Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

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ZZZ
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Re: RE: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by ZZZ »

mike best wrote: Even through hurricane Fay high winds I thought, OK, I am going to have bamboo in my porch, but no.

The leaves take high wind very well but the new culms are not a wind tolerant at all, they are thin and you can crush them with your hand. It likes to put up allot of fragile new culms during hurricane season. During fay it broke 10 or so new culms, but because it is prolific at putting up new culms it has since put up about 12 new ones to make up for the loss.

Also the leaves also wilt during high heat but with no damaging effects.

Dredging up an old thread, but this is poignant to my situation and I am hoping that someone may chime in.

I have a Bambusa Emeiensis 'Flavidovirens' which I believe is the inverse of the 'Viridiflavus' in that the mature culms are yellow with green stripes, as opposed to green with yellow stripes. I transplanted my Emeiensis F about 6 months ago from a 20gal container; I live on a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Florida in zone 10a. The bamboo had adapted beautifully, and had thrown off 4 or 5 new culms before Hurricane Irma hit in September. Other than minor leaf damage this bamboo fared well through the hurricane, but an unusually high "king tide" about 3 weeks back resulted in the rhizome/root ball of this particular bamboo being submerged in 100% salt water for 2-3 hours on three different occasions over a 2-day period. (For future reference, my experience here shows that Bambusa Ventricosa and B Chungii are able to withstand such an inundation of salt water.)

The existing older culms on the Emeiensis F do not look great now, 3 weeks later. What had given me hope is that the newer culms that have sprouted up since I transplanted it in the spring were/are still green...however I noted yesterday that the tallest of these had folded over approximately 1/2 way up the culm, and thus the top of the culm is now touching the ground. I found that the other new culms are easily pinch-able, and seem to have nothing in the center. Uh oh, I thought. When comparing against the young culms of my Timor/Lako black bamboo, those culms feel like solid wood and there is no "give" or flex at all when I pinch them.

This above post gives me hope that the young culms of this Emeiensis species are delicate to begin with. Is there thus a chance that my Emeiensis F will recover? By virtue of the fact that the culms are still green--even the older culms show green striping at the bases--may I safely assume that my bamboo has survived? Can anyone with experience chime in here? Thank you.
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Glen
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Re: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by Glen »

I do grow the variety you have, but I do not have any direct experience with salt water.

Here is what I would do: Water heavily to flush the sodium out of the root zone. If it was my plant, I would put a sprinkler on the plant and water it for at least several hours. This is assuming that you have sandy soil. Then fertilize about once a week with a quality water soluble fertilizer. Bambusa emeiensis seems to be my most nitrogen demanding tropical bamboo.

As long as something is green, even just a culm, the plant has a chance of recovery. You can not know whether it will live until you see new growth of leaves, and preferably shoots.
ZZZ
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Re: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by ZZZ »

Thanks Glen--

Much appreciated. This bamboo was really thriving, and I am so upset about this flooding. If and when it recuperates, I will carefully dig it out and construct a raised bed as I should have done to begin with.

A few questions. Can you confirm that the new culms (under 10' or so) on the Emeiensis F are normally in fact fragile to the point where you can squeeze the walls fairly easily between your thumb and index finger as if it's hollow inside? I'm trying to determine if this was caused by the salt water or if it's a normal characteristic of this particular bamboo.

Secondly, I watered it extensively for the first week or so after the flooding. Should I continue to do so?

Thank you...
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Glen
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Re: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by Glen »

A few questions. Can you confirm that the new culms (under 10' or so) on the Emeiensis F are normally in fact fragile to the point where you can squeeze the walls fairly easily between your thumb and index finger as if it's hollow inside? I'm trying to determine if this was caused by the salt water or if it's a normal characteristic of this particular bamboo.
I have never squeezed the shoots as you describe, but the actively growing shoots of all bamboos that I have seen are very soft and easily crushed. I can say that shoots that are damaged by any number of causes while they are still soft will start to shrivel longitudinally and cave in along the internodes. They will then begin to disarticulate, starting with the top joints. Either way, you should know soon. Actively growing shoots that experience stress will soon stabilize and continue growth or die and fall apart.
Secondly, I watered it extensively for the first week or so after the flooding. Should I continue to do so?
If you watered with enough volume to flush the salts out of the root zone, you only need to water normally at this points. You do not need to keep it constantly saturated. With this species, I do strongly recommend a water soluble fertilizer to assist in recovery, assuming there is some life remaining.
ZZZ
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Re: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by ZZZ »

Thanks Glen:

A bamboo person was out to look at my Emeiensis F the other day, and he feels that it has turned the corner and that it will (eventually) bounce back. I will either build a berm to keep the salt water out in the future, or I will make a raised bed out of 2"x12" pieces.

Question: I just bought an Emeiensis V from a local bamboo supplier that it retiring/selling off stock. Am I to understand that the V is essentially the inverse of the F, in that V=green with yellow stripes while F=yellow with green stripes? Do you prefer one variety to the other?
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Glen
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Re: Bambusa emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'

Post by Glen »

ZZZ wrote:Thanks Glen:

A bamboo person was out to look at my Emeiensis F the other day, and he feels that it has turned the corner and that it will (eventually) bounce back. I will either build a berm to keep the salt water out in the future, or I will make a raised bed out of 2"x12" pieces.

Question: I just bought an Emeiensis V from a local bamboo supplier that it retiring/selling off stock. Am I to understand that the V is essentially the inverse of the F, in that V=green with yellow stripes while F=yellow with green stripes? Do you prefer one variety to the other?
I am glad that you have some good news on your plant. The only caution that I would give regarding a raised bed is that I have known large tropical bamboo clumps to simply blow over during strong storms. A raised bed would probably provide a less stable foothold for a large bamboo clump than would your native soil at grade. In either case, I think the salt is your problem (not the flooding), as my plants have flooded for much longer than yours have, with little damage. The only other thing that I can think of that might have contributed to your damage is the size of the potted plant that you used. When potting soil is kept too wet below ground it can cause stagnation and root death, and 20 gallons of potting soil is a pretty large stagnation zone. For this reason, I like to plant bamboos from smaller pots, and hope they grow into the surrounding soil before it floods. With most tropical bamboos, it does not seem to matter, but B. emeiensis may be a little more sensitive than some others. A 3 gallon plant will generally grow into a 20 gallon sized plant in about one year, with good care. This will also save you money, if that is a concern.

The two forms are not exactly the inverse of each other. 'Flavidorivens' has green stripes distributed fairly randomly around the otherwise yellow culm. 'Viridiflavus' has yellow stripes located above the branch buds, so the yellow stripes alternate about 180 degrees along the otherwise green culm. I prefer 'Flavidorivens', as I am in an area that is too cold to grow most tropical bamboos with yellow culms, and this is one that works for me. In fact, I only obtained 'Viridiflavus' this year. In Houston, I have seen both varieties planted together, and there is not much difference in the size or form of the plants. I have been told that 'Viridiflavus' is more cold hardy, but my observations to date have not supported this claim. In your area, cold should never be a problem for either one.
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