Growing Bamboo From Seed: Episode 1

How to start bamboo from seed
ITEMS NEEDED:
4-inch (100mm) square or round pots
Perlite or Vermiculite
Peat Moss
Non-chlorinated water
Ziplock bags - 1-gallon (4-liter) size
Salt
Laundry bleach
Seed soaking bottle (small plastic drink bottle)
Wood pencil
Plant mister bottle
FIRST STEP:
Sterilize pots by soaking in bucket of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse well with clean water.
SECOND STEP:
Optional - you can leave the ovary of the seed in its hull (palea and lemmon), or you can peal back the hull and remove the ovary for sterilizing.
Sterilize the seeds for 5 to 15 minutes in bottle with 1part salt to 9 parts water. Water should be body temperature , but no warmer than 100 degrees F (37 degrees C). Rise seeds well in clean water (also not too warm). Soak seeds in non-chlorinated water that is around 85 to 100 degrees F (29 to 37 degrees C). Soak the seeds for a couple of hours or until ready to plant, but no longer than 48 hours.
THIRD STEP:
Combine equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite (perlite can be used in lieu of vermiculite). Wet the mixture with non-chlorinated water. Fill pots with the wet soil mixture and press down (compact) the top surface lightly.
FORTH STEP:
Now we are ready to plant bamboo seeds.
Take a sharpened wood pencil and poke a hole in the soil. Stop when the top of the tapered sharpened end of pencil reaches the surface of the soil. You can plant one or two seeds per pot, your choice, so make one or two holes as needed. Drop in one seed per hole. The top of the seed points up which is the tapered pointed end of seed with hull or the pointed end of ovary without hull. If uncertain of which end is up, search for anatomy of bamboo seed for diagrams. Press the hole shut with pencil or fingers. Mist the top of pot to wet the soil surface using non-chlorinated water.
FIFTH STEP:
Place each pot in a ziplock bag and seal. This will serve as your mini greenhouse. Keep the temperature around 75 to 95 degrees F (24 to 35 degrees C), but do not let the temperature rise above 105 degrees F (40 degrees C). Temperatures higher than this can damage or kill the ovary. A heat source such as a heat lamp or heating pad can be used, or you can place your mini greenhouses outside in full shade if warm summer temperatures are present. Do not position the mini greenhouses in direct sunlight as the temperature inside the bags can get too hot. You may have seedlings appear as early as 10 days under warm conditions. The seedlings are not likely to all emerge at the same time and some could take as long as 30 days. Be patient.
SIXTH STEP:
The new seedlings will not need fertilizer for the first few weeks. After the seedlings are a few weeks old or several leaves appear it is time to transplant to a soil mixture containing food (compost) or an application of a mild chemical fertilizer such as Miracle Grow for vegetables.
See our next video for transplanting your seedlings.
CAUTIONS:
Be careful with bleach. Undiluted bleach can burn your skin if not rinsed off shortly after contact.
Be careful with heat lamps as they can be a source of fires. Secure heat lamps well and keep away from combustibles such as wood, paper and plastics.
Be careful with any electrical devises such as heat lamps and heating pads, especially around water. Use a ground fault interrupt receptacle for safety. Obviously, electricity can kill you.