Newcomer to Bamboo

[wolfedg]

UPDATE:Please see below for updates as many of my concerns have been solved and I have new progress reports:)
First I must say hello to all of you since this is my first post.

I recently visited a bamboo nursery in Eureka Springs Arkansas and decided to buy a bamboo plant. IT has been in the ground a month now and aside from a cow breaking through the electric fence and breaking off the tip of the tallest culm which was about 3 feet(now 2) it seems to be doing well.
I do have a couple questions though. First despite being in the ground nearly a month (since 12 Jun) the plant still looks a little on the light green side (is this normal). The variety is P. Vivax Aureocalis.

Also though the Bamboo nursery is only about 2.5 hours drive from me-an hour south of me by latitude, it is completely on the other side of the climate zone from me (still 6b but I'm very near 6A and the nursery is very near 7a according to usda map) I was wondering how much difference to expect in the growth of the plant here. The interactive USDA map gives me an average minimum temp of -4.8f.
I will try to attach a few pics of it so you can give your thoughts on its health.

[dependable]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Vivax aureocalis seems to do OK down to 0*F around here, I am in zone 7a. One factor is wind, when it gets cold and windy, the leaves do get trashed. In a sheltered location, they might be able to go as low as -5 without too much damage, but I think the culms would die if it is much lower than that.

There are Phylostachys that are hardier, several, like the aureosulcatas, will take -15, bissetti may be able to go lower.

The leaves are not dark green on mine, kind of medium. You could always give them a little N to darken them up.

[Tyke-A]

Hello Wolfedg,
That's a great little Nursery. Tina and Gordon are great people. You shouldn't have any problems. I've bought many Bamboos from them and all have done well. I'm 2 hours north of them so we must be pretty close to each other. I'm in Cedar county, where are you located?

Tyke

[Tyke-A]

I have Ph Vivax Huangwenzhu Inversa here. It top killed along with most of my Bamboos but has come back. We've had severe winters back to back with -13f for several nights which is not the norm. My Henons and Parvifolias came thru in excellent shape with no culm loss or even any leaf bud damage so you may want to consider those two for our area.
As for the lighter coloring on the leaves its hard to say without seeing pictures. I have some stuff starting to yellow from all the heavy rains we've had lately. The ground has not had a chance to dry out at all for the last several weeks and Bamboo does not like wet ground.


Tyke

[wolfedg]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Vivax aureocalis seems to do OK down to 0*F around here, I am in zone 7a. One factor is wind, when it gets cold and windy, the leaves do get trashed. In a sheltered location, they might be able to go as low as -5 without too much damage, but I think the culms would die if it is much lower than that.

There are Phylostachys that are hardier, several, like the aureosulcatas, will take -15, bissetti may be able to go lower.

The leaves are not dark green on mine, kind of medium. You could always give them a little N to darken them up.

Thank you for the reply. I ended up choosing a rather exposed spot to plant it for two reasons. First as we have a lot of open land here I wanted it to be out in the open so I could safely allow the rhizomes to spread (up to a point) and not get off into the woods or around our garden and house. Second I was thinking the full sun would benefit it in being able to store more energy to make up for winter damage. It is somewhat exposed to the wind where it is but I plan on protecting it the first couple years. It is also on a south facing slope so maybe that will benefit it.
Pictures of it as of yesterday




What it looked like when it was first planted, before the cows got in and messed it up a bit.

[wolfedg]

Hello Wolfedg,
That's a great little Nursery. Tina and Gordon are great people. You shouldn't have any problems. I've bought many Bamboos from them and all have done well. I'm 2 hours north of them so we must be pretty close to each other. I'm in Cedar county, where are you located?

Tyke

I am in the Hartville area in Wright county.

More in another post below
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[dependable]

Vivax likes the sun. Hopefully you won't get too much cold winds. We had blizzard conditions coming off the Atlantic a few times last year, maybe wind will not be a problem where you are.

Those leaves are a little on the yellow side, but not too bad. The woodchip mulch you have will tie up some available nitrogen until it is fully decayed. This is because the microbes that break it down have a stronger 'pull' on the N than the plants, to put it simply.

Some fertilizer would probably help. I use organic based, slow release lawn fertilizer on my bamboo. Milorganite or Safe & Simple are good, as well as others I am sure. Chemical fertilizer is fine too, but it is easy to over do it, so put on a little at a time if using that. Mix any fertilizer with chips and water in.

[wolfedg]

Vivax likes the sun. Hopefully you won't get too much cold winds. We had blizzard conditions coming off the Atlantic a few times last year, maybe wind will not be a problem where you are.

