Eric

Hi,
I'm Michael James. I'm an avid tropical garden enthusiast. I have spent very little time on the internet apart from my botanical and scientific inquiries. This is the first time I have ever joined a forum - or held much discourse of any kind - on the internet. Me & David (a friend) winter bananas in the back room of my house and have successfully grown 16-20 foot banana trees in my back yard. I have a great interest in bamboos, banana trees, & other tropical plants. Our goal is to transform the back yard into a tropical paradise (as much as possible) and to learn as much as we can about the various species; We both spend a great deal of time researching the various plants. I hope to provide as much as I learn by joining this forum.

Michael_Andrew

Welcome Michael. Sounds like your a well informed gardener. What bananas are you currently growing?

Michael

Tog Tan

Hi Michael, welcome to the board from a fellow tropical plant and 'naner nut! You will find this a very friendly site and if have any questions, just shoot and some crazy critter will come along to help out. In the meantime, feel free to bum around the older threads in the various forums. Have fun!

Ps; I see Michael Andrew has posted a welcome but not vocal yet. Oi, Michael Andrew! Are you too shy to say hello to a Michael James?

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

Bob

Welcome aboard. You share many gardening interests with a lot of us. Where are you growing these(warm/ cold climate). I'm interested in the types of bamboo you're growing since I just started a few(Moso) and don't really know much about the different varieties. Look forward to hearing more.Maybe even a few pictures.

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Michael_Andrew

Ha ha beat you to it Tog!

Michael_Andrew

I was thinking of putting in some Fargesia sp. 'Rufa' this year. Michael do you have any experience with it? The spot I picked is in dapple shade.

thanks
Michael

buzzwinder

Welcome to the Org. Michael! There are plenty of people here that can help get your tropical inspiration rolling along. Enjoy

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Bill for my friend

saltydad

Hi Michael, and welcome. If you post your zone and general location in your profile it will help us understand your gardening needs and successes.

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Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

Eric

Hi Bob,
I would be highly interested in learning how your Moso fares. I had intended to try it but inadvertently ordered phylostachys rubromarginata instead. My other timber bamboo is Robert Young; prized in Japan for fine-furniture design. I do, however, have a 300 foot containment section rated for Moso. I initially put up a north wind-barrier (for the 1st year) for both, 5 years ago. The 'Red Margin' (Rubromarginata) was somewhat disappointing but the Robert Young reached the power-line, last year, and will need to be topped. It is currently about 1 1/2 inches in diameter & has a golden culm with green stripes. Michael James, signing off. Keep in touch.
Ps. If you would like more details on either bamboo, don't be shy.

Eric

Hi, other Michael,
Despite my name, I've always been called Jim. I've had good success with a blue banana, the species of which I have yet to discern. It reached a height of 16-20 feet last year. This year, I'm trying my hand at 2 Ruby Siam banana trees and a dwarf Gran Nain. I love banana trees as much as bamboo or elephant ears. The blue banana (blue fruited) has yet to bear fruit (here in zone 7) but required very little care other than a monthly feeding. As for the others, I'll let you know after I've gotten my feet wet. Michael James, signing off.
Ps. Was that you who was holding the clump of green bananas in my 1st introductory letter?

Michael_Andrew

Jim I grew up in Norman. Go Sooners! No I wasn't in any picture holding bananas. I'm trying a Siam Ruby this year too. Do you have pictures you can post of your blue banana? Maybe the experts here can id it.

Michael

lorax

Welcome aboard from a certified Tropical Nut; I have the advantage of living in Ecuador (home of Dole and Chiquita) and thus I'll be no help overwintering. I do, however, grow several varieties of timber bamboo. I don't know from cultivars, but I have a clump with 30' culms, gold with green stripes, a 25' clump of solid greens, and a variety of native running bamboo that goes to about 30' but is so thin that it bends over; this is used for roofing slats, to hold tiles.

Eric

Hi again, other Michael,
While I've managed to discern much about using an internet site, in this fashion, I've yet to delve into the gallery functions. Will post some of my many digital photos as soon as I figure out just how to send them. Thanx a bunch for the helpfull tip. Michael James, signing off for now.
Ps. I'm more a Sooner Rodeo fan than the traditional Sooner Football enthusiast. Keep in touch, fellow Sooner.
Please keep in touch. Might be a super idea to exchange notes on growing Ruby Siams.

Eric

Hi, Iorax,
East of the Galapagos Islands! Never dreamed I'd talk to a South American!
You have my eternal envy. If I wasn't so pinned-down in Oklahoma, I'd be tempted to move to South America myself! Strange. I have friends in Thailand, China, Japan, England, & Germany yet I've never been to South America; it's so much closer. I would be very interested in learning more about curing bamboo; what's learned in books rarely even approaches what's learned in actual experience. Micheal James, signing off but wishing I was there.
Ps. Had the best of luck overwintering the bananas, indoors, by cutting off all the leaves and potting them (as in storage). Have replanted the stalks, this year, but results are yet to be seen. The bamboo simply survives our winters with little or no attention at all.

Eric

Hi Saltydad,
I've never been involved in message or chat type internet site but I am starting to learn the ropes. Have updated my personal profile and put myself on the map. thanx for the advice. Michael James, signing off for now.

Eric

Hi Buzzwinder,
Thanx for the hardy welcome! I see your an underground weather enthusiast, yourself. Love thier galleries. Michael James, signing off for now.

Eric

Hi Tog Tan,
Thanx for the friendly welcome! I'm sure I have a heck of a lot to learn but I hope to be equally helpfull as well. Michael James, signing off for now.

lorax

Jim, I have a purpose-made curing house for my bamboo; it's basically just a walled and roofed set of 35' trenches; the bamboo goes in every other trench, and the alternates are filled with charcoal or waste wood material, and set smoldering. If it's been a particularly damp season, I set bricks along the length of the culms to keep them straight and flat. It seems to cure nice and hard in about two weeks of this treatment. I use the curing hut to kiln-finish hardwoods as well, but that happens at a significantly higher temp than the bamboo requires.

It may encourage you to know that I'm an Ex-Canadian; I've abandoned the snow once and for all. Ecuador is a wonderful place to visit, and an even better place to stay; I'd encourage you to come down during your winter, because for most of the country that is the sunny season.

(Lorax; look it up and you'll find out what I do for a living.)

Caloosamusa

Welcome to the organization Michael!

Your posts are interesting, I hope to see many more. Best wishes,

Eric

Hi Caloosamusa,
Thanx for the warm welcome! Glad to be anywhere filled with tropical plant lovers. Despite my fairly 'hyperactive' lifestyle, I hope to log-on as much as possible. Michael James, signing off for now.