My first post. I need help.

Controlling pests of bamboo

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G-Bamboo
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My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

I attached a picture of what is happening to my bamboo. Not sure what kind I have but the grove is at least 15 years old. My new growth is swarmed with the white stuff and the tip is shrunken and looks dead. Any advice on how to treat is most welcome.

Thank you. George.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by needmore »

George greetings, your photo shows a normal thing which is a bamboo shoot aborting, a natural thing for it to do unless there are lots and lots of them doing it. This should happen to several shoots each year so I'd say nothing to worry about unless there is something more going on.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
G-Bamboo
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

Thanks for reply Brad. Almost all the new shoots are aborting. I put a lot of new mulch on a couple times a year so I think the soil is full of nutrients. Any reason for the shoots aborting?

Thank
G
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

Could it also be the time of year here in San Diego? Not very cold at night but it does get into the 40s at night. Maybe the shoots this early in the season are subject to aborting?
Alan_L
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by Alan_L »

Also, the white fuzzy/sticky substance is likely from mealy bugs. It's doubtful they are causing the shoots to abort, but if there are a lot of them you may want to take care of that. I'd recommend the least severe treatment methods first as I try to avoid pesticides as much as possible.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by needmore »

Lots of them aborting might be something additional, I think that one year when I saw that it was a result of drought in the prior year. I had been watering 2x a day in the hot CA summer, then the next year I cut back to maybe 2x per week. The bamboo rarely looked stressed so I was comfortable with my 'new' watering regime. But the following year there were lots of aborted shoots and the watering made me wonder. Cool weather should mainly stunt them some not cause them abort.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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G-Bamboo
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

Here are three pictures

Turned Black color
Lose of color
Healthy

All same bamboo. Older one either lose all color or turn black.
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Turned black
Turned black
Lose of color
Lose of color
Healthy stalk. Fresh out of the groung
Healthy stalk. Fresh out of the groung
Last edited by G-Bamboo on Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

The leaves
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by needmore »

Crazy. Never seen this before and no ideas. Have you probed around the soil to see if there is anything going on? Any chance that someone might have tried to poison it? Reaching, obviously here! Something about it looks like excess moisture in the soil causing fungal attacks etc.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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G-Bamboo
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

Oh gosh!!! I have a good relationship with neighbors in the back. So I think poisoning may be low risk. I also have very sandy soil, so I’m hoping soggy soil isn’t part of the problem. Ill thin out all the mis colored stalks. What would you recommend I use the treat the possible fungus?

Thanks. Also. Any ideas which bamboo this is? The stalks are 2.5” diameter max.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by Alan_L »

Note that bamboo culms have a limited lifetime, so will die after a few years naturally depending on species. I didn't read closely but not sure if you said that these were all only a couple years old or if some were older.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by needmore »

Yeah, I'm really reaching and guessing, I didn't think the poison was likely but worth pondering. I don't know if it is a fungus, it just sort of looks like something is killing them and then excess moisture etc pops up and makes them look like that - do you know what species this is?

I just noticed that you do not have your location posted, can you please add that to your profile, it might be instructive? I see palms so I suspect your are in a milder area.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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G-Bamboo
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

I’ll update my location. I’m in Oceanside Ca. 30 miles north of San Diego. The overall grove is 20 years old! Started with 4 stalks and have pruned approx 50 stalks a year once it started getting crowded.
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by G-Bamboo »

The whole grove
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Re: My first post. I need help.

Post by needmore »

Can you check the culms between the branches and see if there is a groove that runs 'up culm' and jumps sides at each branch?
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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