
http://www.lewisbamboo.com/palm.html


We will see them again in April and hope they enjoy all their new bamboo.


October 1st.

Today my uncle, Gary and his neighbor, Chris, from Huntsville, Alabama
drove down to get some more bamboo for privacy screening. Gary currently
has P. bambusoides 'Slender Crookstem', 'Black' and P. aureosulcata 'Yellow Groove'.

To add to their screening bamboo, they went with P. viridis 'Pigskin' and
P. aurea 'Golden' to provide different colors and low limb screening effects.

 

Above we tour through the 'Robert Young' and Dulcis 'Sweetshoot' bamboo groves.
Below left is outside the 'Japanese Palm' grove and shows several hundred containers
of 'Giant Gray' Henon in the background.

 

 

Above left shows how well Phyllostachys Stimulosa screens. The thick foliage grows
from 8 inches off the ground to around 18 feet tall providing the perfect evergreen screen.


Below the loading process begins. They brought two pickup trucks instead of hauling
them in a sometime aggravating trailer.

 

Chris' truck is loaded and wrapped up with most all the 'Golden' bamboo.
My uncle Gary's truck hauls the P. v. 'Pigskin' to its new home a hundred miles
north of us.

 

They both are going to use mowing and root pruning to control the spread of their
new bamboo privacy screen. Below photos show what happens when the rhizome
is cut with a spade.

 

Once the rhizome has been cut it, will never grow from that point on. It will,
however, produce side growth and this will generate new canes along that path.

The privacy screen will therefore be formed along the line you root prune.



Below, Roger walks the length of a grove maintained by regular mowing
and root pruning done twice a year. This privacy screen covers nearly
one quarter mile in length.

 

Just let us know if you would like to have some 2 or 3 gallon sizes shipped
right to your door or you can pick up larger sizes here. Jump start the growth
with some of our hugh 30 gallon sizes shown below.



October 1st. continued

Last Thursday, Daniel an editor from a nearby newspaper visited our nursery to
write a special article on bamboo. We were more than happy to give him
the grand tour and give him some facts about growing this beautiful plant.

The news article turned out to be very nice with just a few misquotes. It made front
page of the Daily Mountain Eagle. 

It was later picked up by the Associated Press
and went on to appear in our state's capitol the Montgomery Advertiser.

Tuscaloosa, home of the Crimson Tide also ran the article in the Tuscaloosa News.

The Gasden Times also carried the news article.


We continue to follow the story to see who else ran it as has generated many new
customers.

Roger and Rachel toured him through most of the groves, discussing how bamboo
grows and how it is easy to control with the proper methods. Below right, he
takes many notes as they show him around.






Everyone is always amazed at the size of our timber bamboo. We
have many species of large bamboo many growing to well over 70 feet
in height.

Above photo shows some of the 54 Moso field divisions that were dug
this past week. Many are 30 gallon sizes and the remainder are 15 gallon.
All 160 of the 15 gallon sizes of Moso seedlings have now be sold or promised
since last Spring so we are now taking large divisions from our groves to replace
this stock. These will be ready to sell after they have all established new rhizome
growth in these containers.



Above is the Phyllostachys vivax 'Aureocaulis'. 
The newspaper editor was very impressed with all the different colors
and sizes that bamboo has to offer to the landscape.



Above photo is the rare species of Phyllostachys vivax 'Huangwenzhu'.
We had only 17 divisions of this bamboo available at the first of January.
We have one shipping size division of this beautiful species left today
October 1st. We hope you enjoy all the photos and  check back soon.

We have a customer visiting in the morning to pick up 21 larger divisions
of bamboo. Next week we have a large delivery to Tennessee.