Branch buds or no branch buds...

[boonut]

I have been watching the discussions related to where branching starts on certain bamboo and the fact that some don't even have a branch bud for up to "_" feet.

Here is my take. I have seen most of my bamboo have branch buds and branching all the way to the ground. As they got bigger and within about 4 years or so... I start to see smaller and smaller branch buds on the lower nodes. This year, I started seeing NO branch buds on the lower branches of my Lako. I saw the same thing on my Oldhamii.

Soo... can you look at a bamboo and decide ID just based on whether it has lower branch buds or not?

I think a lot of this has to do with the age of the bamboo AND how much top growth it has. Once the top growth totally shades the lower culms, then there is less need to put out branches... and at some point, the boo doesn't even put out a branch bud.

I have never seen any nodes without a branch bud until this year. Very interesting.

[Roy]

I have been watching the discussions related to where branching starts on certain bamboo and the fact that some don't even have a branch bud for up to "_" feet.

Here is my take. I have seen most of my bamboo have branch buds and branching all the way to the ground. As they got bigger and within about 4 years or so... I start to see smaller and smaller branch buds on the lower nodes. This year, I started seeing NO branch buds on the lower branches of my Lako. I saw the same thing on my Oldhamii.

Soo... can you look at a bamboo and decide ID just based on whether it has lower branch buds or not?

I think a lot of this has to do with the age of the bamboo AND how much top growth it has. Once the top growth totally shades the lower culms, then there is less need to put out branches... and at some point, the boo doesn't even put out a branch bud.

I have never seen any nodes without a branch bud until this year. Very interesting.

Here's my take on your topic. Indeed, as clumps mature, they tend to have less and less basal branches. Perhaps they tend to shade themselves and there is now no need to branch out or if there is no sun getting to the basal culm nodes then there would be no need for branches with attached leaves. Now Bambusa dissemulator defies the above logic and even bamboos growing in dense shade will put out branches further up the culm, even when in full shade. Did I just refute my logic? If I did, then I consider my effort a success.

Onward! The bamboos that I have that have lower branch buds and then tend to lose them, lose them when they get fairly mature in size for their species. What did he just say? Let me explain. Take B. oldhamii for example. Until it gets close to the mature size (about 4 inches), it will have branch buds on most nodes. Then when it gets near mature size, then it will start skipping nodes and leave some nodes without branch buds. The larger it gets, the more it will skip. But you will generally find, even on the large culms, a few buds, here and there on mostly no-bud lower nodes (yes I just made up a new descriptive phase).

The Clone X that Ryan dug out of my backyard the other day did not have any branch buds up to about the 10 to 12 foot mark. But low and behold, once we got it loaded, we did see a branch bud on the first basal node (about 6 to 8 inches up from the ground, if I remember correctly).

Speaking on the "Textilis" category, as the culm diameter in the clump keeps getting larger and taller, then where the first branch buds appears will move further and further up the culm. It's a rare exception that you will find a basal branch bud on a large textilis.

I'll stop now! (Who said "Thank You"?)

[Brian_K]

That's actually a good explanation.

[marcat]

My first Textilis (a feild division) did not have buds on the lower nodes. After being in the ground for a while it developed them and produced branches almost all the way to the ground. I guess to compensate for being topped all the way to the first three branches which were about 8 to 9 foot up.
MarCat

[Roy]

My first Textilis (a feild division) did not have buds on the lower nodes. After being in the ground for a while it developed them and produced branches almost all the way to the ground. I guess to compensate for being topped all the way to the first three branches which were about 8 to 9 foot up.
MarCat

Marcat,

The textilis I dig out of the ground have no branch buds on the lower portion and if I top them, leaving no branch buds or branches, then the only thing I can hope for is for it to put up new culms from the energy in the culm and rhizome or to have the survival branch nodes (on either side of the culm where the culm meets the rhizome) put up new growth in the form of a branch-rhizome hybrid. I've never had any of my B. textilis develop branch buds that weren't there when the culm originally grew.


I would check closely and see if perhaps it was Bambusa tuldoides that is developing the branches all the way down when topped. There's a whole lot of the Bambusa tuldiodes being passed off as B. textilis in Texas.

