Looking good? Look again.
>> Friday, April 20, 2018 –
bamboo,
winter damage
Ah, beautiful bamboo culms:
Looks so good, such a pretty sight at any time of year. (This is Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Spectabilis', showing off its characteristic yellow and green striping.)
***
Take a step back though...
...and another...
...and maybe one more.
A different picture emerges, one of a plant that was hammered first by a couple months of dry, dry weather, then clobbered by several days of very cold sub-zero F temperatures.
I am so eager to see what shooting season will bring -- which should start any day now for this plant. I'll be removing what looks like 75% of the culms here. How many will be replaced?
Let's not even talk about Ph. rubromarginata right next door to Spectabilis:
It's supposed to be all green, and there's none. Not a single green culm. Sigh.
I am going to have a lot of bamboo canes to get rid of soon...
.
Well you will have a lot of garden stakes available...I hope you will have pleasant surprises--that some of the bamboos will survive and sprout anew.
It's a sad look and must be heart breaking, especially for a bamboo enthusiast such as yourself. Maybe there'll be good surprises soon.
It’s vigorous so it could look good again in just one season, fingers crossed!
Hoov: way more garden stakes than I need. Perhaps I should list them on Craigslist?
Mark/Gaz: I'm hoping! It definitely will look better once the dead stuff is removed -- the question is how thick will the grove be after shooting?