All my unprotected bamboos are fried. Sad. It was all well a week or two ago.

Shanghai III is bigger than it's ever been around 1.5 inches by 20footers, but it may not be possible to try and protect. That's the thing... given the borderline climate that we're in, we need to decide at which point to stop protecting the bamboos. One alternative is to selectively protect certai...

Here's the side by side comparison:
Atrovaginata to the left. Parvifolia to the right.

View Large Photo

Good info, curious about a few things just for knowledge sake... I got my Atro and Parvi from Steve Lau in 2012 and planted them out immediately. They were about 1/2 to a meter long whip shoots. Some years I tarped those, others not. When I tarped them, mice ate all the leaves and chewed down all t...

Parvifolia is quick to upsize, but it is not as cold hardy as Atrovaginata or even Rubro. I am in Zone 5. Last year, parvifolia was my largest bamboo growing up to 15 feet. Both Atrovaginata and Rubro were around 6 to 8 feet. After the last winter, everything (not protected) was top killed. However,...

It is hard to over water. But, is the base of the bed water tight? or is it free to drain under? If there's no drainage, then yes, it's likely root rot. If no drainage issue, then check for signs of infection. Although not likely, but some moth larvae could be eating the shoots from the inside. Chec...

I do tarp, some years. But for some reason, whenever I tarp, that winter turns out to be warm, and by tarping, I did more damage than good because the mice are loving it under the tarps and stripping off all the leaves and chewing on branches. This Winter, I decided not to tarp, hoping for another w...

The only pests that frequented my (fenced) yards are: Mice Rabbits Raccoons. I have no voles in my area, just regular mice. Raccoons have the potential to do a lot of damage, and there is a large family of 8 this year. However, the raccoons have not discovered bamboo shoots to be edible. They did ch...

I am in Zone 5, and extreme lows here can range from - 25 to - 30 Celsius which can occur once or twice a year. Typical lows are in the minus teens. However, it's the duration of the cold periods that kills. Last winter also had cold days that reached -25, but didn't last long, so my bamboos suffere...

Speaking of spectabilis, I did have it several years ago. I brought home a specimen about 6 feet high, 1 culm. I planted it temporarily on an elevated garden bed about 5 inches high. It was autumn, so that was the only place to get sufficient sunlight. I thought it would have no problem with the col...

Mine was Nigra, bought it at a local nursery on sale for $40. Maybe it's just bad luck, 'cause this plant cannot seem to catch a break. It's no larger, in fact, smaller than it was 7-8 years ago. First winter, it was sheltered indoor, but did poorly and almost died. Then I planted in the ground and ...

After consecutive weeks with highs of -10s and lows of -20s (-30 at its lowest + windchill), there's finally a break. +2 high today. Talking in degrees Celsius. I am pretty sure all leaves are fried, but seeing the leaves partially uncurl today gives a tiny bit of joy and false hope. Realistically, ...

Nice photos. Wish I have property like that.

Mine flowered heavily last year but produced no viable seeds for some reason. If the seed feels full like there is a grain of rice inside it, then it is probably good.

I think you wanna hear from me. If the winter is mild like it was this past winter, there would be partial leaf damage and you can expect parvifolia to double in height. My parvifolia averages 12 to 15 feet this year. I don't think there is a limit to the height, it all depends on Winter conditions....