Uphill vs Downhill advance of running Bamboo

[dgoddard]

I have multiple groves of Phyloscachys aureosulcatta growing along the gravel road in front of my yard. The alleged soil there is whatever the bulldozer left when the road was built. My groves provide me with a dust barrier and within 2 years after they were planted were giving me a significant dust reduction now at about 5 years they are very effective where I have them depending on wind direction. Being at the top of a hill, the road surface is about 2 feet below the original land surface and the groves are at the top of a bank, I have been trying for years to get better growth and particularly to get the growth to advance down the bank towards the road. I even made efforts to fertilize the bank to entice rhizomes to grow on that side. Instead the bamboo showed a marked preference for growning into the lawn .

This year I gave the groves plenty of lime in the early spring and I have been blessed with vigorous growth. Whereas the largest culms in one of the groves is only about 1/2 inch and maybe 10 feet tall at most, this year the new culms are in the 3/4 to 1 inch range, and I expect I will probably see much taller growth.

I have been trying to narrow the gap where my driveway goes through as my groves are my dust screen and the driveway gap is about twice what the driveway is. The shorter grove has rewarded me with healthy culms at the south end beside the driveway as shown in this picture.

Strong_Growth-Grove_End.JPG (147.85 KiB) Viewed 5273 times

And for the very first time I am seeing growth from rhizomes advancing down the bank as shown in this picture.

My backyard grove is on a slope and has always shown stronger growth on the uphill side or level end than on the downhill side. I am wondering if this is a growth characteristic of Phylostachys Aureosulcatta and other running bamboos.

The question is not entirely academic as I have an earthen dam that forms my pond and it has trees on it that endanger it as trees can push roots through a dam which can make leaks if the tree dies. I am informed that bamboo stabilizes dam's surface and does not endanger it with its characteristic root structure. Also bamboo groves will choke out trees by shading them so saplings do not grow. So if the bamboo prefers to advance up hill, that would suggest that it ought to be planted near the foot of the dam to encourage it taking over. It will have enough trouble as the dam is mostly rocky subsoil clay and and rather poor. From past experience I doubt if the Extension agents can tell me what NPK and what PH is optimum for Phylostachys Aureosulcatta as not all that many people around here grow it, (in fact I am one of the few that does).

Just as an aside, does anyone know if there is a good rule of thumb for stem diameter vs maximum height that can be used to estimate how tall a bamboo culm will get?

[oobmab]

I think uphill/downhill is irrelevant. As well as compass direction. I have some bissettii planted near a road that I thought would have the strongest growth south towards the road and more sunlight, but its strongest growth is north into a more shaded area. I am now of the mind that the strongest initial growth will be in the direction that the strongest rhizomes are pointed when planted, and that this can affect the whole grove's growth characteristic for a certain period of time. Also, better soil, whether uphill or downhill, would encourage growth, which may be the case in your situation.

If you plant boo at the top of your dam, after reaching the water's edge, apart from laterally, it only has one direction it can go, downhill.

What benefit does lime provide to boo?

[dependable]

It is easier to keep watered at the bottom of a berm or hill. The rhizomes will eventually go everywhere. All things being equal, down hill takes longer as the rhizomes are more likely to grow out into the air and become whip shoots.

Lime helps bring soil closer to pH neutral if soil is acid. Bamboo seems to like this, also more nutrients are available to plants around pH neutral than in acidic or basic soils.

Am not aware of any rule of thumb about culm thickness vs height. This would vary with species in any case. Also, sometimes culms will grow at shorter than maximum internode length if enough water and nutrients are available during shooting.

[oobmab]

It is easier to keep watered at the bottom of a berm or hill. The rhizomes will eventually go everywhere. All things being equal, down hill takes longer as the rhizomes are more likely to grow out into the air and become whip shoots.

I wonder how steep a grade has to get for whipping to be a problem? I see little whipping on grade; just the dolphin surface and dive thing. I wonder if dgoddard had much whipping on his slope?

[dependable]

I see it on my berms, which are usually between 30 & 45 degrees. Probably would be less of a factor on a more gentle slope.