bamboo dying?

[mkd14]

Hi all,

I just bought a house. It was once well landscaped but it looks like it hasnt been kept up with for a year or more. There are two clusters of bamboo, one of them about 10 shoots and the other about 7.

In the larger cluster most of them are 30+ feet tall and pretty thick. Some of them are probably 12" around. In the other cluster they range from about 15 to 25 feet tall.

I live in eastern central Florida (9b) and we've had some very strong rains all summer but it has been lighter lately with the storms. I noticed the other day that 4 or 5 of the shoots on the larger cluster are leaning significantly, to the point where they are either pointing horizontal or down towards the ground. One of them is brown and has no leaves, another is green with some yellowing with some leaves and the other 2-3 are green with nice leaves.

I would guess by the size of the bamboo that it was planted a long time ago, so I would like to try to prevent what ever is causing this from spreading.

The ones that are leaning I guess I need to cut down so no one gets hurt if they fall, is there a specific way I should cut these to maybe encourage regrowth?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[Chuck]

Hi all,

I just bought a house. It was once well landscaped but it looks like it hasnt been kept up with for a year or more. There are two clusters of bamboo, one of them about 10 shoots and the other about 7.

In the larger cluster most of them are 30+ feet tall and pretty thick. Some of them are probably 12" around. In the other cluster they range from about 15 to 25 feet tall.

I live in eastern central Florida (9b) and we've had some very strong rains all summer but it has been lighter lately with the storms. I noticed the other day that 4 or 5 of the shoots on the larger cluster are leaning significantly, to the point where they are either pointing horizontal or down towards the ground. One of them is brown and has no leaves, another is green with some yellowing with some leaves and the other 2-3 are green with nice leaves.

I would guess by the size of the bamboo that it was planted a long time ago, so I would like to try to prevent what ever is causing this from spreading.

The ones that are leaning I guess I need to cut down so no one gets hurt if they fall, is there a specific way I should cut these to maybe encourage regrowth?

Thanks for any tips!

Without a close up pic of the base of the plant and the leaves I can only guess that it is infected with bamboo stem rot/root rot probably caused by frequent heavy rains and inadequate drainage. Rake away the mulch and dig down to the roots. Inspect for dead or mushy roots

 

[helagumamela]

We used to have a bamboo, too. It was older than me actually. However, about two years ago, it started to flower. A few months later, it died. Could the flowers have been a sign that the bamboo was going to die?

 

[gata montes]

Hi all,

I just bought a house. It was once well landscaped but it looks like it hasnt been kept up with for a year or more. There are two clusters of bamboo, one of them about 10 shoots and the other about 7.

In the larger cluster most of them are 30+ feet tall and pretty thick. Some of them are probably 12" around. In the other cluster they range from about 15 to 25 feet tall.

I live in eastern central Florida (9b) and we've had some very strong rains all summer but it has been lighter lately with the storms. I noticed the other day that 4 or 5 of the shoots on the larger cluster are leaning significantly, to the point where they are either pointing horizontal or down towards the ground. One of them is brown and has no leaves, another is green with some yellowing with some leaves and the other 2-3 are green with nice leaves.

I would guess by the size of the bamboo that it was planted a long time ago, so I would like to try to prevent what ever is causing this from spreading.

The ones that are leaning I guess I need to cut down so no one gets hurt if they fall, is there a specific way I should cut these to maybe encourage regrowth?

Thanks for any tips!

Although I too would agree with Chuck that a better picture or a least a close of the leaves would assist greatly and also that due to the amount of rainfall that you've had - it would be very worthwhile checking for root rot.

I have to say that from looking at your photo - your bamboo does look very much like one the Phyllostachys varieties and as this variety of bamboo is known to be virtually pest free when grown outside of Asia and is not known to suffer from root rot - due to the fact that once established they can withstand prolonged periods of flooding - I'm more inclined to think that your bamboo is showing signs of neglect rather than those of dying - especially as its extremely hard - if not impossible to kill an established bamboo.

What I would suggest once you've checked for root rot - as Bamboo is just like any other evergreen plant - in that it needs yearly pruning to keep it healthy and looking good - is that for now - although this is generally done in spring - you remove - by cutting the culm at the base just above the first node - all the older culms that are currently leaning - as well as the one that has gone brown - as that has now finished its growing cycle and is therefore ready to be cut down - then in the spring - tidy the whole clump up by removing all the older and unsightly canes and give it a feed - which will then allow all the new culms to grow and form a healthy and attractive looking clump.

As for the leaves turning yellow - this often happens with bamboo - as because they are evergreen they are constantly changing their leaves and although yellowing leaves are more common in the spring - it can happen at any time of the year - it can however also be a sign that a culm is reaching maturity and therefore ready to be cut down.

 

[gata montes]

We used to have a bamboo, too. It was older than me actually. However, about two years ago, it started to flower. A few months later, it died. Could the flowers have been a sign that the bamboo was going to die?

