Boo-Shoots 2016

[T9D]

All 20 or so of my bamboo types are all done shooting and leafed out.

It's amazing how fast Rubromarginata grows. I didn't even get around to getting photos of the shoots and the next thing you know it's done. Such an odd shooter anyway though. It shoots, branches out, and leafs out all at the same time. Instead of stages like the others. And it's insanely thick and dense with crazy amounts of culms. Huge upsize. But it didn't spread even one bit. I always heard it's a crazy spreader, much faster than upsizer. But I only got a big upsize. Next year spreader I guess.

[cole]

Thirty-one days of continuous shooting, then two days of nothing. It was really cool to find a skinny new baby this afternoon in a bed that's shadier than my others. Possibly arundinaria gigantea (river cane). This is a spot I buried six bare rhizomes that were basically 'throw-aways'. Poor culm buds and the largest was eight inches.

[stevelau1911]

Even though the parvifolia didn't make many shoots, none of them any bigger than the fattest one from last year, there are 2 of them that may end up exceeding the tallest shoots of last year, as they have already broken the 20ft mark without much branching yet. My guess is that they should end up a similar size. It's still definitely the best performer in my climate.


Phyllostachys atrovaginata was once up to near 19ft tall, and over an inch in diameter back in 2013 before the tough winters happened, and this year, it doesn't look like it will have any culms taller than 12ft seeing that it has downsized for 3 years straight. It is a similar bamboo to parvifolia, but just doesn't seem to have as much vigor, or cold hardiness so it doesn't look like it has any chances of regaining the title of the largest bamboo in my grove.


P Nigra looks like it will need a warm winter to get any bigger than it is now which is not bad. I think the tallest culm is somewhere close to 11ft. It's shoots this year are pretty much an identical size to the ones that came up last year.

[bambambooboo]

Bambusa vulgaris



last years vulgaris for scale


Bambusa malingensis aka Maling aka Seabreeze


Bambusa pervariabilis 'Viridistriata' aka Sunburst


Gigantochloa atroviolacea aka Tropical Black



Bambusa eutuldoides 'Viridivittata' aka Asian Lemon



Dendrocalamus asper 'Betung Hitam' - Black Asper


Bambusa emeiensis 'Flavidovirens'

[bambambooboo]

Bambusa membranacea striatus






Bambusa chungii aka Tropical Blue




Dendrocalamus minor 'Amoenus' aka Angel Mist

[pokenei]

...
It's pretty awesome how parvifolia leafs back out all the way, but the drawback is hardly any energy allocated to shoot production. At least there's no loss even with one extremely cold night at -12F. How cold does it have to get to cause top kill on parvifolia? ...

Actually, I think you were on the edge there. All my bamboos (including parvifolia) were top killed, possibly on that same night you mentioned. My climate being only slightly colder than yours. However, other factors may be that I didn't heavily mulch my bamboos. And there was zero snow cover this past winter.

[stevelau1911]

I bet that may have ended up giving you more shoots than I got. I think only around a dozen shoots came up, the best, no bigger than 1.5 inches reaching a bit over 20ft, just about the same size as the biggest ones from last year, but there are quite a few scrappy small shoots coming up along the edge.

It doesn't look like a bamboo likes to make many shoots when it likes to completely defoliate, then refoliate all the way back, but at least there's no size loss, perhaps a bit of increase in foliar mass this year.

[needmore]

bambambooboo - great shoots and species collection there, I'm assuming by the species & pines that you are in central or south FL?

[bambambooboo]

bambambooboo - great shoots and species collection there, I'm assuming by the species & pines that you are in central or south FL?

Thank you. & yes, was south now central-ish. Filled U-Haul with boos from southern garden. Most survived fairly well. I did lose sacred Bali (Schizostachyum brachycladum Yellow Form) which I didn't think would necessarily thrive but thought might survive with just top kill and new pretty growth each season if only I could get it established. But then in the first few years we had very odd, bad freezes. I kept it alive for about three or four years before it gave up the, um, boo ghost.

I've kept teddy bear (Dendrocalamus brandisii) surviving but not thriving, hopefully will finally get some sized up culms this season after years in the ground already, though I did divide & re-relocate it about two years back. The Betung is doing very well after a rough start. I've planted that on the far side in case of top kill after maturity so felling a culm won't hit a house. Everything else has done pretty well, having relocated from 10plus to 9ish (supposedly 9b but I mostly plant for 9a as I think I'm in a cold spot.)

As to the pine, they're long leaf, very similar to the scrub pines of the previous garden. Same look just longer needles and bigger cones.

[trepanier]

Haven't been on in a while, but the bamboo is doing amazing things here in Kentucky. My mother (she loves boo to)beside Phyllostachys Parvifolia in 2014 to now Phyllostachys parvifolia 2014 by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys parvifolia 2016 by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys parvifolia shoot by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys parvifolia shoots by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys vivax 'Aureocaulis' shoots about 6 to 7 feet tall by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostackys vivax Aureocaulis by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys vivax Aureocaulis on left next to Phyllostachys atrovaginata by Daniel Trepanier, on FlickrPhyllostachys aurea Koi by Daniel Trepanier, on Flickr

[needmore]

Dendrocalamus sp. 'Parker's Giant' thus far does seem to want to size up quickly.