In this video demonstration, I thin out a young planting of Fargesia scabrida. This particular plant started from a full, #2 container, and has been in the ground for three growing seasons. One thing I don’t mention in the video is that I like to prune my clumping bamboos in fall, well after the current season’s shoots have finished growing for the year. Also, the clumping bamboos I grow and am familiar with are the temperate, frost hardy clumpers that do well here west of the Cascades in Washington, Oregon, part of B.C. and other regions with similar climates. Timing and techniques for the sub-tropical and tropical bamboos (which include many of the giant timber bamboos) may be very different from those I demonstrate here.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Phil! nice work! reminds me I need to get out and start doing some of that…. I have an aurea that I keep tightly clumped and its looking a mess right now… its been about 4 years since ive dug into it. any time you want to come down to Southern Oregon, let me know. You looked like you had so much fun doing this one that maybe I will save the aurea for you!
now that I have used those Barnell loppers for a few months, I LOVE them. I could not find anything about the ones you were telling me about, but im glad I bit the bullet and got these. Check them out if one of the places up there carries them. they open really wide for thier size, and the blade design makes it easier to get into messes like that clumper and work. I used them on a nasty Japonica grove, and they worked like a charm!\
keep up the videos! love them!
Gene
I purchased a home in San Antonio with what I believe are 3 varieties of clumping bamboo. This winter the temperature went to 16 F for 1 or 2 nights. All the leaves of the largest diameter group (2-3 in, 15-20 ft high) fell off and there are a number of brown stalks. The smaller variety also lost leaves and turned brown/black. Some leaf growth is now seen and sprouts are coming from the ground. Do you know if I need to cut down the non-leaf producing stalks or leave it alone. Thanks for any help or direction you can provide.
Phil
I usually wait to see that the stems are indeed completely dead. If they are, I cut them back down to the ground. If not, I leave them to leaf out again, because the leaves will produce food, which will help the plant to recover. Hope that helps, and I hope your bamboo bounces back!