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underwatered?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:57 am
by sylvainkalache
Hello!

My bamboo is dying and I'm unsure what is the cause as I found many possibilities that might be involved.

I'm living in San Francisco so the weather is kind of chilly 73F to 49F and as I'm on a balcony very windy which apparently can dry out the bamboo quickly. Also it's full south and I have read that bamboo usually don't like full sun. Finally I don't water it everyday but almost.

I hope you guys can help me identify the cause with the pictures bellow. Thanks!

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Re: underwatered?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:44 pm
by dependable
Hard to to tell from pictures. Some bamboos like full sun, some do not. Is the pot well drained? Is pot root bound? Try to see if it is always wet at bottom of pot. Darkened roots and rotty smell indicated over watering or drainage problem.

Root rot from over watering/poor drainage can cause wilting as can underwatering. Also, if plant was in sheltered place and moved to less sheltered place, some of the "indoor leaves" may die off as it hardens.

Do you know what type you have? I can not ID plant from those pictures, maybe someone else can.

Re: underwatered?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 1:19 pm
by needmore
Lokks like maybe a form of Bambusa multiplex, I would first thin out that congested foliage down to a few nice, fresher looking culms and it might well need to be up-potted.

Re: underwatered?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:53 pm
by sylvainkalache
Indeed it's a Bambusa multiplex "Golden Goddess" that I bought from a tree farm a few weeks back. I did not notice any rotty smell.

It's hard for me to tell how long it was in that pot and if it need to be up-potted, I'll need to buy the necessary to change it, can't hurt I guess.
I also follow your advice and clean and cut down bad looking culms

Thanks!

Re: underwatered?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:43 pm
by sylvainkalache
I removed a lot of dead culm, I already did a first cleaning when I got them but it was too much work for me to do a perfect cleaning.
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I also noticed some weird black and white matter at the split between branches. Mostly at the bottom of the plant but also at one on the top which became black, I cut it and took a picture of it.

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Re: underwatered?

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 9:48 pm
by needmore
I suspect that is a form of sooty mold, ants harvested aphids and then stuff builds up at the collection site.

Re: underwatered?

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 11:28 pm
by sylvainkalache
Is soapy water the best solution to that?

Re: underwatered?

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:35 am
by sylvainkalache
Today leafs became more yellow
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Re: underwatered?

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:23 pm
by needmore
Sure, try soapy water but pressure helps, you may not be able to blast them with a hose where you are though. Over watered or underwatered can look similar, that just looked like lots of above soil congestion which may suggest below soil congestion. If so then there may not be much soil left and a quick repot would eliminate that congested aspect. If it were mine I'd up-pot it (at least double that pot size) and trim the bad off, maybe plunge it briefly in a bucket of water before potting. In a larger pot you can more easily monitor watering, don't keep it damp but let it get dry in the sun.