Clumper suggestions for the hot and humid southeast

[Samajax]

Thanks for the update Matthew...

It hit 100 degrees yesterday, but the shade planted rufa looked just fine when checked it last night.

Still, fall is a long way off and summer here in Austin lasts a long time. The good thing about summer is that the Bambusas will start shooting here shortly.

Razin Cane, your comments are appreciated, but my knowledge of what I should be growing here in Austin is pretty darn good. I don't look to Home Depot or local nurseries for info. I own pretty much all the published books on bamboo, so while not an expert, my knowledge base is good. I do know what Texas bamboo growers have on their farms. I'm growing about 16 varieties and some are full on adults. That doesn't mean I don't have the desire to push the limits of what folks normally grow. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think they can grow fargesia in Texas and like them, I might fail miserably (which already happened with my F. robusta attempt two years ago)

Most types of Fargesia have failure written all over them for my climate. This thread sent me towards F. rufa. and maybe scabrida as varieties to try. I've given the rufa a nice shady location under a huge post oak tree and evergreen cherry laurels. It's right near a sprinkler head, so it will get first shot when the system comes on. That's all I'm going to do and if it dies, then I'll put rufa on the no grow list- at least in my garden.

Thanks for all the input and updates, it is appreciated.

[bamboothew]

Samajax, it is good to hear that your rufa is doing well so far. You are quite right, though, that we really just have begun with the hot weather. It is, though, encouraging that the rufa hasn't shown signs of stress on the hot days we have already experienced. Does it usually get to 100 so early in the year there? The 90's we are experiencing the last week or so are very unseasonably warm for this area. We usually don't get that hot until closer to july or so. Just wanted to mention as well that my in-ground Yushania anceps that had starting shooting earlier in the year is now shooting again, this time with some MUCH larger shoots than anything previous, so apparently it is actually enjoying the weather so far

[Samajax]

June 10th and almost a week of near 100 degree days and the rufa is still holding strong.

It has been the hottest spring on record, and of course that's the one I pick to try out f. rufa- no time to ease the plant into the fire. Normally this type of heat wave doesn't come until August or September, but what can you do.....

[bamboothew]

Thanks for the update. It has been in the 90's here for 2 weeks now and my rufas are both still fine as well, though the potted one is a little droopier than the in-ground one. Like you, we usually don't get heat like this for another month or 2. Most of my phyllostachys are rolling their leaves during the hottest part of day every day in this heat. The other genera I grow don't seem to do this at all.

[bamboothew]

I found some Bambusa mutiplex on clearance dirt cheap and the postage was cheap too, so I got 4 of them. The plan is to size them up in pots, brought inside for the coldest parts of winter, until they are large enough to go outside in the ground. I know from old posts that they have been grown with some degree of success in this area. With adequate protection for a few years they may get mature enough to reach full hardiness and hold leaves many winters. Anyway, it should be fun

Anyone here in zone 7b or 8a had success with multiplexes?

[moriphen]

All i know about the Bambusa genus is that they do not survive a zone 7 winter .

M

[BooManChu]

I found some Bambusa mutiplex on clearance dirt cheap and the postage was cheap too, so I got 4 of them....

I can understand why.
Keep 'em sprayed with fungicide!
The black sooty mold is attracted to the multiplexes...

~BMC.

[bamboothew]

All i know about the Bambusa genus is that they do not survive a zone 7 winter .

M

Of course they dont My zone here is a little misleading, though. For instance I have lived on this property for 5 winters and so far we have had exactly 3 nights when temps have dropped to single digits here (always high single digits), each time for no more than a few hours. This past winter my absolute low was 18f for a few hours. Plant delights nursery in NC reports that the multiplexes start leaf burning for them around 6f and top kill around 0f, but it is obvious to me now that these must be mature plantings in a sheltered location. I got a multiplex fernleaf from them the year we moved here and planted the tiny 3.5" plant straight in the ground on an exposed hillside with no mulch, not knowing any better(my first ever bamboo and had no idea at all what I was doing). I was thinking hey, it's bamboo, that stuff's indestructible, right? For 3 winters it topkilled every year and came back the same size as the year before but always looked very ragged. Last summer I dug it up and potted it, and overwintered it inside. Now it has at least quadrupled in size.

I really didn't get the bamboo bug until someone at work gave me some pleioblastus fortunei a couple of years ago. Now there is a plant to encourage a zone 7 grower.