[marcat]

Roy definatly a Textilis got it from a freinds of Steve C.. What I planted had three branching nodes up top and after 'many' months the original culms had produced branches on down to the lower nodes. Not all the way down but close to it. I beleve that even if the node does not produce a bud it is still capable of doing it if condition cause it to as in this case. I will experiment with a culm on that Textils and document it with pictures and see if I can get the same results. But the clump has many culms now and may not. Only had three for the division I planted and I am not sure they had three branching nodes each as I had my wifes small truck and Steve had to cut them again after we loaded to keep them from dragging on the road.
MarCat

[Rynamor]

The Clone X that Ryan dug out of my backyard the other day did not have any branch buds up to about the 10 to 12 foot mark. But low and behold, once we got it loaded, we did see a branch bud on the first basal node (about 6 to 8 inches up from the ground, if I remember correctly).

Some pictures...





Sorry about the focus...

A little off topic, anyone know what might cause this?



Ryan

[Roy]

Roy definatly a Textilis got it from a freinds of Steve C.. What I planted had three branching nodes up top and after 'many' months the original culms had produced branches on down to the lower nodes. Not all the way down but close to it. I beleve that even if the node does not produce a bud it is still capable of doing it if condition cause it to as in this case. I will experiment with a culm on that Textils and document it with pictures and see if I can get the same results. But the clump has many culms now and may not. Only had three for the division I planted and I am not sure they had three branching nodes each as I had my wifes small truck and Steve had to cut them again after we loaded to keep them from dragging on the road.
MarCat

Marcat,

They say that "seeing is believing", and I'm not saying you didn't see that, but I've dug out 300 to 400 B. textilis culms that are in the 1.5 to 2.0 range and I have to top them at about 15 feet, leaving 2 branched out nodes. I've never had a B. textilis to go back and now, since topped, and start producing branch buds lower down. If I top them and leave no budded branches, and just have a bare culm, then about 75 (+ or -) percent of the time the survival buds will come into play and produce new growth.

Now, if I can be convinced, by seeing myself, that it does actually happen, then I will be happy to put that in my knowledge base as something new I learned.

I would be interested in any pictures of any bamboo plants you would like to show us. I even enjoy looking at temperate bamboo pictures, even though I know I will never grow them here in Tampa.

[Roy]

A little off topic, anyone know what might cause this?



Ryan

I think it's called a "bamboo love tap". If something rubs against the culm, then it will cause a "bruise?" and the result will be that the green colors is replaced with what you see in your picture.

When I dig out culms, I have to be careful not to let sand get on my hands and then pull and jerk on the culms or I will see what you are seeing now where I put my sandy hands

[mantis]

Marcat, I've seen the same behavior with my topped B. textilis plants. When I got my plants they were topped at 7'-8' tall, and culms were 1.5" in diameter. At first there were only branches on the top node, but just a couple days ago I noticed buds on the lower nodes... no branches, just buds. My textilis are putting up many shoots right now, so I'll get some pictures of the shoots to post for ID purposes (see if it really is a textilis, or something else).

-mike.

[Roy]

I took some pictures of my topped B. textilis, but I it will be another day before I can upload. A tree fell over and took down the cable lines into my house and I have no cable TV or Internet access. I fell like I'm back in the dark ages. Be sure and talk about me while I'm gone.

[boonut]

Be sure and talk about me while I'm gone.

What an invitation..... Let's see... hm... Roy is such a boonut!!

[mr.mike]

Roy IS a boonut & he's named after an ACTOR! A singing actor to boot, but a pretty nice guy anyway. Ha!

[Roy]

I took some pictures of my topped B. textilis, but I it will be another day before I can upload. A tree fell over and took down the cable lines into my house and I have no cable TV or Internet access. I fell like I'm back in the dark ages. Be sure and talk about me while I'm gone.

I'M BACK!

Here's a picture of a pot of my B. textilis. I dug it out 2 years ago. I topped it, leaving 2 well developed branched nodes and lower puny branch bud. The puny branches have died and have just left the top 2 branched nodes. In 2 years, topped as it has been, not as sign of any branch buds have formed below the original budded nodes.

[marcat]

Roy the plant I am talking about was a feild division planted in the ground...diferent conditions maybe ? Will do the experiment I sujested and keep you posted.
MarCat