New page with some cold damage photos & info blah blah

[needmore]

http://needmorebamboo.com/winter2011.html

[Bamboo Conne'isseur]

That is some great information, thanks for posting it. I see you had a few types that still look nice. One of those really stands out, and I'd be willing to bet this bamboo can handle the greatest range of temps. of any known bamboo and that is Phyllostachys rubromarginata. This runner intrigues me due to its high range of temp. that it tolerates. I know of this runner growing fairly well under a canopy in Florida, and although its not big, its steadily been sizing up. So its handling the heat of Florida, and the cold of Indiana. Amazing.

[Alan_L]

Brad -- really surprised the glauca 'Yunzhu' looks that good. We must have had much more wind than you, again verifying that temperature is not the only factor when it comes to cold damage.

[fatsopilot]

I don't get it, below is my Ph. Aureo. I checked and we have had only two nights reach 0 F. My plant has been in the ground 2 1/2 years. It hasn't been particularly windy here either. Should I expect my plant to harden to the cold over the next few years or maybe it is a different species? How old is your Ph. A. grove?

[Alan_L]

Is it straight Phy. aureosulcata, or a different form? Are you certain of the ID?

[stevelau1911]

Aureosulcata should not really even burn at 0F. It got down to -9F here with windchills close to -20F and my Aureosulcata still looks like it have a good number of green leaves. My aureosulcata grove is only 1.5 years old. The bissetii which was the only other bamboo with exposed foliage was even hardier since only the outer most leaves got a bit of burn with one of the coldest winters around here. On most winters, there should be little to no leaf burn for top tier hardiness bamboos.

There are however many factors to consider. Drought lowers the hardiness of a species, and I've heard that late fertilization can also make them less hardy. The lack of snow on the ground might be a factor too since that allows the soil to freeze, so much might help there. There's always the chance you might have a different species, buy regular aureosulcata is pretty easy to identify since it has a lot of distinct characteristics.

It should have the yellow sulcus, crook stems near the bottom, stripped sheaths, rough texture on new culms, light foliage, and a prominent white ring under each node as shown here. Also the 3 original culms had no leaf burn with the winter of 2009/2010 when the temperature only dipped to 4F here.



Even if it is not aureosulcata, you might be able to get a winter-over tarp, pool liner, or anything that can block the wind and cover your plant since it looks like you don't get dependable snow all winter. Once you let it get a bit bigger, It should be able to bounce back from the winter damage a lot better.

[fatsopilot]

Is it straight Phy. aureosulcata, or a different form? Are you certain of the ID?

I am fairly certain it is Yellow Groove, is Alata a more hardy form? What are you growing Needmore?

[needmore]

I have all of the forms of Aureosulcata except 'Argus' which I do not think is in the US yet unless Jim Bonner or Ian brought it in. There has been varying degrees of hardiness among the different forms but straight Aureosulcata is as hardy as any, though mine did topkill for the first couple of years as is often the case with young plantings.

I've seen several sources say that 'Alata' gets larger and if that is so then there are multiple 'clones' of it, either that or as is often the case different sources will quote each other/ABS source list so if the original info is incorrect it gets perpetuated. Myself and everyone that I've discussed it with see just the opposite and I have never seen a large specimen of it but it is very uncommon in this area at anyway. My 'Alata' though is in a low light setting and not yet 6 feet tall after 6 years.

Your youngster got damaged at the 0F and that does not really surprise me, it often takes 3-5 years for hardiness to show.