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After 12 years since I planted a vegetativly propagated Japanese arrow bamboo, it's flowering. I'm wondering whether this is one of those species that recovers afterward, or whether it dies?

Has anyone had their P. japonica produce flowers, and if so, viable seed?

From what I've heard, Pseudosasa japonica is a naturally occuring hybrid that does not produce viable seed and recovers from flowering.

It is also the one of the subjects/victims of my polyploidy experiments in an attempt to produce a Pseudosasa japonica that produces viable seed.

CadyG

Kentuck had a Ps japonica that flowered for several years in a pot. He gave me a dozen or so plump seeds when I was visiting with him in the summer of '04. Most of the "seeds" on the plant were just chaff. I believe it had flowered the year before, '03, if not earlier. Three of the seeds geminated (25%) but were never very vigorous. They died one by one over about a three year period.

In Mar of '06 during another visit Kentuck gave me the original pot of Arrow still blooming. I posted a picture of the flowers in 07 just before planting it in the ground:

The plant is still flowering although not as profusely, and mainly just a few of the culms in the central part of the original plant. Based on the above, it has been flowering for about 7 years (perhaps longer), and other than the few flowering culms, appears to be a heathy plant. It has been running and it does not appear the tendency to flower is spreading to the newer parts of the plant.

Mike McG near Brenham TX

Thanks for the replies, guys. Very interesting information. I didn't know P. japonica was a (natural) hybrid, though I'd read that Hibanobambusa traquillans 'Shiroshima' is natural hybrid of Phyllostachys nigra 'Henon' and Sasa veitchii (what a strange match up THAT is), so it appears that natural hybrids are, well natural to bamboos.

I'll probably try to germinate any seed that this stand of P. japonica might produce, out of morbid curiosity. But I won't expect much. My Fargesia nitida finally flowered starting two years ago, and while it did so copiously, I couldn't find any seed at all. Interestingly, now in its third year of flowering (just a few here and there) and virtually dead, the F. nitida has put up a a few small shoots that have healthy foliage. I'm tempted to cut the dead culms down and see if those little guys hang in for a few more years.

Meanwhile, some F. nitida 'Anceps' I planted 4 years ago from Chris DeRosa's stock, have not yet flowered. I'm waiting for that "other shoe to fall."

Cady, nice to see you back here again! I bought 7 old gen Nitida (one was Eisenach) maybe 7 years ago, they've slowly gone into flower and died off at present one Nitida and the Eisenach are flowering but I still have 3 old gen Nitida that have not yet started. Surprising because when I received them they looked to me like one big plant was split into the pieces I bought so I would have expected them to flower at the same time more or less.

Thanks, Brad. It's nice to be back. I've been building my gardening business and the past year was hectic; no time for yakking on discussion boards.

It's kind of interesting that all of these F. nitidas, even though they're all clones from 19th-century seed, flower at different rates. The straight-species nitida I planted in '97 bloomed all at once, but I think that it was actually several plants like yours. The two 'Anceps' are only 4 or 5 years in the ground, from propagules that were 2-3 years old when I got them, and they are only about 5' tall and look like they have no plan to flower anytime soon. I'll be interested to see if they develop to mature plants before flowering. If so, it means they may hang around for 10 more years!

Update regarding seeds. Pseudosasa japonica purchased approx. 20 years ago started light flowering 2 summers ago. No seeds evident then. However, last summer (2010) saw heavy flowering with a very small seed harvest in August and another in mid-October. Probably got 20 seeds from the thousands of flowers. You have to look very carefully!

30% germinated with no mortality so far with some seedlings VERY aggressive. (The particular plant I obtained years ago appears to have been widespread in the northeast, so others must have obtained seed too.)

I don't expect the original plant to grow anywhere near its 7 feet this year and would be happy to see some green until these seedlings can replace it.

While these seedlings are x self, there appears to be some variability, although it is early. Just wondering if anyone else has had luck with seedlings.