I'm based in Austin, TX and we are approaching the end of August and I'm wondering if I should give a final round of fertilizer to finish off the year. Last year, my gracilis continued to leaf out into early November before going dormant until early February. We generally have warm weather through early November as well before it cools for a couple months.

Can anyone provide any insight on whether I should fertilize one more time? I use a fertigation system that includes a drip irrigation line that slowly releases Micracle Gro water soluble lawn food over a period of 2 weeks.

Since tropical bamboos produce much of their yearly growth from now until it gets cold, I would definitely still be fertilizing. I will continue to fertilize my bamboos through September or October.

If you were asking about something like citrus, I would say it is too late to fertilize. They need to harden off before winter in order to increase cold hardiness. However, I have not observed any evidence that it is useful to withhold fertilizer from bamboos in order to increase their cold hardiness. In fact, my observations have led me to believe that bamboos take cold best when they are well fertilized and watered right up until the cold weather comes.

If anyone reading this thread has seen evidence that fertilizing bamboos late in the year decreases cold hardiness, I would be interested in hearing about their experiences.

By the way, how did your plants fare after the damage they sustained last winter?

Lost nearly every single leaf due to the freeze! They bounced back stronger than ever though starting to sprout again in February of this year.

I was concerned with additional fertilizer triggering new shoots which wouldn't harden off in time before another potential freeze. Some of my late shooters last year died in the freeze as well.

I typically fertilize every 3 months starting at the end of March, June and September. Here in central Florida we start getting cold around late November. By then most new growth has matured. I tend to use a 10-10-10 so your results may vary based on your nitrogen levels. That's what works for me. I've got about 45-50 individual clumps of B. Oldhamii that were turned lose last year and the growth has been amazing. Same with all my Gracilis as well as B. Emensis viridi and flavo.

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-shu

I am glad to hear that they recovered so well!

In Texas, we have a lot of clay soils that tend to accumulate phosphorous, which can lead to several problems. I usually use a high N fertilizer, like lawn fertilizer.

In Texas, we have a lot of clay soils that tend to accumulate phosphorous, which can lead to several problems. I usually use a high N fertilizer, like lawn fertilizer.[/quote]

Yeah I see how that could get tricky. One of the benefits of having a mostly sand substrate. Never really thought about that. How are you guys doing with regards to the hurricane?

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-shu

I usually stop in mid September. We have first frost around mid October. Better safe than sorry. During September and October, bamboos usually grow extremely well. After dry summer with a lot of heat, weather calms down, there is more rain and we have quite some sun as well.
We also have clay soil. I often add wood ash on top during winter. It reduces acidity and adds potassium to the soil. Nitrogen is not an issue, it can easily be added when needed.

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http://cold-hardy.com