I wonder if anyone could confirm that these look like Vivax shoots. The parent grove is in Asheville NC. The owner didn't know the name of this one and I forgot to take a camera. The tallest culms I would judge were around 50' x 3+". There was no apparent burn from winter. These came with a package deal where I got three other (known and new to me) species that should make good plants. I have placed these in some good soil, in the shade and will keep watered and see what happens.


Thanks .. Matt

It looks similar to vivax shoots, but taking rhizome divisions while they're this tall already is just going to cause them to abort and possibly send up short survival growth. It would of been much better if you took the divisions a few weeks ago when the shoots haven't emerged yet.

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Thanks stevelau1911,
I've spent enough time here and in my books that I knew these were pretty much a lost cause, but now that I know where the grove is, there is a chance I can get back there at a more appropriate time to get a good division. Would these rhizomes have a better chance of survival and making a shoot next spring if I go ahead and clip or break the existing shoots from them?
Matt

Hard for me to say whether or not it is Vivax, in fact one shoot looks like Atrovaginata but I have to echo Steve, here, I'd go ahead and plant those but I would expect them all to crap out. It looks like most if not all of the buds on those short rhizomes are already pushing shoots that will surely abort and that does not leave any more buds for future plants so if they do crap out I'd toss them away, no point in snipping them off those shoots are their only chance I'd guess. And if they do manage to hang on they'll be in survivor mode for years and take forever to get going.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

Thanks Brad, It isn't huge if these never make anything. In the package (at a relatively reasonable price) I also got Sasa veitchii, Dwarf Greenstripe and a broadleaf variety that I'll need to do a little more research on. My wife and I enjoyed meeting the owner (sorta made a new bamboo friend), got to visit the biggest bamboo grove I've ever seen and overall had a good little day trip. Everything was already dug and ready when we got there. The owner assured me if the shoots fail that we could make another try. I'll get some good culm and leaf photos when I go back. I'm guessing vivax because there were several broken culms from this past winter snow and they showed what looked like thin walls to my admittedly inexperienced eye.
Matt

To completely document this experiment here are the photos of what is left. Brad and Steve you were "dead" accurate with your predictions ("this tall already is just going to cause them to abort and possibly send up short survival growth"). The shoot that came up in the middle photo isn't strong enough to hold its self up. There is another small one on the lower left of the third shot, maybe it will do better.
Learning as I go, Matt

This one looks like a rhizome whip.

Hey Matt,

one thing to do that will help with the weak divisions like that is to make sure they have contiuous fertilizer... hard to do, since they dont have the root mass to take up much water, but each time you water (more on that in a bit) use some water soluble fertilizer at the label recomendation. personally, I would go with a balanced fert, something like 12-12-12, or somesuch...

on water and new, weak divisions- you REALLY have to watch it... the tendency is to water and keep the ground wet ( most people think in terms of cuttings from herbacious plants), however, with bamboo, you will rot the rhizomes if you keep it too wet. ideal is about the dampness that potting soil comes out of the bag like... hard to acheive, I know. on a bamboo division, if you are having problems at that moisture level, its because there is not enough root mass, and you need to sacrifce some leaf area- whether you pluck them off individually, or just take a pair of clippers to the culm and cut it donw is up to you!

anway, looks like you did have something make it there, so just keep if fed, and give it a couple years to build some strenght. if it is vivax, in two to three years you should start to see some real growth.

Not a rhizome whip, these guys will not likely have the energy to push any rhizome unless WAY down the road, what you are seeing is a shoot from a very weak rhizome. These will come up normally, then sort of flatten out before flopping over and crapping out.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

isn't it due of the fact the soil is too wet for this weak rhizome ?

thank you


ph

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Yes, I agree Philippe, the wet soil will exacerbate this problem very much.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

[quote="ghmerrill"]Hey Matt,

one thing to do that will help with the weak divisions like that is to make sure they have contiuous fertilizer... hard to do, since they dont have the root mass to take up much water, but each time you water (more on that in a bit) use some water soluble fertilizer at the label recomendation. personally, I would go with a balanced fert, something like 12-12-12, or somesuch...

quote]

does everybody agree with using soluble fertilizer on weak divisions ?

I ve often heard that it s better not to push weak plants with fertilizer ?

would you do it too on a bamboo who has lost all it leaves after a tough winter ?

thank you


philippe

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As a further update on this experiment. It continued to put up shoots, some flopped but a few made it with support. Today noticed a rhizome poking up on the end of the tub. I moved them to a permanent home in the field. The visible rhizome was from a plant on the other end of the tub, over two feet long! It's buried now.


Matt