Page 3 of 3
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 5:26 am
by twandawg85
I'm still around... I never put them in the ground.
Covered the pots in wood chips. And didn't end up doing anything with with them... Top is all dead. But they are coming back.
The bigger one had a couple little shoots, but my dog damaged them.
I'll get some pics of what's left when I get home.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:21 pm
by zxylene
stevelau1911 wrote:Here's a picture of the parvifolia grove as of today. As shown, it's newest culms are even a bit taller than the tallest that emerged in the last couple of years which were probably around 22ft, so the tallest culm completely straightened out may be around 25ft, but there's no measuring method other than cutting them down at this point. It was clearly more than double the height of the 10ft steel poles last year when I leaned it against them to get an estimate. It's taller than the apple tree on the left, and about double the height of the shanghai 3 on the right which is around 13ft.
The atrovaginata is still far off, only around 16ft with it's biggest culms, not even getting near what it reached back in 2013 at 19ft.
Biggest culms on bicolor are up around 10ft, slouched down to 8ft, but if protected well enough, could get to new heights next year, but I'm hoping it has produced more rhizomes outwards so divisions can be taken.
I thought s3 was my largest bamboo by diameter but it looks like it is Parvifolia is. I found this culm last night Holy cow.
Almost 2.5 inch diameter. I got this from Steve Lau in April 2013. Not bad for 5 years and hardly any culms.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 6:30 pm
by UPBooMatt
Very nice.
OP, I'd still be interested in seeing how yours fared this winter, even with minimal protection. Parvifolia was on my list of potentials to try as a cold hardy phyllo. I just don't have the space for it to sprawl currently while it matured.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:55 am
by stevelau1911
2.5 inches is pretty impressive, but given warm enough winter's or protection, it's probably the fastest upsizing bamboo that sometimes doesn't spread far or make too many culms in the first few years. Parvifolia is more cold hardy still doesn't spread that quickly, but does make more culms and even with the same conditions, is slower to upsize.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:27 pm
by twandawg85
Everything that was above the wood chips died. The one in the bigger pot had 2 shoots... But my dog killed one...
The little one looks like it's got a new shoot coming up.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:34 pm
by twandawg85
I'm not sure why the pics aren't showing up... but they work if you click on the link.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:14 pm
by UPBooMatt
Yeah those look like they took a good thrashing this winter. There's life in the pots though so if you take care of them this summer and protect them this winter you could plant them out in the spring.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 1:30 pm
by pokenei
Parvifolia is quick to upsize, but it is not as cold hardy as Atrovaginata or even Rubro.
I am in Zone 5. Last year, parvifolia was my largest bamboo growing up to 15 feet. Both Atrovaginata and Rubro were around 6 to 8 feet.
After the last winter, everything (not protected) was top killed.
However, Atrovaginata was able to recover to the same size as last year. Rubro downsized slightly. Parvifolia, to my huge disappointment, was reduced to twicks growing no more than 4 feet tall. That set me back 3 to 4 years.
The only conclusion is that parvifolia is not as root-hardy as Atrovaginata or Rubro. It's rhizomes must have suffered major damage. Had I tarp it last winter, I have no doubt it would grow upwards to 20 or 25 feet. I only tarped the less cold-hardy bamboos like Nigra. Nigra to my surprise survived well (no top kill) and actually upsized.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 2:37 pm
by UPBooMatt
Good info, curious about a few things just for knowledge sake. How long have each of those plantings been in the ground? What size were they when they were planted out?
What kind of temps/weather have they experienced?
Lastly, I'll assume your parvifolia was a normal 2/3/5 gal planting until you say otherwise. What was your experience with it "growing up?" Rowdy, throwing culms all directions like typical?
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:23 pm
by pokenei
UPBooMatt wrote:Good info, curious about a few things just for knowledge sake...
I got my Atro and Parvi from Steve Lau in 2012 and planted them out immediately. They were about 1/2 to a meter long whip shoots. Some years I tarped those, others not. When I tarped them, mice ate all the leaves and chewed down all the small branches. When I didn't tarp, those years turned out to be brutally cold and would top kill.
My advice, if you want to ensure fastest growth over a number of years in cold climates like mine, it's a safer bet to tarp them. Even with mice damage, it would still require less energy to re-leaf than to grow from scratch. The problem comes when they grow too tall. You'll have to decide at which point it is no longer feasible to tarp them. Or, you can selectively try to protect certain culms, but I have not tried that.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:04 pm
by pokenei
Here's the side by side comparison:
Atrovaginata to the left. Parvifolia to the right.
View Large Photo
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:26 am
by UPBooMatt
Any life in your plants twan?
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:46 pm
by twandawg85
The one in the smaller pot is doing ok... I pretty sure the other one is dead. I have not been able to take care of them. I have been dealing with some pretty major depression, and a new job, and health issues. All of which make the others harder to deal with. But I think I am getting back to being functional again.
Re: Michigan bamboo mistake? phyllostachys parvifolia
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 12:53 am
by UPBooMatt
I'm sorry to hear that, I hope things look up.