PS: I have seen fuzz on culms of earlier photos. Your photos seem to show shiny culm texture without any fuzz. Are there tiny hairs on the culms or is the surface smooth? Yes, new culms are hairy/rough like nigra or aureosulcata. So far the older culms aren't really turning black but this may simpl...

Hi, I just wanted to give an update on the mystery bamboo.
I still have no idea what to think about this.
The culms are not really turning black, though they take on an almost black hue due to sunburn when they are young.

I must say I like the foliage color - It is quite yellow

Here's a picture of the bamboo. http://imgur.com/gallery/SR986mf I'm a bit sceptical that you indeed have henon. Frost damage can look really similar to the pattern nigra has but the black coloration on your bamboo seems a bit too consistent to me. Your plant is still relatively small - how long ha...

Nigra henonis should not be turning black.
I think your suspicion with with cold damage is likely.

What is the black pattern like?
Maybe you have a mix-up and it is boryana, which can turn quite black.

It is difficult to say Deane, a lot of the pictures you show from your great collection come from relatively small plants. I know we like to be impatient but sometimes giving things a bit of time is the best approach. Once you have a well established plant with larger and more shoots it should becom...

A few bamboo physiology questions: 1) Does the bamboo stake (being green in color) participate in photosynthesis? In other words, if the bamboo leaves are cut and only the stakes are left, does it still transport energy to the rhizome? 2) How does xylem and Phloem work for bamboo, and which part is...

Looks more and more like HB 'Shiroshima'. Thank you for posting photos, it's nice to see how they develop. It will be interesting the following spring as they may start setting first larger shoots. They should look great! Regressing into P. aureosulcata would only be possible if it's chimeric and o...

It is in all likelihood phyllostachys violascens
The bulging internodes and faint stripes in P1230481.jpg are a pretty good indicator for this.

All the best,

Nicholas

I'm still around (mostly lurking). I must say I'm really not qualified to talk about zone 5 issues with bamboo. We are mostly blessed with our climate here and while the temperatures on bad winters only ever briefly dip into zone 6. It is mostly a warm, dry climate with hot and sunny summers. Having...

I'm not overly familiar with the more tropical bamboos but it could be Bambusa multiplex 'alphonse karr'

I hope my Ph. huangwenzhu will sport some yellow culms. Only 3 new culms this year and a slight upsize. I have had to stake after the winter, too. I'm not so sure huangwenzhu will easily sport huangwenzhu inversa. What I do know is that vivax aureocaulis does tend to sport all the other forms here ...

I'll just cite this from bamboos of the world: Phyllostachys edulis ' Lutea' 9 Taxonomic and nomenclatural references: Phyllostachys pubescens 'Aurea'; Stover, Bamb. Book, 1983: 54, "P. p. Aurea", invalid Phyllostachys heterocycla f. holochrysa Muroi & K. Kasahara in J. Himeji Gakuin W...

I'm willing to give it a try, and I have a well protected area that I keep snow shoveled on all winter...so my hope is to get at least one of these established and strong enough to make a decent showing, even with a top kill winter. I've been protecting my Bicolor with a tipi-like construction and ...

Bummer...was hoping for first hand experience...lol, they sure resemble strawberry leaves. My "grove" will be pretty sparse for a while (maybe forever)...so they should get plenty of light. I'm not sure if they are on the pictures but some of the groves DO have wild forest strawberries gr...

And finally Shanghai 3 and just two views of some of the groves Overall okay shooting but no insane upsizing. The atrovaginata and vivax aureocaulis are spreading quite a bit. I'd say if you want a good hardy screening boo then atrovaginata is a great choice. Parvifolia is really well behaved here a...