Bamboo, anyone?

[Insomniak]

I've had a little Sasaella ramosa bamboo in a pot in the garden for about 4 years, and to my surprise and delight it flowered last year.
I collected the seeds and planted them not very hopefully, tbh, but again... surprise and delight... they germinated and thrived and I now have a mini-forest of bamboo babies growing on windowsills.

The original plant is still healthy, has survived winter temps as low as -12 (Dublin), and is again flowering this year.

Anyone know if this is normal for this little bamboo, from everything I had read I had formed the opinion that if it flowered at all, it would be very very seldom.

[Dorts]

Most Bamboo's are monocarpic, that is they flower once, seed and then die. Occasionally Bamboo's of a particular species throught the world will suddenly all flower at once, possibly because most are clones of a single plant. Some however do survive flowering, albeit in a weakened state. But as you have discovered to your delight, they seed very freely and the seeds germinate very readily.

Sounds like you will soon have plenty for friends and family!
Dorts.

[Insomniak]

Yes, I had read about the world-wide flowering of same species bamboo at the same time. And also how some bamboos flower as infrequently as every 100 years!
Totally amazing and fascinating plants.
I'm just very happy with my little forest and perhaps this year's seeds will be as successful.
Thanks!