Bamboo cold hardiness ranking

[stevelau1911]

Heres my hardiness rankings of my bamboos after a hard freeze of 4F. Each species is clearly a different hardiness and I don't think the traditional hardiness ratings(most nurseries use) are that dependable. Most bamboos rated at -5F show damage in the single digits. They are also all juvenile plants which makes them more vulnerable to wind burn, but I still don't think they'll be as hardy as their ratings say after a few years.

1) Phyllostachys Aureosulcata A+
2) Phyllostachys Bissetii A+
3) Fargesia Rufa A+
4) Fargesia Nitida (leaf curl) A
5) Phyllostachys Parvifolia A
6) Phyllostachys Rubromarginata A
7) Phyllostachys Nuda A
Phyllostachys Atrovaginata A
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Safe^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
9) Phyllostachys Vivax Aureocaulus(5% leafburn) cold hardiness around 4F A-
10) Phyllostachys Dulcis (40% leaf burn) cold hardiness 4-6F B+
11) Phyllostachys Vivax (50% leaf burn) cold hardiness 5-7F B
12) Fargesia Robusta (60% leaf burn) cold hardiness 7F C+
13) Phyllostachys Heteroclada-new seedlings (70% leafburn) cold hardiness 7F C+
14) Phyllostachys nigra henon (75% leaf burn) cold hardiness around 7F C
15) Phyllostachys Edulis-new seedlings (100% leaf burn) cold hardiness 10-14F C-
16) Bambusa Vulgaris Wamin(top killed) cold hardiness 32F D

[Alan_L]

Which of those are first-year plants for you? (so this would be their first winter)

[stevelau1911]

It's the first winter for all my bamboos except for a P Vivax, P Bissetii and a Moso which I planted in 2008.

I don't count the 2year old moso in the hardiness ranking. I doubt it will take any damage because it's planted where I happened to set up my greenhouse.

Everything that I listed is planted outside and foliage is un-protected because I want to see how each species can hold up to this climate. Unless there's a major blast of arctic air, regular extremes shouldn't be much of a threat for the 8 species that were untouched at 4F.

[Jerry Hamilton]

How can a first year plant stand temps that it is rated for? I would think they need to be growing for a while.

[bambooweb]

A plant needs to be growing for at least 4 years to get established but in my climate they take at least 6 years and some of the tender ones will never get out of the juvenile stage because of winter damage each year. If I could just get 4 years in a row with temps above 0*F I should be set.

Bill

[stevelau1911]

I hope they get hardier each year and eventually reach their hardiness ratings, but if some bamboos get damaged badly enough to set them back, I might dig them up to make room for hardier bamboos. They won't be worth keeping if they stay the same size each year and keep top killing.

The ones that got leaf burned at 4F might be completely top-killed this winter with January and February still ahead, but I'm still curious to see how much better the hardier bamboos grow compared marginally hardy ones. I'd like to see if a bamboo can actually come back bigger the following year after a top-kill.

If winter damage is the biggest limiting factor to the size potential of bamboo, the Rubromarginata, Parvifolia, Atrovaginata and maybe Aureosulcata should be my best performers in a few years.

[Iowaboo]

The ones that got leaf burned at 4F might be completely top-killed this winter with January and February still ahead, but I'm still curious to see how much better the hardier bamboos grow compared marginally hardy ones. I'd like to see if a bamboo can actually come back bigger the following year after a top-kill.

If they are small gallon size plants, they should come back bigger the following year. In general, My hardy ones have been dying to the ground since their first 05-06 winter and come back bigger each year so far..and they'll keep coming back bigger, even with 100% topkill, until they hit their mature size for the climate.

[stevelau1911]

they'll keep coming back bigger, even with 100% topkill, until they hit their mature size for the climate.

Sounds very encouraging,

My Vivax actually came back a little smaller after a top-kill this spring, but it's probably because I took 2 rhizome divisions off of it and drained it's energy.Hopefully it can hold it's leaf buds this winter.

[Iowaboo]

What size gallon was the vivax? Sometimes though, the small one gallon pots would have a big culm in them, so that's why I said in general, they come back bigger, always exceptions though..

[stevelau1911]

It was only a 1 gallon plant I bought in June of 2008 which came with a 2ft culm, and produced a 4ft tall shoot in 2008.

This year it's down to a few 2-3ft tall culms spread out away from the original plant.

