I just bought several pots of Arundo and the shoots are onlu about a foot tall. I live in Maryland where the winters can get down to around zero at night. Being that it is now mid September I’m wondering if I should plant now and hope that the roots grow deep enough to survive the winter or just keep them in pots and plant next spring. P.S. Any ideas how many years It will be before I can use any of this for reeds,4-5-7 years. Thank you all!
There is a thread on this very subject here
I think a greenhouse for Cane would be good in Maryland, augmented by a small “space” heater that turns on and off automaticaly, on those really cold East Coast Winter days. Of course, this is only possible if you have the space in your yard to build a greenhouse (or perhaps an enclosed glassed-in porch attached to the house?).
Theophrastus stated that the time for harvesting the cane for Greek Auloi was 2 years, and the rounded female plants were prefered for making Reeds.
I believe this statement is refering to the wall thickness versus node thickness.
During the growth of the stalks, the nodes can be a larger diameter than the internodal sections. If the stalks are cut at this juncture, the cane walls will wrinkle and fissure, as the tube sections dry out, and the cane will be useless for reed making.
There’s the colour change from Green to a Light Yellow, then a Golden Brown. This is another sign of maturity. I also like the outside leaf to turn Grey, dry out, and fall off.
This is how I cut the Cane “In The Wild”. I call it “Dry and Still Standing”. If the stalks fall over, they start rotting on the outside “skin” with a light Grey Mold. Some of the Cane can still be usable, but then, a Black Mold sets in, along the grain lines, which are noticable on the Inside of the Tube, when you cut it into slips.
You can now safely BURY the DEAD CANE in a compost pile, or throw it into a Dumpster, etc. Say a prayer to PAN SYLVANUS over it…if you want to !
I’m Glad to Hear That You’re Raising Your Own Cane!
Sean Folsom
I’d wait until spring to plant it. If the ground freezes for any length of time it could kill the plant, which would already be in a weakened and vunerable state by the shock of transplanting.
Yes Joe, I’m afraid of killing the new plants so I’ll keep them potted until spring. I wasn’t sure if there was enough growth time left for the roots to embed themseves. Thanks all!
Keep them well watered and in part shade part sun. It’s kind of funny, Arundo Donax is a hearty plant, though it doesn’t like being transplanted and goes through some serious shock. But once it takes, it is very, very tough to get rid of. Vive L’ Arundo!
Kevin wondered:
Any ideas how many years It will be before I can use any of this for reeds,4-5-7 years.
Kevin;
I’m north of you, and my Arundo is doing very well in the sweltering PA summers. This is the third year it has grown, and I was able to use small shoots and branches for drone reeds last year. This year it grew thicker, and with many more small shoots, so I’m hopeful for next harvest.
Still need to dry the cane, so yeah, three or four years to the first good chanter cane.
Good luck,
JVF
Vanfleet, You were able to make reeds the same year that you harvested them? I thought that they had to dry for years.
They do, at least for two.
I’ve potted mine a few years back, and they’re just ready now to use after at least 3years. I kept track of the rate of growth, I ended up from 2.5ft in May up to almost 12feet in Late September.
D
KevinCorkery wrote:
Vanfleet, You were able to make reeds the same year that you harvested them? I thought that they had to dry for years.
To which the guru himself replied:
They do, at least for two.
Wasn’t clear in my first post; small shoots and branches from my first harvest 3 years ago made very good drone reeds last year . . . so basically they dried for two years! And really, the small diameter stuff dries out pretty easily; I left them out in the sun whenever I could, after stripping off the leaves, and they turned a nice golden color.
I sent some of this stuff to Joseph last summer, and this year I was able to share some with David Power and Nick Whitmer. They could chime in if they found the drone cane usable. I’d be equally interested to hear if it is not up to standards!
JVF
I was in Killington when David got your drone cane. He gave me a few tubes to try. They made very good drone reeds. A couple were too out of round to be useable.
I have a baritone drone reed that is made out of your drone cane, haven’t had a problem with it since I made it. Nice buzz, man. 
These should all be encouraging words for Kevin, you can and will succeed!
Good luck with the reed weed.
JVF