After finally getting my 1 inch shoot in late summer, I really want it to grow faster so it has a chance to branch/leaf out before bringing it inside for winter. Will a heating pad really help at all in getting the shoot to grow faster or does the air temperature + sunlight need to be increased too? I have done this indoors and had positive results with an increase in the speed of the shoot compared to the ones without extra heat, but it is a bit different being outdoors in full sun.

This D sinicus shoot is coming up way too late in the season. I'm hoping an added 5 degrees in soil temperature will help it out.

If this works well, then heating cables in the ground should work very well to help extend the growing season for new plantings, but those take up too much wattage as opposed to my 10 watt seedling heat pad which will still warm up large pots, just slower and not by as much.

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http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

There seems to be some minimum temperature that inhibits tropical bamboo shooting and growth but in my experience adequate rain seems to be a more important factor above that minimum temperature. Even watering does not seem to have the same effect as rain. It may be that high humidity or wetting of the leaves is also a factor. It is not unusual for my bamboo to shoot in the fall after a rain and then halt without leafing out when it turns dry. New shoots seem to go into stasis during the winter even if it rains. These will then leaf out in the spring if they have not been winter killed.

I would have thought the temperatures during September are still high enough for growth where you are, but if you do decide to heat the pot/soil, make sure it does not dry out if the fall weather is warm, dry, and windy.

Mike near Brenham TX

After 3 weeks, this shoot has finally passed the other one up in height, but this plant seems to be getting a bigger and bigger appetite for water as it gets bigger since the pot dries out only in a couple days when it is sunny. Hopefully it won't stay as thirsty once this shoot is done growing because I'm letting someone hold it in their greenhouse over the winter.

I'm kinda interested to see how big giant tropicals can get around here.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

I have also noticed the effects that a good rain shower has on bamboo. I can water, fertilize, and all that good stuff. But every time a good rain comes along, it all takes off like a rocket. I think it's the minerals in the rain water that really adds to their growth. Treated water contains too much chlorine which IMO inhibits growth. Treated water (tap water) is also filtered which takes away some minerals plants need such as iron.

Rain is like a can of spinach for Popeye!!!

I recently read that rain water contains more Oxygen due to the molecules being excited. Similar to what an air stone in an aquarium does. It aerates the water. There is a new hose nozel that claims to have the same effect. The water is presurized and bubbled before it comes out the nozzel.

I noticed then same thing with rain. I watered regularly since there was quite a drought for a while, nothing happened - then we've had one rainy day, with only moderate amount of rainfall, and bamboo immediately went crazy.

It might be CO2 and O2 from atmosphere, that gets trapped into raindrop water. Both can be absorbed through foliage as well as roots, which means that plant can easily receive large amounts of required elements that can be hard to find in poor soil (wet, dry, bad drainage,..).