I got two 1 gal. Otatea acuminata ssp. aztecorum 'Dwarf' a couple weeks ago (March 8th). They looked great when they arrived, but now one looks like hell (over 75% leaf drop).
A brief history:
Unpack and water
Place in shade and water every few days (careful not to over water because they don't like wet feet).
after a week I started giving them a few hours of sun/day, but not full day sun.
moved them from their crowded 1 gal. pot to 3 gal. pot (I used Miracle Grow potting soil).
Location: Harlingen, TX Zone 10, Sunset Zone 27. 33' above sea level. 27 inches of rain/year. 22 Miles to the Laguna Madre. 27 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. 17 miles from Mexico. Lower Rio Grande Valley - Deep South Texas
I see too many waterings in there. I water all my other boo in pots about once every other day. My Mexican Weeping... definitely no more than once per week. It is in a 38 gallon pot.
It has good drainage, and the soil doesn't seem too wet, but I'll cut back on the waterings, and see how it fares.
I guess it could just be shock from the shipping, since I am treating both of the new Mexican Weeping dwarfs exactly the same, and one is clearly doing better than the other.
Hello,
It is common for bamboo to lose nearly all leaves when going into a new climate. It is possible yours is doing that. This is more common with tropical clumpers as they prefer the environment to be relatively constant. The Mexican Weeping is a pretty much a full sun plant and was growing in nearly full sun here at the nursery.
It is nearly impossible to overwater bamboo if there is good drainage. In a container with drain holes, you can and should water a lot.... plants dry out more quickly in pots. This will be especially true in the summer.
Your other bamboos need some shade, so don't move them into full sun. The Otatea may need a bit of shade in your intense Texas sun in the summertime, but should be fine with more sun now than it is currently getting.
I had my wife move them into a more sunny location, so hopefully between cutting back on their waterings and getting some more sun they should make a quick recovery.
Dont know if this is related but.. when I brought my tropical seedlings outside from the greenhouse, they curled their leaves. Dropped a bunch of leaves too. Going from a near 100% RH to half of that is a big shock.
My potted ones here have been kept pretty wet, the compost is a very gritty soli based mix with good drainage holes, never had a problem with overwatering. Getting them used to full summer sun and lower humidity after being overwintered in a g-house is hard work tho
Bamboo...Please note... This plant is seriously addictive and you may lose interest in other, less rewarding plants!
You may have created a wet spot when you repotted. I have seen that with Palms, the pot looks like it drains well but some how a mini bog gets created right at the interface between the original root ball and the new potting mix. Does not seem to mater what type of mix you are using. I would gently unpot it and remove the new mix and re pot. If it did make the "bog" you will find it doing this. Usually plants recover after a looong delay when their roots get past the bad spot with out doing any thing but with an Otatea I wouldn't risk it.
MarCat
Location: Harlingen, TX Zone 10, Sunset Zone 27. 33' above sea level. 27 inches of rain/year. 22 Miles to the Laguna Madre. 27 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. 17 miles from Mexico. Lower Rio Grande Valley - Deep South Texas
I have seen more people kill or almost kill their Mexican Weeping bamboo through overwatering... including me. They need about 1/4 of the water almost any other bamboo needs. Mine is usually very happy with what I would normally consider almost bone dry. I don't water more than once a week and if it rains I consider that watering.
Mine lost half the culms once when it rained for a week. It is in a 38 gallon pot... with lots of holes for drainage.
boonut, that's just mad-here it can rain for months let alone a week and this plant just seems fine in wet conditions. Their must be something going on with regards to conditions that's effecting this plant, we can't be farther apart in terms of growing conditions but it's interesting none the less
I split mine into six last Autumn, here a pic from one today;
Bamboo...Please note... This plant is seriously addictive and you may lose interest in other, less rewarding plants!
A bamboo seldom dies on me it seems, but the Mexican Weeping has the record. The only other I have ever lost was my only Myan Silver! I have lost about 4 Mexican weeping bamboo before and also 2 knowledgeable growers I know lost the ones I gave them! That tells me they can be a little difficult to establish in my opinion. I now have only 2 large healthy established and a third one in critical care.
I have heard they don't like wet feet and are difficult to establish. I have also heard they like lime. That might explain why mine by my road is doing well because there is what I call hard lime, you know the kind they use under asphalt roads in the soil. Other than that I think matching the soil and climate of the central western Mexico might help.
until I figure this out, my current method, out of desperation, before I kill any more, is not to bother them at all. The more I move or fuss over them they die unlike other bamboos which love the attention. I Let the soil dry before watering, watch the leaves, they will tell you, and I don't fertilize them except the larger established ones I do once a year which to me is not much compared to 3 or more times a year for other boos. It seems Mexican Weeping bamboo is slow to get growing until it is established so I don't try to push it or it will die. I will try dividing some this summer.
Ive known a few people that have had theirs die here in texas from getting wet, I think they need to be planted on mounds to ensure drainage ,good luck
