help my black bamboo is dying

[pattitude]

I planted 100 feet of black bamboo 2 months ago, In 2 foot by 2 foot trench. I am watering them 2x a week for 20 mins, the tops are dying and i'm getting new clums. I live in southern california we have not had a winter, I'm pretty stressed because I spent $1500 on these. To separate them we had to use a jack hammer they arrived in huge 36' x 36" containers. Any help would be appreciated. Can I save them

[ShmuBamboo]

By separating them, did you split them when you planted them? As in breaking them apart with the jack hammer from larger plants? If that is the case, you likely severed and cut and smashed a lot of rhizome, and the result of that is that any culms left with little or no rhizomes are dying off.

The good news is the fact that you are getting new culms shooting, which means that they are not dead. Generally I have found that black bamboo can be rather fussy about being split and replanted. They take longer to re-establish than many other types of bamboos that I have grown.

One thing I would recommend is that you mulch them with wood chips or large bark chips. That will keep the soil from drying out as much between watering. Also if you have any gophers in your yard, they will want to dine on the bamboo rhizomes. You do not say where you live in SoCal, so I cannot give you much more advice.

[pattitude]

I live in Costa Mesa, about a mile from the coast. I really appreciate your input. To separate the large containers I had to be aggressive with the plants. it was like breaking up a rock. The nursery told me that i could separate the large containers and the bamboo would be ok. Is there anything I can do to help the clums that were chopped up.

Here is what I started with

[dependable]

Yeh, the new shoot is a good sign. Keep them watered, any reason they are still tied up? Letting them loose might help, but be careful of that new shoot, it is still in tender mode.

The green culms are the newest ones. If any of the old culms are fully dead, trim them out to make room for live stuff.

[oobmab]

With new shoots coming up, you should be good to go. I'd leave the culms with dead leaves alone until you know they won't be leafing out again. Those are decent size divisions, so it makes me think the trauma they experienced involves more than just dividing the larger ones. Perhaps they suffered dry conditions pre-delivery. Or perhaps you dislodged too much dirt from the root ball via vibration from the jack hammer. Slicing with a sharp spade when the root ball is wet is a much better way to make divisions. They really hate it when you loosen the dirt from around their roots. The dead leaves are a typical response to an overly traumatized root ball. Been there, done that.

[oobmab]

Here is what I started with

Wow those are (were) fine looking plants. The best way IMO to have divided those up would have been to lay them on their sides, soak the rootball, then use a large, tandem push-pull tree saw, or very sharp, thin ax to minimize soil disruption. Jack hammer? Not so good.

[pattitude]

Thanks for all your replies, I will keep you update don my progress. Any suggestion in a boost fertilizer or b1,
Thanks
Patrick

[dependable]

Yes to the fertilizer, not sure about 'b1', is that considered a micro nutrient now? When fertilizing plants with freshly damaged roots, low dosage with lots of water is good.

[needmore]

Can't see the orig photos well enough to say for sure but based on those you posted , to me the original planters look WAY congested and already showing signs of stress from that as there appear to be some off color leaves. If the rootball was like rock that also supports severe congestion and not much soil fell away I bet when you pulled them? If true then I would agree with the strategy of culling old culms now to create more of a balance between rhizome/root mass and the top foliage, this should create less competition for water.

[boonut]

Good post Brad... couldn't agree more. Balance between top and bottom is critical... especially with the recent stress.

[johnw]

Brad - Good point about the problem of severe congestion and the resultant watering problem. I am fighting the same battle with a huge Eucalyptus. The solution is a 7 gallon pail with a tiny hole in the bottom and that hole has a piece of capillary matting in it so the water drips out very slowly into the root ball. You just have to be careful the water or fert mix in the pail is perfectly clear or the matting will clog up. Might be a solution for that bamboo shown, It is such a slow drip I'd keep the bucket topped up for a month.

Thoughts?

Luckily we got 3" of very fluffy snow just before the temp fell to -9c last night. At least no bare ground.

johnw

[oobmab]

Can't see the orig photos well enough to say for sure but based on those you posted , to me the original planters look WAY congested and already showing signs of stress from that as there appear to be some off color leaves. If the rootball was like rock that also supports severe congestion and not much soil fell away I bet when you pulled them? If true then I would agree with the strategy of culling old culms now to create more of a balance between rhizome/root mass and the top foliage, this should create less competition for water.

You folks certainly are the experts. My reasoning would be that since it takes so much energy to produce new culms, just leave the leafless ones alone until it is known that they are dead. Then if more photosynthesis is needed, new leaves are all that is needed. Bamboo seems to have an incredible innate intelligence to know how to regulate what it needs. But honestly, I really don't know anything compared to you guys.

[jd.]

Balancing the foliage with disturbed roots becomes more important in hot dry weather.

Pruning tends to be more beneficial at planting time before leaves die. As it is, that black bamboo has already self-pruned many leaves and has sent up recovery shoots.

If the roots cannot recover fast enough to compensate for water loss due to the seasonal rise in temperature, pruning some old culms and leaves may still be prudent. For example, without a well-established root system a new plant that's okay at 77°F (25°C) may suffer at 95°F (35°C).

[Mackel in DFW]

Sometimes you can get waterlogging problems, when watering on a schedule rather than sticking your finger down in the dirt, to see what you got. The unearthed soil collapes all it's air pores with excessive water, while at the same time, the rootball (of any plant) might still be on the dry side.

With totally rootbound bamboo, I've sprayed the outside with a hose, to rough up the rootball a bit, and removed any large chunks of organic matter, then soaked the root ball in a large pot full of fine textured, compost stew. When I did this the first time, after a while, I notced all the fine compost particles fill up the root ball in all it's tiny cracks and crevices. At that point, I planted the bamboo, but a little high in the dirt. Like in a mound.

When watering after planting, I turned on the hose real, real slow, trying to not water-log the soil by not being on a water schedule, but by paying attention to the dirt. I'd poke at it, prod it, push a stick down in it to check for moisture levels and soil tilth. It ws bambusoides, and it had gnats all over it, aphids, chunks of synthetic fertilizer, pieces of bark all in it's root ball; I rinsed all this stuff out with a hose, and soaked it fer awhile... It was a sad 15 gallon bamusoides, but it took off and didn't look back with good luck and a little guesswork.

If your soil is waterlogged, remove the top dressing and let it dry out. Focus on trickle watering the root balls. I use Garrett Juice on anything that's sick. In the meantime, practice some good zen, know that nigra is a difficult little ninny, a dirty little mistress, a high-maintance love affair that may end up her needing to be replaced. Or not. I'd assuredly throw in another species to let her know, she's not the only horse you keep in the stable. M

[Mackel in DFW]

Later, I have taken potbound rootballs, sprayed down the mass to get it opened up as much as possible, without damaging the rhizomes or roots, and soaked it in a half compost/half soil stew, then planted it. Seems to help with the problem of the barrier that the soil and the root ball create at their interface, that inhibits the free transference of water. M