Although it isn't always the case - yes more often than not - if a bamboo flowers it generally does die shortly after flowering.

 

[mkd14]

Thanks for the quick replies. There are quite a few pine trees in my yard so I pushed that aside to expose the.. I guess that's the roots... And noticed white mold looking growth and a small quarter sized spot of very vibrant green growth. I noticed that the healthier looking bamboo shoots have the area that I uncovered mostly above the dirt level. I've attached a picture of the 'roots' of the dead looking one.

Just so I understand: when they are leaning they are mature and need to be cut down to about a foot tall? I can't really get a close up of the leaves as the closest leaves to the ground are a foot 12 feet high, but all the leaves look healthy, even the 'dead' shoot has only one branch with leaves, but they are green.

 

[gata montes]

Thanks for the quick replies. There are quite a few pine trees in my yard so I pushed that aside to expose the.. I guess that's the roots... And noticed white mold looking growth and a small quarter sized spot of very vibrant green growth. I noticed that the healthier looking bamboo shoots have the area that I uncovered mostly above the dirt level. I've attached a picture of the 'roots' of the dead looking one.

Just so I understand: when they are leaning they are mature and need to be cut down to about a foot tall? I can't really get a close up of the leaves as the closest leaves to the ground are a foot 12 feet high, but all the leaves look healthy, even the 'dead' shoot has only one branch with leaves, but they are green.

As Bamboo is fairly unique to other plants in that the main components of a bamboo consist of rhizomes, roots, culms, branches and leaves and understanding how they grow is quite a complex subject - before I provide an answer to your question - this may help you understand what I'm about to say

Rhizomes - are the horizontal stems that travel underground with the objective of colonizing new territory and are what collect and store all the primary nutrients for growth.

Roots - these are generally just above and below ground level and there primary function is to anchor the culm to the ground - as without these roots - the culm would be at vulnerable to damage from severe weather and even cause it to lean or fall to the ground.

So from looking at your picture - I have to say that what you look to have there is nothing more than a normal reaction when a thick layer of organic matter has been moist for some considerable time and is therefore not something wrong with the bamboo - however although this won't actually affect your bamboo's health - as the roots in your picture are those of the anchor roots - it may go some way towards explaining why some of your culms are leaning.

Just to clarify - no if a cane is leaning it does not mean that a culm is mature and although they sometimes do this because of the way they grow or sometimes for no reason at all - as they can also lean if the anchor roots have been damaged - that is why I suggested cutting the leaning culms - particularly as you had mentioned that you were concerned about them falling on someone or something.

I would also add that when you cut culm - no you don't leave the culm about a foot tall - as you always cut them to ground level - at a point just above the node nearest the surface - because if you leave anything higher than that - it will become an immovable obstacle that could become a nuisance when tending the other culms - as once the culm has hardened off - there is absolutely no way that you will ever be able to cut it - as they become harder than steel.

 

[mkd14]

Thank you very much! I have one last question if anyone has the time to answer. I noticed that some of the bamboo seem to have a 'bark like' husk. There are about 50 or so of these husks littering my lawn near the bamboo. Is this something that they shed as they are maturing?

I'm sure its of no consequence, I'm just curious about it.

 

[helagumamela]

Although it isn't always the case - yes more often than not - if a bamboo flowers it generally does die shortly after flowering.

Oh that's kind of sad. The flowers weren't even that beautiful. It looked kind of full of thorns. This reminds me of the National Geographic (if I am not mistaken) documentary entitled "When the Bamboo Flowers".

 

[gata montes]

Thank you very much! I have one last question if anyone has the time to answer. I noticed that some of the bamboo seem to have a 'bark like' husk. There are about 50 or so of these husks littering my lawn near the bamboo. Is this something that they shed as they are maturing?

I'm sure its of no consequence, I'm just curious about it.

You're more than welcome and yes having a large amount of discarded husks lying around is a very common occurrence when growing bamboo and apart from them being a little untidy - they are nothing to worry about - as they are just the protective sheaths that are released when they are no longer required.

 

[gata montes]

Oh that's kind of sad. The flowers weren't even that beautiful. It looked kind of full of thorns. This reminds me of the National Geographic (if I am not mistaken) documentary entitled "When the Bamboo Flowers".

It is - but fortunately its a fairly rare occurrence - as apart from one particular species of bamboo which flowers in 48 year cycles - the majority of bamboo species only flower - once every 60 - 125 years.
Although I would agree that the flowers aren't particularly showy - as most of the ones I've seen look almost identical to many of the flower heads seen on a wide variety of ornamental grasses rather than being thorny - would love to know - especially as you were lucky enough to be around when your bamboo did flower - what species of bamboo it was that you had before it met its untimely demise - particularly as many of the flowers can differ quite considerably.

As I haven't seen the National Geographic documentary " When the Bamboo Flowers " - many thanks for mentioning it - especially as it sounds like it would be something that I would enjoy - particularly as this very unique occurrence is something that I've always found extremely fascinating