P. dulcis?

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iain
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P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

I purchased this last year as P. dulcis, but the one new shoot that it has produced has a marvellous red blush to it somewhat reminiscent of P. aureosulcata forms. Maybe this is a normal characteristic, I just haven't read this in any descriptions of the plant.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by Tarzanus »

Culm is too glossy. I think it's not aureosulcata. It is, however,a young juvenile shoot. Characteristics of the more mature shoots are not yet available at this point.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by needmore »

I think that Dulcis is one in Europe that can frequently be not the US form and perhaps not correct. Also possible the US form is not correct...
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

Thank you for your input, Tarzanus, I'm looking forward to seeing just how it develops. The plant arrived in June of last year in pretty bad shape and in July it produced a flower. I assume the stress of being thrown around in the back of a courier van on the hottest day of the year had stimulated this.

needmore, This is all very confusing.
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Not a good photo but added for comparison to latest shoot.
Not a good photo but added for comparison to latest shoot.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by needmore »

I reread my post and I am confused as well. It is my understanding that many of the plants labelled as Dulcis in Europe are not Dulcis. If so, that means folks are buying what is thought of as Dulcis but is not. Here is what Jos has written

... In that period a few hardy giants came to Europe, but we are still breaking our minds about their identification. Two of them survived the severe winter of ‘96/’97 without problems and produced in three growing seasons culms of about 4 cm diameter. One of these might be a strong Phyllostachys dulcis, despite the frost sensitive clone from the USA with the same name we knew already. The other bamboo looks very much like a Phyllostachys iridescens without stripes.

and he says this:

Confusion about Phyllostachys vivax
A bamboo that more scarce in Europe than we think, is the green form of Phyllostachys vivax. About 6 to 7 years ago, this species was imported from China in large numbers. At least, that was what growers assumed. In the meantime, it has become clear that a range of new species have been imported with very few, or perhaps even no real Ph. vivax. One species occurred in larger numbers and I gave it the provisional name Shanghai 2. This bamboo resembled Ph. vivax as a rapid grower, but the leaves were smaller and less arching. The early yellowish shoots looked rather like Ph. dulcis. A detailed study of pictures of the shoots of this plant in the "Compendium of Chinese Bamboo" as well as other sources and examples removed most of our doubts. These plants withstood very low temperatures (down to -19°C or -2°F) very well, contrary to Ph. vivax. This species had to be the real Ph. dulcis that could also survive the harsh winters of Beijing. This also means that the bamboo previously distributed in Europe from the US under the name of Ph. dulcis cannot be the real species or is another clone and should be placed with the other Phyllostachys sp., the species without names.


I consider him to be very knowledgeable so based on his comments it seems to me that the US Dulcis may be a different bamboo entirely or at least only one clone of Dulcis and not the one common to Beijing, and since those plants went to Europe as Dulcis, they are probably not but some real Dulcis might be there.

Not sure that is any less confusing...
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

Cheers for elaborating things for me. I tell you, I could read a history of timber bamboos (with pictures) imported into the West, if it were possible.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

Look what popped up today. I didn't expect more this year, especially after I had pruned out all of the culms! Saying that, the pruning may have stimulated this.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

Judging by this I think the mature leaves may be relatively wide for their length.
Judging by this I think the mature leaves may be relatively wide for their length.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by needmore »

My first thought is that shoot does not look like Dulcis but I'd ignore me, a single shoot can betray ID. Also ignore those leaves, they are almost always odd sized on juvenile bamboo.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

I appreciate the input and take what you say. The mature culms sheaths of P. dulcis are pale white. I'll keep posting developments. The shoot is two to three times the thickness of first shoot produced this year. Hopefully it will surprise and upsize quickly. That is what I was expecting from dulcis.
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Re: P. dulcis?

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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

I was surprised to find new shoots about 18" away from the main clump. I expected it would stay tight and maybe upsize a bit.
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

This morning I spotted a new shoot emerging from the clump. What has happened to the culm sheaths?
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by fredgpops »

Looks like squirrel feasting but could be Inverness monster. Large poop around?
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Re: P. dulcis?

Post by iain »

I haven't stepped in anything. But there is a grey squirrel around.

Speaking of monsters, the garden last year was overrun with slugs, most noticeably the one commonly named Spanish. I lost a couple of shoots - no great loss - but even the large leaves of the ivy Hedera Colchica were damaged and looked unsightly. I thought this might be the new norm, a consequence of living by woodland and heavy mulching, but this year, apart from a couple of black slugs, I haven't seen one. Maybe it's still early.
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