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Is my black bamboo flowering?
DickieLeysh
Posts: 27
Bit of a background to the current situation: I bought this bamboo online and when delivered was really disappointed with its condition. Really potbound, which I understand is not too much of an issue for a bamboo. Extremely dry and a lot of the foliage showed leafburn. Stems were very weedy. I gave it a bit of TLC and removed dead leaves. Shortly after it greened up but did nothing in terms of growing. Now within the last week I see 2 of these unusual growths which I can only assume are flower spikes. After reading up it would seem that my bamboo may be near the end of its rather short life...
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I had a bamboo which was a rescue plant. After several years of healthy growth it flowered. I managed to collect some seeds and germinated a couple. One of the offspring is now a thriving, fully-grown replica of its parent, so all is not lost. You may be able to replace one plant with several, at no extra cost and they grow quite fast once they get going.
Ohh I always thought bamboo looked simular to grass gone to seed when it flowers, and that the flowers grow on the canes. Not completely sure if they throw up flower spikes!
They couldn't be rouge plants could they?
I think it's a typo ....... rogue plants?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I had a very fine leaved bamboo with slender stems its very delicate and when it moved in the breeze it was lovely to watch.( Fargasia denudata )It got quite big eventually about 3 metres high but less across. I loved it, then after about 8 years it flowered and the seeds where all on the tops of the stems and there where hundreds of them, then the whole plant went brown and died. Sadly I dug it it out and missed it being there. about three years later I was weeding the path nearby and noticed a tiny baby bamboo growing between two bricks, so I carefully removed one brick and dug it up put it into a pot with some John Innes compost, its now about a metre high and I keep potting it on. I only got 1 seed to grow out of all the hundreds but I didn't try to grow them myself, if it happens again I certainly will. I don't know if the seed needs to stratify though, that means be very cold for a few months. I hope that helps.
Yes it looks like a new shoot, just watch how quick it will grow... I have a black bamboo which i bought as a "reduced " item at at garden centre in feb 3 years ago, split it into 2 large pots and it has about 7/8 foot tall spikes. I feed inJune with lawn food and make sure it doesn't get waterlogged, they don't like wet feet. It did take a year before it really got going, so keep going it's worth it.
Yes I agree my black bamboo sends up new shoots every year and they look just like your shoot, in fact some of them came up in the lawn and I had to re think the border shape to accomodate them. They grow very quickly as Budding G says so you shouldn't have long to wait.I got & 7 new shoots last year and the tallest was 10ft. so keep feeding it once a week. Bamboos look at their worst at this time of year until the new growth gets going. I hope you soon have a great plant.
I though I'd better update this post. Yes there was indeed, no need to panic. The bamboo was not flowering, merely sending up new shoots. It's surprising how different they first appear!
Hi again Glad to hear that. Yes the new shoots are very pointed & other worldly! My son moved house recently & dug his up to take with him. It was about 8ft tall with lovely ebony black canes all over it he had had it for a few years. We took it to the new house in a big sack after we had cut most of the stems right down to about 4 inches. I also took a piece off it using two forks back to back to force a bit off. My sons didn't get planted for about 2 weeks but we did keep it watered . Its now been re planted and is happily sending up lots of new shoots. My piece is in a pot and has sent up a large new stem thats about 6 ft now, I think its a good idea to get a piece from it this way as if the main plant flowers the piece or cutting won't, and therefore you won't loose your bamboo. Happy days !