Is it possible to delay the shooting season of bamboo?

[stevelau1911]

I've got 14 outdoor bamboo species, and I want to ensure that none of them start shooting too early just to get killed. The day time highs are hanging in the 50s for the last couple weeks so I'm getting worried about early shoots.

I'm planning on keeping my plants burlapped so that the sun doesn't warm up the ground temperature. Is there anything else that can be done to prevent early shooting?

There are usually freezes until the middle of April here.

[dudley]

this has been discussed here before. if i remember correctly the thinking was that a light colored mulch might delay warming a little. perhaps a white frost cloth (garden fleece?) over or instead of the burlap which i assume is brown.

would evaporation help cool them if you mist the burlap in the warmest part of the day?

but i have no experience with your problem.
i thought about watering mine with warm water to see if i could encourage shooting! expecting 70s and 80s for a while. and then only higher after that.

[Alan_L]

I think a standard garden practice to delay spring emergence of plants is to apply your mulch *after the ground is cold and frozen*. The idea here is the opposite of what you normally think of for winter mulching -- instead of keeping the cold air away from the warmer ground, you're keeping the warm air away from the colder ground.

So a mid-to-late winter mulching. Applying more mulch now won't hurt either, although it's probably best to do it on a cold day, before the existing ground/mulch has had a chance to warm (you don't want to trap any existing warmth).

[stevelau1911]

Nothing has emerged so far, but my fargesias, and moso are supposed to be early shooters so I'll try adding some aluminum foil to reflect sunlight. I'm hoping not to get any shoots until around April 16th when its unlikely to get below 32F
Also none of my bamboos are topkilled so I'm hoping for some upsizing on all my bamboos which would be set back if I get early shoots that freeze.

My burlap might actually promote shooting considering a dark color absorbs heat so I should probably get rid of it considering theres no longer any chance of winter damage. Thanks for the advice.

[Eastlandia]

Mulch is the way to go. I wouldn't mess with the aluminum foil... I think the warmth will enter the plants through conduction/convection - regardless of the sunlight over a small area.

Then again, maybe it will work...ha!

[needmore]

Mulch is the way to go. I wouldn't mess with the aluminum foil... I think the warmth will enter the plants through conduction/convection - regardless of the sunlight over a small area.

Then again, maybe it will work...ha!

Mr. Lawrence, if you're home for spring break, give me a jingle! We need to dig bamboo like jacked-up moles right now!

Steve, the mulch is good advice.

[foxd]

stevelau1911: I'm not sure about F. robusta, but my F. nitida doesn't put up shoots until June. On the other hand, my F. rufa is already putting up shoots.

[Alan_L]

My 'Rufa' and robusta have both started shooting.

(Robusta is topkilled, so glad to see it's not dead.)