Also, I saw that Mike Turner in Marietta, SC grows multiplexes and even textilis with decent success and I am convinced that my winters here are a little milder than his, so I think with the right combination of growing the plants large before planting outside and using a sheltered location, maybe it will be possible here. If not, then I had fun trying Either way, I am pretty sure the multiplexes will never be the showpieces of my garden

Didn't I read here somwhere that someone is growing ventricosa outside in zone 6?

[bamboothew]

I found some Bambusa mutiplex on clearance dirt cheap and the postage was cheap too, so I got 4 of them....

I can understand why.
Keep 'em sprayed with fungicide!
The black sooty mold is attracted to the multiplexes...

~BMC.

Thanks for the info, will keep a close eye on'em, though I havent had that problem with my fernleaf yet. Forgot to mention in the original post that I already had the fernleaf. If I end up having too bad of a problem I'll just throw them out. Marginal plants are only worth so much trouble

[Samajax]

Black sooty mold is a post sucking insect problem. It forms because of the sucking actions of many insects- mainly aphids. The mold forms because of the sap sucking insects secretions.

I'm sure you'all know that, but wanted to throw that out there.

I'll try not to sound to organic gardening preachy, but you will have minimal sooty mold problems if you control the insects- so spraying fungicide everywhere can be a waste of chemicals- and of course a not so favorable addition to the balance in your garden.

Sucking insects can be controlled by other insects- ladybug/lacewing larvae, etc, and strong sprays of water- if feasible. If death control is in order, there are light oil sprays (suffocation), Neem oil (which is also a fungicide), soap sprays, etc- none of these should be used until the sun is off the plant because of leaf burn issues. Keep in mind, even organic kill products are non specific and eliminate the good with the bad..

Ok, off the soapbox. Sorry if I told everybody something they already knew.

On the F. rufa front, well into over a month of 100 degree (hottest spring on record, no end in sight) days and I'm seeing minimal suffering. Still deep green, leaf browning is minimal...(but of course having to irrigate with our alkali water doesn't help). So far so good on a bit of the Himalayas in Texas.

[bamboothew]

Thanks for the update! My rufas are doing fine as well, with no browniung at all. Actually they are shooting again! Not sure when they started, but noticed yesterday that new shoots are already taller than the clumps on both rufas and are still rising

[bamboothew]

My rufas are suffering a bit with yellowed leaves and a few dead/dying culms, but that is hardly a surprise with almost daily high temps in the mid to upper 90's and nighttime lows as high as 86 So I have stepped up the watering of both the in-ground and potted rufas and brought the pooted one onto the covered back porch, where it will only get dappled sun for the rest of summer. Bothplants, by the way, are shooting like crazy at the moment and the clumps are much wider than they were in the spring, so overall I am satisfied so far.

Yushania anceps is still amazing me with its total lack of regard for the scorching heat

Should be getting Thamnocalamus tessellatus before the end of summer so I am excited about that. I have good hope that it will do well and I love its form much more than any fargesia I have seen.

[needmore]

Our weather has been about the same, 90+ for the past decade it seems, no rain for a 4-week stretch during which I did not water my F rufa's at all. The last of July I had 2 good rains the same week so they finally got watered. The in-ground ones look unfazed, they get very little direct sun. I have had 2 potted ones in all day full sun and water them every morning, they look very robust and happy green and growing rapidly.

Planted an F murielae, F denudata, F nitida, T tess all 15 gallon large guys in March that are watered every day and they are fine as well. The T tess gets lots of direct sun the others little.

[Alan_L]

My full-sun rufa has some burn on it as it did last summer too. I don't water every day, but probably should have been. The ones in shade are perfect and get less water than the sun one does.

[bamboothew]

Thanks for the info, guys! Re the Tham tess, my need in a particular spot by my walkway is for a 10-15 ft or so clumping bamboo with a strongly upright habit that will tolerate almost full sun and hold its leaves down to 5-10f, and it seems to be the most likely candidate at this time. As my mixed aureosulcata grove and some of my "clumping" runners mature the Tham tess area will get a little less sun each year until, at some point, I think that area will probably get no more than 3 hours or so of direct sun. I may let the Tham tess size up in a 30 gallon tub for a couple of years or more in a bit shadier area and test its sun tolerance periodically until I am satisfied that the spot is shady enough.