New grower, new plant: basic pruning question

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Saklo
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New grower, new plant: basic pruning question

Post by Saklo »

Howdy, I'm new to bamboo and have two clumper starter plants. The one in question is a D. minor in a 15" pot that was grown from a node cutting. The action is in two thickish new culms it's sending up at opposite sides, one only 5" tall and the other above 2 feet. At center is the mother culm, a 2" stub of of dead wood, but radiating out from its buried node, mostly to one side, are a set of leggy branches (regrowth or original, I don't know) that reach out as much as two yards or more in length. Once it's planted, those leafy branch ends will mostly be resting on the ground or up against one thing or another unless I rig something up.

Pruning off all those branches would, among other things, make it much easier to situate the plant in its spot but I don't know if it has stored up enough energy to keep those new culms going -- or whether losing the foliage would conversely allow it to focus on culm growth instead. I'm not concerned about aesthetics at this point, just the health of the plant. I've tried perusing past threads and haven't found anything, but I'm sure someone here has some experience in this department. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!
dependable
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Re: New grower, new plant: basic pruning question

Post by dependable »

If you don't mind how it looks, leave as much live growth on the plant as is convenient. Starting out, they can use all the biomass and leaves they can get. If there is something really in the way of planting easily, cutting or tying it back probably OK.
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Glen
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Re: New grower, new plant: basic pruning question

Post by Glen »

This is a common situation, and while it is tempting to remove some of the floppy growth, I advise against it.

Growth is mostly a function of leaf area, so a small plant should be allowed to keep as much foliage as possible.

This is not to say that removing some of the growth would necessarily be a disaster, but it would definitely not do anything good for the plant.

In fact, I normally let a plant grow for at least a couple years before I remove any live growth.

It is perfectly fine (and probably a benefit) to place a stake or post in the ground and tie the floppy growth in an upright position.
Saklo
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Re: New grower, new plant: basic pruning question

Post by Saklo »

Thanks very much for the input. As it happens I put it into the ground six days ago, but decided to be cautious and retained most of the foliage, gathering the branches in a very loose bundle that keeps them extending in the best direction. And I say "most of the foliage" because one of my other considerations was pest control. A single leaf had a pair of mite nests under it, and here and there on other leaves a rust pathogen that is apparently a fairly recent arrival in the US. I want to avoid establishing either at my place, so anything that looked suspicious was clipped, and I'm keeping my eye on it.
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