I just sold the 2 divisions I took off this plant 7 months ago today, and these potted bamboos that were placed in the ground back in september locked themselves pretty tightly to the ground since the rhizomes traveled a couple feet after leaving the drainage holes. It took a bit of digging to get them out.

[Iowaboo]

My vivax never amounted to much in this climate and withered away and died. So what you are seeing, could be from taking divisions off of it, or just isn't that hardy for your type of climate. I'd imagine it snows alot in your area too, so it'll probably never amount to much. If I recall, needmore hasn't had great success with it in zone 6.

[ShmuBamboo]

We had 9 degree lows here for a day last month, and two more consecutive days with 12 degree lows. I guess we are now in USDA zone 7b? I took the potted Oldhamii into the house, o/w it would have frozen. Of the others, Castillon was the most effected, with 80% leaf kill. Moso was hit more than I expected, with 30% leaf kill. As expected, I had 20% leaf kill on Marbled and Square. Of the others, damage was spotty, a probably more due to dehydration and location than anything else, but there was some leaf damage to my larger aureas and aureosulcatas. My Allgold was hardly affected at all, which is odd. I expected it to be hit harder than Castillon, but that was not the case. I winterized all my boos by mounding up heaps of wood chips over the rhizomes and pots, and moving all the potted boos under a very large Douglas fir tree (100 feet tall) in a sunny section of the yard. That seems to have greatly helped. Far less damage this year than the 14 degree lows we had last year, but that was for a full week and there was a lot of ice. This year's lows (so far) were during a dry spell and the days were sunny with highs in the low 20s. We had snow here last week, and I knocked it off the vivax before they could get snow loaded and bend or break. The vivax is otherwise pretty immune to the cold weather here, as are the blacks.

[JakeK]

I haven't logged in a while since I had to stop growing bamboo. Moving to an apartment several years ago will do that though.

I do still have Phyllostachys vivax growing at my parents house, but this'll most likely be the last year though (step-dad hates bamboo). My observations of vivax in the metro Cincinnati area is that once established it is completely top hardy to any temperature Cincinnati would see in a normal winter which would be anywhere from -5 to +5*F. Minor leaf burn is to be expected, but it has never died back to the ground since it was planted 7 years ago. The coldest temperature it has experienced is probably -10 - -13*F range. The leaves were toast but the culms leafed out again in the spring with no die back except at the very tip of the culm. I think the fact the ground never freezes too deep is a main factor. It's why true stock Cedrus deodara can also thrive in Cincinnati, same with crape myrtles, and Albizzia. I've even seen Longleaf pine being grown in this area for the past 15 years.

[stevelau1911]

Based on the 15 day forecast and that winter is about to end very soon, I really doubt that temperatures will damage my bamboos any more than what has already happened. Here are my ratings based on how they look now. This is based on a winter where temperatures dropped below 10F 5-10 times, reaching as low as 4F. In some years it can drop below 0F so hopefully they will build up enough hardiness to handle those winters when it happens.

1) Phyllostachys Parvifolia(little or no leaf burn) A+
2) Fargesia Rufa(little or no leaf burn) A+
3) Phyllostachys Bissetii(little or no leaf burn) A+
4) Phyllostachys Atrovaginata(little or no leaf burn) A+
5) Phyllostachys Aureosulcata(less than 10% leaf burn mainly on younger culms) A

6) Phyllostachys Dulcis (40% leaf burn, all buds look viable) B+
7) Phyllostachys Rubromarginata(40% leaf burn, all buds look viable) B+
Fargesia Nitida (leaf curl, can't tell status very well) B+
9) ]Phyllostachys Nuda(60% leaf burn, buds look viable) B
10) Phyllostachys nigra henon (75% leaf burn, buds look viable) C
11) Phyllostachys Vivax (75% leaf burn, some buds look viable) C

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Safe^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

12) Phyllostachys Edulis-new seedlings (100% leaf burn, lower culms look green) C-
13) Phyllostachys Heteroclada-new seedlings (100% leafburn, lower culms look green) C-
14) Phyllostachys Vivax Aureocaulus(possible top kill) F C-

15) Fargesia Robusta (top killed) D
16) Bambusa Vulgaris Wamin(top killed) D

All my other bamboos which are well protected, or kept in the greenhouse don't count.

[foxd]

You may want to revise the Fargesia nitida rating upward when we get some warm days. It is amazing how different it looks once the leaves uncurl.

I'm going to wait to evaluate my bamboos. I suspect there are going to be some pleasant surprises this year.