Those leaves are a little on the yellow side, but not too bad. The woodchip mulch you have will tie up some available nitrogen until it is fully decayed. This is because the microbes that break it down have a stronger 'pull' on the N than the plants, to put it simply.

Some fertilizer would probably help. I use organic based, slow release lawn fertilizer on my bamboo. Milorganite or Safe & Simple are good, as well as others I am sure. Chemical fertilizer is fine too, but it is easy to over do it, so put on a little at a time if using that. Mix any fertilizer with chips and water in.

Thank you for the helpful tips. I planted it in miracle grow garden soil that has a slow release fert in it so I think I'll probably hold off till next year to add more just to be safe.

I have Ph Vivax Huangwenzhu Inversa here. It top killed along with most of my Bamboos but has come back. We've had severe winters back to back with -13f for several nights which is not the norm. My Henons and Parvifolias came thru in excellent shape with no culm loss or even any leaf bud damage so you may want to consider those two for our area.
As for the lighter coloring on the leaves its hard to say without seeing pictures. I have some stuff starting to yellow from all the heavy rains we've had lately. The ground has not had a chance to dry out at all for the last several weeks and Bamboo does not like wet ground.
Tyke

You may be right about the rain, It has been crazy here we had like 10 inches a couple weeks ago.
P. Parvifolia was actually what I was trying to get on that trip to the nursery. I maybe should have gotten the Aurosulcata but I was hoping for more of a Timber variety to make a mini forest out of. Perhaps if your Parvifolia or Henon is mature enough and you are willing, I might buy a division off of you at some point. I wouldn't mind seeing how your plants are performing as well as you are pretty close to my climate.

[stevelau1911]

If you need parvifolia, I have a few really well established divisions potted up with me. I have henon, but no divisions on that at the moment.

Parvifolia is reaching 1.5 inches by close to 24ft in upstate NY after 6 years of growth which is starting to exceed most of the local aureosulcata groves, and I doubt it is anywhere close to done upsizing. We had more like a zone 5b winter in the past 2 winters. I think my grove may break 3 inches by 40ft if it keeps holding up well.

[tncry]

Wow, Steve. Nice parvifolia. The rhizomes you sent me are all but gone. Two harsh winters in a row makes it tough to get things started. I should have kept them in pots for a few years before planting out.


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[stevelau1911]

It definitely has some crazy potential in a solid zone 6.

You may be able to get a better start on parvifolia off Pokenei who based on the pictures has plenty of parvifolia by now. I think it can still get up to a decent size in zone 4/5.

http://www.bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic. ... &start=195

[jd.]

For more success with parvifolia in zone 5, the rhizomes are best planted deep in a fertile low area that receives generous snow cover in the winter and full sun in the growing season. If the snow isn't heavy before temperatures drop, extra snow can be shoveled over a young parvifolia to form an insulating snow pile a meter or more thick.

In less ideal conditions, a zone 5 winter can kill parvifolia rhizomes.
In zone 4 winters, deep snow or additional protection becomes more critical for survival.

[wolfedg]

Update as of 29 Jul 15
The plant has really greened up over the past few weeks, however the summer heat is taking bit of a toll on it. I'm gonna have to water a little more frequently it seems.

[Alan_L]

I planted it in miracle grow garden soil that has a slow release fert in it so I think I'll probably hold off till next year to add more just to be safe.

My guess is that 1) the Miracle-Gro won't be enough and/or 2) it's already been used up.

I'd hit it with some Milorganite -- which also contains iron to help grasses green up -- or diluted urine (human) for a quicker free solution. You could also mulch with composted manure. I've not seen any of my bamboos that ever got too much fertilizer, but I don't typically use synthetics.

I don't think it's possible to use too much Milorganite, as it's quite slow-acting and a relatively light fertilizer. I'd probably use a couple of cups on your small planting. I throw some on all my plantings three or four times a year.

[wolfedg]

Autumn Update:

It would seem this plant is doing quite well now. But now I am wondering about winter care here in z6b. My current plan is to just cover it with a white trash bag if temps get below about 20 and uncover it if they come back above freezing. Does that sound like a good plan for the first winter? I mulched it pretty well when I planted it to help as well. Another question is watering and the if and when I should stop for the winter. The ground here often gets pretty soggy during winter after snows as well, but it is on the hillside so it wont be quite as bad as in the yard.

As a recap (with new photos from today) here is the progress for the first year so far.

July 3


July 29


October 19


Also as a side note. On my recent return trip from Florida, I visited an awesome place called Wilderness Park in Prattville, Alabama. There is a mature bamboo forest there with several varieties. I highly recommend it to anyone passing through that area that even has a remote interest in bamboo. You won't be disappointed , and its completely free too. When we were there we were the only ones on the grounds so it was quite peaceful too.