1. Since it's illegal to import bamboo seeds into the U.S., you should read this thread:

Seed Import

2. There are some seeds available in the U.S. and you will find info about growing them by using the search function at the top of this page.

Firstly, I agree with the above re. import but since I am on their side of the pond............

Phyllostachys heteroclada: 15
P. edulis (moso) 3
Bambusa tulda: 14
B. arundinacea: 0
B. balcooa: 0
Dendrocalamus calostachys: 7
D. hamiltonii: 3
D. strictus: 10

The numbers are number of germinations per packet (about 20-25 seeds per pack). The seeds all arrived from Chiltern with warnings about having just been taken from cold-storage (somthing to consider if buying from other sources). And were kept in a fridge from 0-4 weeks when I received them. They were all sown in standard seed compost, covered in fine sand and propagated with bottom heat (about 26 C). Time taken to germinate was from 2 to 21 days (some of the Dendros and Bambusa have only been in since 06 June so still waiting to see if they pop up.

The moso and P. heteroclada have all been potted up and are now outside in a shady spot. All have survived and have tillered nicely (3-5 shoots each, approx 20-30 cm tall)

I have just harvested several hundred seeds from my F. nitida and will start playing with different germination conditions.

I have no idea what I am going to do with all the Dendros and Bambusas 'cos I doubt they will survive outside, guess it's worth a try though.

Thanks to everyone who responded to this email. I will give a few a try from seed.

John R.