Identification of unknown bamboo/Sofia, Bulgaria

Moderator: needmore

Post Reply
purplesun
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 5:13 pm
Location info: 0
Location: Bulgaria

Identification of unknown bamboo/Sofia, Bulgaria

Post by purplesun »

Hello, can anyone please help me identify this species of phyllostachys. Apart from the photos, I can say some more things about this phyllostachys species (I know that much about bamboo to be sure it is a phyllostachys).
My garden is located in Sofia, Bulgaria, at 2300 feet AMSL, and is supposedly on the border of 6b/7a. I have been growing this phyllostachys for five years. It grows in the shade of a cherry tree, where it hardly gets any direct sunlight, at least in summer. Consequently, it has behaved more as a clumper, not a runner. During the years that I have had this bamboo, winter lows have reached -18 degrees C, which has invariably made this bamboo lose its leaves, which have turned yellow and dry in such cases. There hasn't been much damage to the culms themselves, however, and they have always re-leafed after such winters. Only the older culms get split in weak/thin places at times. Even so, such split culms have recovered and kept living as they were, damaged.
As I said, the bamboo has remained a definite clumper, sending two (!) new culms at most per season, which is strange for a phyllostachys (must be the shade). Apart from that, no culm is erect, all are leaning in some direction, the tallest being about three meters tall. Also, I cut down one of the oldest culms just recently and all I can say is that the walls of this bamboo are extremely strong and thick, which makes for some very hard cutting. And finally, the overall aspect of the clump is quite healthy, and the individual culms seems to be firmly established in the soil, which is well supplied with moisture. I think that the rhizomes of my bamboo have reached quite deep by now.
It "tried" running last year, which I judged it would be its intention, but the shoot that had prepared to grow a little and then make a plunge into the soil could not do so, because the direction was blocked by a small terrace-wall. So, the shoot in question just became erect and turned into a regular culm. I see that, this year, there is one more such shoot, which is pointing in the opposite direction, so perhaps this time it will make it and finally begin to run.
Attachments
IMG_1501.jpg
IMG_1500.jpg
IMG_1487.jpg
Post Reply