Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

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sporkandbeans
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Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

My 15ish year-old grove of P. Japonica flowered like crazy the Summer of 2020 and has looked terrible ever since. At first I was excited to gather some seeds, but the plants lost most of their leaves and flowered again the following year. So far this year, there's no signs of improvement. No new leaves since it flowered.

I'm afraid it's slowly dying. I only had a few new shoots last year and it's almost time for this year's shoots to arrive, if there are any. I fed it with Miracle Gro grass fertilizer once last spring and again a few weeks ago, as I do my other bamboos.

Have a look at these attached pictures. This grove is such a focal point behind our pool fence, I hate to lose it. If it does die, will the soil be completely void of nutrients? If I cut it all back and plant more P. Japonica in the ground among the miles of rhizomes already there, would it have a chance of growing to maturity?
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by needmore »

Did you get seedlings sprouting up from it? Just guessing but I'd expect it to not recover or at least I would not wait for it to do so much longer and although a daunting task, I'd try to remove the mass and replant something new. Maybe wait as long as you can but have a plan B ready.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

It's going to be a daunting task, for sure. I never got around to planting the seeds I harvested from it a few years ago. They're still in the fridge.

I wonder if cutting all the culms to the ground would give more energy to the root system to aid in recovery?
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by Tarzanus »

Yes. The flowering culms will remain flowering as far as I know. You should cut off every culm that is flowering to save its energy. Hopefully it starts growing non-flowering culms and recovers. What caused it to flower is another question..
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

I just noticed more flowers on several culms, so I guess that settles it. I'd wager most every culm has flowered, so I imagine they've all got to be removed. Man this sucks.

My saltwater pool backwash line exits just outside the grove, so I wonder if years of salt stressed/killed it. It doesn't dump into the grove, but maybe it's just too close. I'll extend the pool line and start cutting it all out with a cordless saws-all this week in hopes of renewed growth this season.
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by needmore »

I must really be getting old, I'm thinking that if I were you I'd consider hiring someone with a backhoe or trencher if the area could be accessed.
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

needmore wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 2:31 am I must really be getting old, I'm thinking that if I were you I'd consider hiring someone with a backhoe or trencher if the area could be accessed.
Yeah, that would have been a good idea, but I'm a glutton for punishment sometimes. I sawed out everything except a narrow 2' strip along the fence for privacy. It looks like there's more than there really is because of the way it wraps around near the driveway. It took about 3 hours including cleanup, but at least it's done. Would it be worth it to snip off the flowering branches on what remains? What about feeding it again this Spring?
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by needmore »

Looks good! I was mainly thinking about removing all of the rhizome mass with equip so it would be easier to restart something in that area-rejuv the soil etc..
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

2 months after cutting nearly everything down with hopes of new growth, it looks promising. Lots of fresh green new plants popped up and have me crossing my fingers. These are about 2 feet tall.
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by pokenei »

Are those new growth seedlings? They sure look like it.
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by dependable »

They may be new seedlings, or could be new growth that came from newer rhizomes that will probably not be affected by flowering. I saw the same thing when Phyllostachys flexiosa flowered. All the old grove was dead or dying, but new growth came up around perimeter of grove that never flowered and is now fine.

Problem for the OP is that the whole footprint of original grove may be dead. What I would advise is to mow all the old stuff down and see if any new growth comes up after that. Best machine for the job would be a hydraulically powered brush hog on a skid steer or mini track loader. If one mows over a few times with one of these it chops up the debris and makes it easy to remove, or compost in place.

If no new growth comes up and you want to get rid of root mass, either use chain trencher to cut in squares,and machine w forks to lift it out, or little excavator will work.
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Re: Will my P. Japonica recover after flowering a few years ago?

Post by sporkandbeans »

They're not seedlings, but new growth from the existing rhizomes from the original grove. I can't bring myself to mow down any of it down until I see what happens with it. The new growth is completely inside the perimeter of the grove, so hopefully it's just hit a reset button.

I did mow (cut) all the old stuff down; this is what popped up a few months afterward.
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