Bamboo and the freeze (flowers, growing, leaves, planting)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My year-old bamboo plants endured a long and hard freeze this winter. The plants now have some green leaves and others leaves that are dead. Other than wait and see, is there any way to tell whether these plants will survive? I am in zone 7.
They should survive, they might die back to the ground but they should grow new shoots, at least if it's the same kind of bamboo we have up here in zone 4b-6.
Bagster, what kind of bamboo is it, do you know the name of it? There are several types of bamboo. Is it planted in the ground or is it planted in a container. It would be good if you could post a photo of it.
You could clip one of the culms with green leaves to see if it's still alive. Other than that, wait and see is recommended.
As Zoisite has said, it would be helpful to know more about your situation. If the species is Fargesia, it almost certainly will survive. Mulching the plant heavily prior to winter would be helpful in the future.
It's commonly known as fishpole bamboo, and I planted it in the ground. The scientific name is: Phyllostachys aurea
Very attractive bamboo. If it's only one year old just wait and see what happens. It's still a "baby" in terms of maturity. That species takes a minimum of two years for the roots to become well established after transplanting into a new location but with some mulch on it for winter it can tolerate temperatures down to around 10 F / -12 C. So it should be okay for temperatures if well mulched in a cold location. If the leaves continue to brown and die it may be that it's getting sunburn from too much direct sunlight and radiant heat. You don't say where you are located but it's a tropical bamboo and prefers tropical to semi-tropical temperatures, humidity, damp (not wet) soil and part sun/part shade conditions. Needs moderate watering every week during hot, dry summer conditions until the plants reach over 5 to 6 years old and then they are capable of tolerating more droughty conditions as long as they aren't allowed to become completely parched.
Just a hint for something to look for if there is a lot of leaf browning - look at the very tops of the bamboo canes to see if there are new branches with no leaves but with flowers and seed pods forming in the upper regions. Some leaves may turn brown when the plants are going into flower and seed pod production. I doubt that would be the case with yours because it is so young and it usually takes several years for the plants to mature before they start producing seeds. But who knows, maybe your plants that you bought were grown from old, mature roots that were divided from a very mature clump of plants. So something to watch for.
Ya know, if you go out there on a still night, you can almost hear it growing.
Or, maybe it's the tinnitus.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If it's only one year old just wait and see what happens. It's still a "baby" in terms of maturity. That species takes a minimum of two years for the roots to become well established after transplanting into a new location but with some mulch on it for winter it can tolerate temperatures down to around 10 F / -12 C. So it should be okay for temperatures if well mulched in a cold location. If the leaves continue to brown and die it may be that it's getting sunburn from too much direct sunlight and radiant heat. You don't say where you are located but it's a tropical bamboo and prefers tropical to semi-tropical temperatures, humidity, damp (not wet) soil and part sun/part shade conditions. Needs moderate watering every week during hot, dry summer conditions until the plants reach over 5 to 6 years old and then they are capable of tolerating more droughty conditions as long as they aren't allowed to become completely parched. 
