Bamboo longevity

jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

heres a pic of my vivax as you can see there are similarities with yours,the white rings around the nodes medium large leaves that drape similar to your first close up pic.the canes on mine are nearly 2 inches thick but its an older plant than yours i think.
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Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

I'll get a photo of the leaf in the morning.

Ive been looking up phyllostachys vivax and wow that one gets so tall,it certainly looks close to mine but the size it its to makes me think icon_scratch hmmm,is it though?,so does a longer growing season make a bamboo grow taller
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

jacko wrote:heres a pic of my vivax as you can see there are similarities with yours,the white rings around the nodes medium large leaves that drape similar to your first close up pic.the canes on mine are nearly 2 inches thick but its an older plant than yours i think.
Yes its so much identical isn't it,so how old is that patch Jacko and how tall.
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

mine has been planted in that spot since march 2009 and was 7ft or 2metres.now as of today it is 25ft :shock: its fast. :lol:
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

2009 :shock: is that all,mines 5-6 years and only 3 m :(
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

not sure about your climate there but it looks like you get lots of wind and this can dwarf the height of your bamboo if its in an exposed position.how old is your patch and do you feed it at all?
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

5 or 6 years makes me think its not a vivax now.unless its in dry windy conditions.give it plenty of water lots of organic mulches of aged horse manure,grass clippings old compost etc. to a depth of around 6 inches.more during winter.this will help with retaining moisture and fertilization.if you can imagine your bamboo growing out of an old compost heap then this is an ideal environment for it to flourish.dont remove the leaves that fall to the ground as this provides a natural mulch of leaf litter for the bamboo.hope this helps.
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

jacko wrote:5 or 6 years makes me think its not a vivax now.unless its in dry windy conditions.give it plenty of water lots of organic mulches of aged horse manure,grass clippings old compost etc. to a depth of around 6 inches.more during winter.this will help with retaining moisture and fertilization.if you can imagine your bamboo growing out of an old compost heap then this is an ideal environment for it to flourish.dont remove the leaves that fall to the ground as this provides a natural mulch of leaf litter for the bamboo.hope this helps.
The patch gets lots of water from overhead sprinklers during our dry season in summer.
As for wind, the patch has been in a area thats had lots of wind in the past but trees that ive planted over the last 10 years are really starting to make a difference of late and will continual to improve in sheltering it.
No i haven't fertilized it up till this point and i will from now on icon_salut , it does tend to have a more yellow look to it compared to what ive seen in some of the photo you guys have posted.
I planted it for the sole purpose of using it as stakes in the garden,so i do cut a fair amount out during the growing season but i do leave all the leafs as a mulch though.
What i will do now is fertilize one half and see what difference it makes
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

Hello again,last time we were chating about my bamboo patch it was recommended that i give the patch a good fertilizing,so i gave it a 12-6-6 fertilizer which was about this time last year at the start of spring,boy it went crazy after that,it grew 2x as much new stems and for much longer through the growing season.
Another thing that amazes me about bamboo is how well it can handle snow,the first photo was taken back in June when we had a 30cm deep fall,at the time the photo was taken it was -14deg C,second photo showing the bamboo this morning.
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Darlo Mark

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Darlo Mark »

-14 in new zealand!! :shock: :shock:

I thought you got mild winters! Surely all the cordys would be cut down at that and it is even approaching Trachycarpus killing tremperatures.
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The Codfather
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Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by The Codfather »

Nice and warm for you Mark :lol:
AKA - Martin

Wish list - Big Palms or Dicksonia antarctica's but open to anything really.....Cash Waiting !
Darlo Mark

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Darlo Mark »

That is what is worrying me! :lol: (although we were more thinking of the North island!)
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

bounced back really well from winter.when the bamboo is laid flat from snow and is covered by it,it actually protects it.
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

Darlo Mark wrote:-14 in new zealand!! :shock: :shock:

I thought you got mild winters! Surely all the cordys would be cut down at that and it is even approaching Trachycarpus killing tremperatures.
My valley been inland by 70kms and having three low maintain ranges between us and the Pacific means we get extremes in temps in both winter and summer and so frosts that cold seem to happen here about once every 10 years,yes my Cordyline australis took a real hiding but all of them will be ok and are now starting to grow new shoots,

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But some trees like the Sidney Blue gums dont look good,this 100+ year old one may not come away again.

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Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

jacko wrote:bounced back really well from winter.when the bamboo is laid flat from snow and is covered by it,it actually protects it.
Yes it did protect it,only had two or three snap off
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