Fall vs Spring plantings of 1 gal potted starter plants

[Arkansas]

Conventional wisdom says pine tree seedlings set out in the late Fall may have a slight edge over ones planted in the Spring.

Of course that might not be true for bamboo. I have a few 1 gallon size starter Madake i took from my old grove this Spring and they look good. Am i better off to plant them a month or so from now or overwinter them in the greenhouse and set them out in the Spring?

Actually, i have 5 gal. plastic buckets i have the bottom cut out of and i can cover the end with clear plastic sheeting and thereby create a better sealed cold frame than my greenhouse is anyways.

Your thoughts?

[bamboothew]

Keep in mind that this comes from a relative newbie, but I have planted tons of species at all times of the year and haven't had any major issues that I can think of.

Conventional wisdom for bamboo in the warmer parts of the south seems to be that it is fine to plant anytime the ground isn't frozen, which is pretty much anytime of the year. However, my bambusoides cultivars 'Allgold' and 'Castillon' almost totally defoliated at 18 degress their first winter in the ground, so I wish I would have either kept them inside that winter or protected them more in the ground. Not sure if the type species would have the same lack of hardiness as a new planting or not. I always tend to think, though, that the quicker you get them in the ground, the quicker they can start to spread in the ground. I think the bucket mini-greenhouse idea is a good one (even if not needed for the cold, it would help protect the plants from rabbits and such), wish I had tried it the first winter Not sure what zone you're in, but I personally wouldn't hesitate to put them in the ground as soon as it seems practical if you are in a warm zone.

[GrowingHabit]

The bamboos I've planted in early spring always just sit there, moping. Years later, still sitting stagnant. Bamboo I plant late summer or early fall, even early winter, grows phenomenally. Has held true every species or transplant I've put in. No clue why and YMMV.

[Arkansas]

The bamboos I've planted in early spring always just sit there, moping. Years later, still sitting stagnant. Bamboo I plant late summer or early fall, even early winter, grows phenomenally. Has held true every species or transplant I've put in. No clue why and YMMV.

I'm real glad you spoke up. I wanted to plant heavily this fall and now i will.

Some of the Madake divisions i planted this Spring did well until the real hot weather came and then they died almost overnight. I started watering the others and 4 of them survived. Then i have a bunch in pots where i could easily water them.

[Alan_L]

I also would plant in the fall, and protect the small plants if needed during their first winter. I haven't had issues with spring-planted, but fall seems to do just as well... as long as the plants are healthy to begin with. A few weak potted fargesias I planted in the fall had rough times -- one topkilled, one looked ok but didn't really shoot, and one topkilled and eventually died.

[RazinCane]

I up pot 1 gal. plants to 5 gal. when I purchase them in March. This allows me to control the sun, water and soil quality. They then shoot and fill the 5 gal. pots by the end of June at which time I up pot to a 10 gal. and in November overwinter them in a sheltered location until next March when I put them in the ground just before shooting season. Here in zone 7 this allows plants to avoid winter leaf burn and gives them 10 times the amount of quality soil as 1 gal. plants, both contributing to superior shooting and health. Good luck.

[needmore]

I up pot 1 gal. plants to 5 gal. when I purchase them in March. This allows me to control the sun, water and soil quality. They then shoot and fill the 5 gal. pots by the end of June at which time I up pot to a 10 gal. and in November overwinter them in a sheltered location until next March when I put them in the ground just before shooting season. Here in zone 7 this allows plants to avoid winter leaf burn and gives them 10 times the amount of quality soil as 1 gal. plants, both contributing to superior shooting and health. Good luck.

+1 for this strategy