Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

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RetroXmas
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Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by RetroXmas »

Hello! We have a stand of Slender Weavers that was crushed by an oak tree. The tree laid on the bamboo for 5 days. What can we do to salvage these plants? They were approx 30 feet high by 30 feet wide and provided beauty and privacy. Can we stand them up and stake them? Will they recover? We are in Clearwater Florida, and the season for new growth is ended. Recommendations and instruction are appreciated.

Thanks Bamboo friends.
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johnw
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Re: Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by johnw »

RetroXmas wrote: What can we do to salvage these plants? They were approx 30 feet high by 30 feet wide and provided beauty and privacy. Can we stand them up and stake them?
If the leaves aren't wilted I don't see why you couldn't do exactly that. Might be a good idea to wait for a cloudy stretch to remove the trunk parts weighing down on the stand. If the big tree was providing a lot of shade the fear might be sun-scorch.

Others may have better advice.

john
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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shuboo
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Re: Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by shuboo »

You can certainly salvage it. It may be easier to trim off some of the upper portions of the culms to reduce the weight but it will be just fine. Bamboo is resilient. I live south of Plant city. We were right next to the eye of the storm. I am in the process of getting my 5.5 acre bamboo nursery up and growing. I estimate that I lost around 70% of this seasons new shoots. Many of my B. Oldhamii were Coke can sized or bigger. I have about 300 broken shoots of Oldhamii on the ground. Not to mention a few hundred shoots from about a dozen other species strewn throughout the property. I had an entire 35' clump of B. Oldhamii ripped right out of the ground. I had to use my tractor to replant it. It seems to be doing fine. Good luck with your gracilis. It should make it if you stand it back up. You can also tie a large piece of rope around the clump once you stand it up for stability. Water it heavily and next season you should have new growth. (just in time for the next hurricane) Good luck....
-shu
RetroXmas
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Re: Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by RetroXmas »

Thank you all for the advice. We have clipped it off at about 6-8feet and clipped just above a node to encourage new leafing. Looks like it's going to do well at this point. I will keep it watered.
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needmore
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Re: Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by needmore »

shuboo wrote:...I estimate that I lost around 70% of this seasons new shoots. Many of my B. Oldhamii were Coke can sized or bigger. I have about 300 broken shoots of Oldhamii on the ground. Not to mention a few hundred shoots from about a dozen other species strewn throughout the property. I had an entire 35' clump of B. Oldhamii ripped right out of the ground. I had to use my tractor to replant it. It seems to be doing fine. Good luck with your gracilis. It should make it if you stand it back up. You can also tie a large piece of rope around the clump once you stand it up for stability. Water it heavily and next season you should have new growth. (just in time for the next hurricane) Good luck....
Sorry to hear that, it sucks when that happens. Several years back in Indiana we had a sudden early March heat wave with several days in the 80's, the bamboo exploded with shoots then a few weeks later after they were well up it went to 20F and killed the entire crop of shoots.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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shuboo
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Re: Advice needed Bamboo damaged after Hurricane Irma

Post by shuboo »

needmore wrote:
shuboo wrote:...I estimate that I lost around 70% of this seasons new shoots. Many of my B. Oldhamii were Coke can sized or bigger. I have about 300 broken shoots of Oldhamii on the ground. Not to mention a few hundred shoots from about a dozen other species strewn throughout the property. I had an entire 35' clump of B. Oldhamii ripped right out of the ground. I had to use my tractor to replant it. It seems to be doing fine. Good luck with your gracilis. It should make it if you stand it back up. You can also tie a large piece of rope around the clump once you stand it up for stability. Water it heavily and next season you should have new growth. (just in time for the next hurricane) Good luck....
Sorry to hear that, it sucks when that happens. Several years back in Indiana we had a sudden early March heat wave with several days in the 80's, the bamboo exploded with shoots then a few weeks later after they were well up it went to 20F and killed the entire crop of shoots.

It's tough growing many of the bigger bamboos in mid central Florida because most of the new growth takes place during our rain season which is usually afternoon storms with crazy wind. I have no trees or anything to block the heavy winds so I usually lose several new shoots. It used to be heartbreaking. Now I'm kind of used to it. But the hurricane brought a whole new level of destruction to my entire collection. Hopefully next season will be a little nicer. I've got most of my property surrounded by B. Oldhamii. It still stings to walk the property line and see such devastation. Sometime this week I've gotta get some braces to keep my clump upright. It keeps wanting to blow over with any kind of decent wind. So far it's still alive and kicking
-shu
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