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Wind burnt bamboo! Help please!!

johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
in Problem solving
I’ve got 6 bamboo plants in a very large container. They’ve been battered by the winds since winter! I’ve tried to protect them, but nothing seems to have worked. 
All 6 have green stems still (that’s my little ray of hope!) but all the leaves are completely brown. They’ve been like this for months. I’ve chopped the tops, kept watered and ensured they have a lot of space around their root balls. I’ve been waiting for any signs of new growth, but nothing yet! 

Should I remove all the dead leaves, or prune, or cut right down?! I really don’t want to do the latter. But I’m desperate to save it. I really don’t think it’s a lack of, or too much water. I’m pretty sure it’s the wind (I’ve got six others, more established and typically in a more sheltered spot which are thriving?!) ... but happy to be proved wrong!

Thanks so much in advance! 

Posts

  • johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
    Apologies, photo hadn’t come out very well. Please see below...


  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Although your containers are deep that's a lot of plants together, containerised they need a huge amount of water. I don't cut ours back,some people do.  I just cut off any obviously dead stemsOurs don't get fed. very often,I weed in spring top dress with a bit of new compost and a handful of chicken pellets
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd not prune them yet. 
    Old stems don't get taller after the first year, but they often put out new leaves. 
    As @Nanny Beach says, they need HUGE amounts of water.
    Devon.
  • johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
    Thank you! 

    Ah, is it!?! I’ve got six together in troughs elsewhere, which are doing really well. They’ve got far less, so thought these would be even better for these 😣 
    the large tank here is approx 2ft wide x 3ft long, if that helps at all. 

    Do you think I should remove a couple, and plant elsewhere and continue watering as I have been for now? 


  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    If they were mine , I'd hold back to see how they start to grow. Mine haven't started yet this year

    Devon.
  • johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
    Thats helpful, thank you 👍
  • johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
    Hostafan1 said:
    I'd not prune them yet. 
    Old stems don't get taller after the first year, but they often put out new leaves. 
    As @Nanny Beach says, they need HUGE amounts of water.
    Right, ok 👍 I’ll remove some of them and continue watering. 
    I was worried about water logging them. So much online says not to over water 😣 is this pretty hard to do? 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I would say impossible to overwater bamboo in a container
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Metal containers get very hot so they dry out quicker, the roots could have burnt a bit especially in the hot sun we had last year and this early spring. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • johnms83johnms83 Posts: 6
    Lyn said:
    Metal containers get very hot so they dry out quicker, the roots could have burnt a bit especially in the hot sun we had last year and this early spring. 
    They haven’t experienced any sun in these containers yet. I planted them in here recently 😣 
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