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P Aurea clumps mostly dead

Posted: Sat May 18, 2019 6:48 pm
by Culm B 4 the storm
Sadly, most of my clumps of P Aurea are 100 percent dead leaves. The culms still are green and limber and feel supple. No new shoots on these clumps with all dead leaves. Planted in February, they suffered, heavy snow, wind, and ice damage. I may have over watered thinking that was the problem. Desperate for advice. Unlikely they come back this year. Any chance they come back next year? The guides say shoots come up late spring. I do have about 7 shoots off of a root ball and dead culm I planted on a whim but nothing else. I had thought about cutting the culms back but they are still providing a screen from my evil neighbor lol. My thought was to plant some new clumps next spring as I have a lot more knowledge than I had at first. then cut back old culms and see if they produce shoots next spring. My question is, is there any chance I see new leaves or shoots next year from the seemingly dying clumps from this year? or is it time to dig up the whole mess and try again? Thanks!!!!!

Re: P Aurea clumps mostly dead

Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 5:20 am
by Tarzanus
There is a chance you will see survival shoots in late spring to early summer. They usually appear later than the species's regular shooting. Aurea is not the first to shoot, so there's time. It doesn't shoot here yet and it survived winyer undamaged..

Re: P Aurea clumps mostly dead

Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 7:07 am
by springtimeshoots
Not much you can do right now besides playing the waiting game.

If it does not shoot this spring or early summer I'd say your chances of new shoots next spring is next to none, at least coming from my experience.

You will probably know soon enough if you see the culms turn pale.

Re: P Aurea clumps mostly dead

Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 4:15 pm
by needmore
I know it may suck to think about but you might want to pull all of your Phy aurea and replace it with either Phy aureosulcata or the Spectabilis form. I'm not sure how cold you get (cold enough for snow & ice apparently) but Phy aurea is not very hardy. Many years ago based upon the advice of a bamboo nursery I had them deliver 15 field divisions of Phy aurea and 15 of Phy viridis to start my nursery. It was lots of money - $3,000 as I recall and as it turned out none of them ever survived winter and I had to cull all them save for one of the Phy viridis as it was fun to grow even though it was an annual, in fact I have a start of it here in CA some 15-17 years and 2,200 miles later. I did not bother to save any of the Phy aurea it was such a drag to try and grow in Indiana.

So if your Phy aurea seems whacked I would suggest moving on from that bamboo species rather than waiting to see if it survives. Spectabilis was a great bamboo for me, it reached a nice sized and is just beautiful.

Re: P Aurea clumps mostly dead

Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 8:44 am
by Glen
Phyllostachys aurea is just not a great bamboo for a cool climate. It is probably the best Phyllostachys in Texas, which means it is not going to be an optimal choice for a maritime climate in Washington. The lack of warmth will prevent the plant from recovering well from any winter injury it does receive.

Brad's recommendation of P. aureosulcata is a good one. This species is fairly pathetic in much of Texas, but should perform very well for you.

The sooner you get an adapted species growing, the sooner you will be enjoying your bamboo, instead of worrying about it.