Boo Shoots for 2011

[foxd]

I know it seems a bit early in the year, but the temperatures have been so warm that the temperature in the basement is warm enough to trigger shooting on the Buddha Belly Bamboo.

So far nothing is going dormant. If I can keep everything alive they should have a running start on Spring.

[moriphen]

Indoor plants shouldn't count!!!

M

[Mackel in DFW]

Rubromarginata is still shooting/leafing out here in Dallas. It just doesn't quit. We've had a low of 25 F at night but otherwise a fairly mild winter. It got up to 70 F yesterday. North texas weather is really weird.

As a fairly recent bambusero, I've never seen any plant in my life with such vigor. I planted it in May or June of 2009, both 15 and 30 gallon specimens.. In spring of 2010 I got 8 to 10 foot high new culms. I think I'll be seeing 15 foot high culms this coming spring, approximately two stories high in two years.

At that point, I'll be invisible to my neighbors so i can reach my goal. No one will see me if I want to hang out in my skivies no more. Last year it got down to 14 F, that's a bit cold for here, but not unusually so. Highs this summer were around 105 F. I've hated for years the fact that I have had no privacy in our back yard.

I planted a hedge that completely sourrounds my back yard and the east and west sides of my house. The front of our house faces south. In the front yard I'm waiting for a true grove, both Robert Young and Bambambusoides are planted in the front yard. RY is still shooting/leafing out, I planted a 25 gallon specimen of it. I'm thinking it won't get much colder than around 20 F this winter, predictions are for a mild winter this time around. Maybe upper teens. Really the toughest part of our winters as far as bamboo goes are the occasional high winds noted in this part of the country.

By far this is not the ideal bamboo microclimate due to only 30 inches of rain and somewhat salty, alkaline clay but it responds very well to an organic program, lots of mulch and compost makes for a very good water retention relationship in this type of soil. The soil is rich in nutrients here in Texas except for nitrogen and carbon, and chemically iron and some other micronutrients are tougher for the plant to take up into the roots due to the higher pH.

[fredgpops]

New 2011 culms
H. porcatus - new culm

Chusquea gigantea

RGds

[gbock]

I have a new shoot on my Bambusa ventricosa 'Kimmei', growing outside in a large pot. It wasn't there at Christmas. Crazy at this time of year!

[markdoddridge]

D. Asper Betung Hitam - 3 HUGE new shoots this week
B. Vulgaris Vittata - 1 new shoot
B. Lako - 1 new shoot but this one never really stops shooting

we had some heavy rain here in orange county, ca, followed by a heat wave (low 80's for the last couple days in the middle of january!) so i think thats what is spurring all these new shoots

[foxd]

Indoor plants shouldn't count!!!

M

Yes, I know they shouldn't and I usually don't. But the bamboos don't usually shoot during the Winter in the basement because it is too cold (<50°F). This year it has been staying in the high 50s to low 60s. So the shooting is kind of odd.

Today I found both the Spectabilis and the Anderson clone have put up shoots.

A lot of the plants haven't gone dormant this year and things are starting to get a little crowded.

[boonut]

D. Asper Betung Hitam - 3 HUGE new shoots this week
B. Vulgaris Vittata - 1 new shoot
B. Lako - 1 new shoot but this one never really stops shooting

B. Lako still shooting here also. I agree... it never stops shooting unless it dips below freezing. We haven't had that problem yet this year. I need to go check the D. Asper "betung hitam". It is at the farm. It put out a nice size shoot in November... but, it usually only puts out one or two per year. B. Lako can put out 15 - 20 shoots per year.

[bambambooboo]

Please do not mention shoot around my bamboo. They will think you are going to take them out of their misery.

Actually I was surprised with one new 2011 sprout on one clump of Bambusa eutuldoides viridi vittata aka Asian lemon, because all four clumps show some minor frost damage. A late sprouting 2010 culm of Bambusa pervariabilis viridistriata aka Sunburst seems to have aborted since the last freeze down to 27 (at first I thought it had survived) but I've two clumps here with no apparent serious damage to them otherwise.

Past data shows January to be our riskiest month and just 12 days left of that. The extended 7-day forecasts mostly 50s-70s with one dip to 36. I hope nothing else sprouts soon but waits until late Feb or, even better, March.

Another healthy looking but late 2010 sprouting culm also seems to have aborted on the hard hit (not a leaf left on it) Dendrocalamus brandisii aka Teddy Bear. Had I known it wouldn't survive a freeze I'd have stirfried it with tofu and a medium spicy Thai basil sauce.

[stevelau1911]

After 12 days of taking a moso indoors by a south facing window, it is showing 3 shoots, one of them an inch high and the other 2 barely breaking the soil.


My bambusa ventricosa kimmei is also putting out a shoot. The angel wing begonias tend to only shoot during the winter. True shooting season is around 3 months away for the outdoor bamboos here.

[dudley]

Bambusa eutuldoides viridivittata

[dudley]

Oops
It's actually the viridivittata inversa.

[moriphen]

Fargesia apicirubens "White Dragon" Feb 17th 2011







Checked and rechecked 3 different shoot (2 pictured) and new branches/leaf buds on some of nodes. First shoots of the season here.

M

[moriphen]

Fargesia apicirubens 'White Dragon' February 17th 2011
Fargesia dracocephala 'Rufa' February 18-20th 2011

Several shoots mostly covered in tree litter, its possible I may have missed them while looking on the 17th of February.

M

[EBinNC]

Should be less than 20 days before Moso begins to shoot Hopefully this mild weather will keep up!
You know you are getting old when a plant growing excites you.