Bamboo Winter Damage



It has been a while since I have blogged because I just haven't had the time.  I have still made time for the garden projects but I didn't have time to document.  I should have more time for the next few months so I hope to update more frequently.

Winter is finally...almost gone.  I went to the cottage this weekend and since most of the snow has melted I was able to check on my bamboos after their first winter (second winter for a couple of them).

This winter was quite cold.
Min temp: -25.1 °C
Min Temp. Date: Feb.27 2011
However, the real story was the snowfall.  It wasn't the amount of snow that made this winter extreme.  It was the depth of the snowpack.  We usually get one or two winter thaws where a lot or all of the snow melts sometime in January or February.  It just never happened this year.  So we ended up with snowpack over three feet throughout most of the winter.

Just before I get into the bamboos I will comment on my japanese maples.
Any type of weeping japanese maple was completely destroyed this winter.  Usually snowpack protects the trees but this year we had a recipe of snow, rain and cold which froze the branches in the snow and as the snow melted, it tore the branches off.

Check out the examples below.  It sucks.


Acer palmatum 'Viridis' - Before




Acer palmatum 'Viridis' - After



Acer palmatum 'Filigree' - Before

Acer palmatum 'Filigree' - Before in fall




Acer palmatum 'Filigree' - After winter - completely destroyed

 

Some sad eh!!!

Ok, how about the bamboo.  It was mixed results.

Lets start with the clumping types.  I protected a few under plastic and others I left exposed to mother nature.  The most brutal part of winter on Prince Edward Island are the constant winds.  Anything that was not covered in snow stood little chance.  However, we had so much snow that it snapped a lot of the canes.

There were only two bamboo that have been in the ground for two winters.  The first picture shows how Fargesia rufa (1 gallon tissue culture plants) survived the mild, dry winter of 2009-10.  The second picture was taken today.  



Fargsia rufa - spring 2010

 

 



 Fargesia rufa spring 2011

 

 These rufa are short enough that they would have been snow covered and they suffered very little cold damage.  A few of the culms were snapped off but overall I was impressed.

Here are a couple more Fargesia rufa (same tissue culture Bamboo Select plants).  These plants were not protected and suffered some leaf kill.  They have not started shooting yet.



Before - Fargesia rufa - summer 2010



After - Fargesia rufa after 1st winter - more exposed location



Before - Fargesia rufa - summer 2010





After - Fargesia rufa - after 1st winter in exposed location



I was much less impressed with the Fargesia nitida.  Check out the before and after below.  This plant was not a tissue culture big box store purchase. 



Fargesia nitida - before



Fargesia nitida - after winter

 I would say this represents total culm death.  They looked pretty dried out to me.  Time will tell.  Remember, this was left unprotected.  Next up is a tissue culture Bamboo Select nitida that spent the winter under plastic.  Overall it came out green and fresh but a few of the culms snapped under the weight of the snow.

Before - Fargesia nitida - Summer 2010

After - Fargesia nitida

Next up, Fargesia murielae.  Small, 1 gallon Bamboo Select tissue culture plant.  It spent the winter under plastic and came out pretty fresh.

Before - Fargesia murielae  summer 2010

After - Fargesia murielae

Here is another Fargesia murielae (not tissue culture).  It did not produce a single new culm last summer.  It spent the whole winter unprotected and was not covered by much snow.



Before - Fargesia murielae summer 2010



After - Fargesia murielae - some green leaves survived the winter exposed.   Impressive!



I also purchased a Bamboo Select tissue culture Fargesia robusta 1 gallon plant last summer.  It is not rated as hardy as the other Fargesia species but it received high praise from a friend in Maine.  So I went for it.  Unfortunately moles took up residence under it in early summer and I had to move it in the fall.  It did not have a chance to get established.  I covered it with some straw for the winter.  It came out looking pretty sad.

Before - Fargesia robusta - summer 2010

After - Fargesia robusta

Next, Fargesia denudata.  It was really nice looking in the summer.  However, I lost faith in its hardiness in late fall when it started losing leaves when temperatures approached zero degrees Celsius.  Check out the after winter picture, I would say total leaf loss and probably culm death.  It was really hard to tell. 

Before - Fargesia denudata - summer 2010





After - Fargesia denudata

The only other clumping species I had in the ground for the winter was Thamnocalamus crassinodus.  It's rated about zone 8 but I thought it may come back as a perennial from the ground up.  I didn't cover it in plastic because I thought it had no chance but there was still a little green left after the winter. 

Thamnocalamus crassinodus - After winter

Running Bamboo

Like any bamboo nut, these are the exciting ones.  All the Phyllostachys were planted in the summer of 2010.  I intend to protect them every winter until they get too big.  However, a brutal storm in December blew off the plastic covering 4 of my plants. 

My Phyllostachys bissetii was covered all winter.  The leaves came out unscathed but one of the canes snapped under the weight of the snow. 



Before - Phyllostachys bissetii - summer 2010



After - Phyllostachys bissetii

The Phyllostachys nuda was covered all winter.  It came out green and fresh but one small culm snapped under the weight.



Before - Phyllostachys nuda - summer 2010



After - Phyllostachys nuda

The Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Spectabilis' was covered all winter.  It came out fresh and green and only one weak cane snapped over the winter.



Before - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Spectabilis' - summer 2010



After - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Spectabilis'



By March 26, some of the snow had melted.  I was quite surprised to show up and see green leaves blowing in the freezing winds.   The Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'aureocaulis' and 'alata' had their plastic blown off in December.  I didn't know that because it snowed heavily soon after and it was impossible to tell.  The pictures below will show the two bamboo in summer, March 2011 and today.  These two bamboo showed great hardiness considering no plastic protection and their exposed aspect.

Before - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'aureocaulis' - summer 2010

Before - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata' - summer 2010

March 26 - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'aureocaulis'

March 26 - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata'

After winter - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'aureocaulis'

After winter - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata'

The Phyllostachys atrovaginata was moved mid summer.  It did not have a chance to establish itself and I had to move it again.  It lost its plastic in December and ended losing most of its leaves.  We'll see if it bounces back.

Before - Phyllostachys atrovaginata - summer 2010

After - Phyllostachys atrovaginata

The Phyllostachys rubromarginata was only planted in later summer.  It had little time to establish itself and it too lost its plastic covering.  It might be in a location that's too wet as well.  It had a rough winter. 

Before - Phyllostachys rubromarginata - summer 2010



After - Phyllostachys rubromarginata

This Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata' was purposely planted in a protected location and left to winter without extra protection.  Even today there was still a foot of snow on top of it when I showed up to take a picture.  I dug it out of the snow and sure enough, green leaves.  I will never protect this bamboo throughout winter as a type of control to compare with the other Phyllostachys.

Before - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata' - summer 2010

Before removing snow

After snow removal - Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'alata'

That ends the larger running species.  Up next, ground covers.  First up, Pleioblastus viridistriatus.  It was a small 1 gallon specimen in a heavily shaded location.  Like expected, the winter ruined the foliage and it will be mowed.

Before - Pleioblatus viridistriatus - summer 2010

After - Pleioblastus viridistriatus


My last bamboo needs an ID.  The tag it came with says Pleioblastus albostriatus.  I have never been able to reference that name anywhere.  Help!  Leave any ideas in the comments.  I assumed it would act the same as most ground covers.  I will mow it and see what sort of vigor it has in the Spring.

Before - unknown Pleioblastus sp. - Summer 2010



After - unknown Pleioblatus sp.

Well that's it for pictures.  Leave any questions in the comments section or in the Bambooweb forum.

Thanks for looking.