Growing your own arrow shaft material!

[Jakesnyder]

I have some hill cane and red osier dogwood I'm growing. I'm hoping to have some usable material in another couple years. Anyone else doing this? Just thought I'd share. These are 1 year of growth.

[StickMark]

Sort of.
There are some thickets of mulefat that I sort of tend and harvest from along the creeks here in S. Az, at about 3500-4500 feet elevation. I keep a good mental map of where to go in early February, after our Winter season ends. Besides harvesting, I will pull up some shoots and sort of stuff them upward in other shoots, encouraging straighter growth for next year, or at least until the next flood.

[Pat B]

Many of the sourwood shoots I use come from road cuts that get bushhoged every 3 or 4 years. The bushhogging is almost like coppicing but by a state road crew and not me. I have planted silky dogwood along the creek that runs through our property. I just cut shoots in January or February and just jam them in the bank. Bu spring they have rooted and start to grow. Hill cane naturally grows along the creek so all I have to is harvest culms for shafts.

[George Tsoukalas]

Wild rose grows in my property. Jawge

[bjrogg]

Viburnum or “snowball bush” grows on many older homesteads around here. My aunt and neighbor have them and occasionally I harvest a few shafts.

[Pat B]

Jake, even though those red osier is first year growth(with just leaves) you will have to wait for the plant to get established themselves then send up shoots that are big enough for shafting. These shoots will grow to their ultimate height that first year then mature enough to be shafts after the second year. You may have to wait a couple of years for this but the sooner to plant the sooner the harvest time comes.
 In your second pic that plant looks like a willow to me, typical "willow leaf" style leaf.
 Brian, most viburnums have those shoots are I imagine most viburnums well make good shafting as long as they are the right diameter and not too big or too small.

[Parnell]

Yes, I started some Japanese arrow bamboo some months back.  Had to move it though as the landscapers kept whacking it down.  It’s going better now.

[mullet]

Where I live now I can just walk to the creek behind the house and cut River Cane. And I know where a bunch of Japanese Arrow Boo is.

[Buckskinner]

Wild rose grows in my property. Jawge

I just got back from taking a walk and cutting about 2 dozen multifloral rose shoots for arrows.  Knocked off the thorns and have them bundled around half inch pvc to dry. Hopefully they work as good as they look like they will!  No, I did not plant them but have cursed at them countless times...