Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

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stevelau1911
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Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by stevelau1911 »

My P parvifolia, and P Atrovaginata are the only ones that are growing newer leaves that seem to be getting lighter and lighter. No other bamboos seem to have this problem and I haven't given them any special treatment. Would this mean that I need to use a different kind of fertilizer for them, or is there a common nutrient that these bamboos need more of?

This just doesn't look right because the older leaves are a much darker green on both plants. Its not the lack of sunlight because they are both in full sun about 90% of the day.

I really doubt these bamboos have a major problem, but i do prefer them looking a healthy dark green.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by needmore »

Sounds like nitrogen deficiency to me...whatever you're giving them may not be enough.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by ocimum_nate »

In my opinion for whatever it is worth when the newer leaves are lighter it is usually a sign of chlorosis something very common in Utah. I would try adding a bit of iron as well or use milorganite it has a good dose of both nitrogen and iron. another thing I have noticed is that plants that are over watered seem to show this as well.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Steve in France »

David was saying he's noticed Parvifolia needs more trace elements than any Bamboo he has , I believe he uses something called Ironite (Spelling). I've also noticed my Parvifolia is a little less green than I would like. I use Miracle Grow and Osmocote but it looks like I'll be doing an Iron formula too. The Parvifolia was a little pot bound before it went into the 4 ft by 4 ft raised bed (I'll expand the space next Summer) so I have been using fert in the center of the plant as the roots will not have sparead out yet. There is a mass of new rhizome growth, very shallow growth so a layer of Manure is going into the bed this Weekend. It just shows that watching your Bamboos and adjusting to there needs is the best way to get the maximum result and that each Bamboo reacts in a different way to the same conditions. Keeping on top of the growth curve will put a Bamboo grower years ahead of a guy who just lets them go there own way. Bamboo is a first class example of what you put in is what you get out. I hope never to lose a season to bad management .
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by bepah »

If you are fertilizing and the leaves are still light green, I would suspect a pH problem. I top dress all of my plants with compost, which helps in keeping the pH from going to alkaline and conditioning the soil with micronutrients.

I do not trust commerical fertilizers and in the best of all possible worlds, compost is free if you are willing to make your own.

Building a good garden is always much more than planting and watering.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by stevelau1911 »

PH in my garden is around a 7.5 so it is a possibility that since parvifolia requires more micro-nutrients than any other bamboo, that it might not be getting those nutrients. I do have plenty of manure, organic material, grass clippings, and mulch mixed into the soil, and add regular strength 5-10-5 miracle grow bloom booster every few weeks. One problem has been rain every day so my bamboos have had wet feet almost always which has likely washed away a lot of those essential nutrients.

I might try adding some soil acidifier to amend the soil ph and some mycorrhizal fungi for nutrient absorption to hopefully darken up my parvifolia. It doesn't seem like very light colored leaves would take in as much energy. Its definitely not dying since theres a few shoots coming out nearly horizontal from the center of the plant next to the culms that I just noticed.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Rex »

Here's something I've observed - I don't know if it'll help much.
Putting pH and soil nutrients aside for a moment, the problem might be the very fact that your bamboo is out in full sun. I have some young bamboo plants that I placed on the porch for full sun all day. Most of these plants had light green or even yellow leaves. When I moved them to a new location where they were getting partial shade for most of the day, the new leaf growth darkened significantly. I noticed this color change when I observed multiple leaves on different plants that were half yellow and half dark green!

I know this is contrary to the popular belief that plants without sufficient light grow lighter colored leaves (for example, when a plant is moved from the outdoors to indoors), but these are my exact observations.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Steve in France »

Interesting, I was just talking to Mr Salmon and saying the same thing. My Parvifolia in full Sun from Dawn til Dusk is not as green as I would like, still pretty green just not dark green.
The Harbin Inversa from Brad is in 70 % shade and is very dark green. I was wondering if the plant is processing so much energy in full Sun that it just cannot keep up the maximum level of green, or in other words the inflow of elements is at the upper limit as is the outflow of energy. In shadier conditions the plant is working more slowly and therefore can build up a reserve in the leaf and this makes the Bamboo a darker green. I'm not explaining it well but you get the idea.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Alan_L »

Maybe a crazy theory, but I wonder if something similar to what happens with Pleioblastus viridistriatus is going on? Viridistriatus is lighter color / more yellow with more sun, but more green / darker when in shade.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Steve in France »

I talked to Markj the other day and he was saying that at higher day temps the Bamboo blades don't work as well , there comes a point were the temp inhibits the processes taking place in the blades. We here often have high 80's low 90's days at this time of year. Perhaps this is also helping to keep the blades a lighter green. I do hose the bamboos down some days but not often, I should start doing it more often on very hot days. I've not had any leafcurl on my Bamboos this years so far so they are getting enough water.
A side note is I know it seems that I use a lot of Fert and mulch for my Bamboos , but I was growing Bamboo in the North of France before we moved to D.C./Maryland. In order to get a Bamboo to size up fast in cool climates one must spend a lot of time and energy feeding and watering Bamboo, or at least I did not being Dutch. So I got into the habit of working the Bamboos hard. I know I had very good results in France so I'm trying to replicate them here, infact I want way better results. We will see come next Spring
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by Steve in France »

I just applied some Ironite to the compost and will top up the manure level this Evening. I'll top it off with the Virginia Pine Bark nuggets they sell around here. Mr David Arnold was saying Ironite works well for his Parvifolia and that's good enough for me. I'll see how well all greens up over the next week or so, even if it just maintains the level of green I have that's fine.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by David »

I just added Ironite (2nd dose this year), and a dose of triple 15 to both in-ground parvi which is in addition to a 5 month time released lawn fertilzer I applied this spring. My Ph is neutral, but I occasionally throw a handful of garden sulfur on them just to stay on the slightly acid side. I nearly starved the first parvi I got to death before I realized how much nutrition it needed. I may need more fertilizer for the parvi than some growers because it seems to be a weed here, and is spreading in all directions. I have great hope for this plant, and hope it sizes up as well as it has spread.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

Rule of thumb for most plants regarding chlorosis (leaf yellowing) in plants (all plants, not just bamboo):

When old leaves turn yellow, the plant typically needs nitrogen.
When new leaves turn yellow, the plant typically needs chelated iron.
Last edited by ShmuBamboo on Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by stevelau1911 »

I just added a handful of ironite and acidifier to hopefully get the new leaves to green up. I might have to wait about 2 weeks before I might notice any difference, but I'm staying with only regular strength fertilizer 5-10-5 every 2 weeks with a touch of silicate in the water soluble mix because the plant is only 4 canes 3-4 feet tall that came from a 3 gallon pot. I'm keeping the fertilization light because I'm afraid to burn it's roots while its still young.
I was wondering if the plant is processing so much energy in full Sun that it just cannot keep up the maximum level of green
I hope your theory is right because I would rather have my parvifolia process more energy at the cost of lighter leaves. The day time highs are only getting up to 70-78F(unseasonably cool) so I really doubt that heat would be inhibiting it's green-ness.
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Re: Why are the leaves on some bamboos getting lighter?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

If you are worried about salt burn of the roots of your bamboos, use half strength fertilizer every week, and plain water or rain between feeding. This will reduse the chance of salt burn, and allow the plant to have a more steady diet of nutrients while compensating for water leaching out the nitrogen from the soil (as well as the plant and microbes scavaging it from the soil). If your leaves begin to turn yellow, increase the rate of feeding, but not the strength.
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