Bambusa pervariabilis 'Viridistriatus' "Sunburst"

[Big john]

Observations:

I have a plant that I put in the ground last July 2013 after receiving it from a vendor in Florida. It grew well and then we had an unusual winter and it got to 13 degrees for a few nights. Of course, being tropical, it died back to the ground. I had mulched it well with hay. I thought it was dead. The 3rd week in April 2014, it began to show life (about 3 weeks after my vivax started shooting). It grew many whips and looked like it might make it. Then it really took off growing until July when it started shooting like normal. It produced several culms and they grew about 10 feet tall or so. I went out today to water and noticed a huge shoot coming up again with other shoots coming from the ground, too. The culms on these are much larger than the ones it produced in July. I am on the border of zone 8A/8B and am so surprised at how well it is growing and thriving. Such a beautiful bamboo plant.

I guess with a winter that won't dip too low in temps, it will really gain size and strength and maybe will able to withstand cold temps better.

[grabhorn]

Got any photos?

[bambambooboo]

I've had mine for a few years, purchased from one supplier and then got another one locally. I grow them in 9a/9b Florida. They survived with no damage a low 20s cold snap that lasted about a week, a 100plus-year event for the area. My idea is to grow it near Golden Hawaiian for when the Hawaiian experiences top kill, thinking that Sunburst would survive. I want to maintain the yellow culms which intersperse Tropical Black.

I don't know how cold it can get, a web page shows 21. I'm not surprised to hear yours came back after top kill. If you haven't divided yet, though, I can offer this warning: divide with caution. When I thought I had substantial-enough clumps, I set out to divide into about five pieces of at least two culms each. All but two died nearly right away, setting me back a few years. The two remaining barely survived but have made a comeback. One of those still survives but has merely leafed out with no new culms this year. It could be I've got it a bit too shaded so might take another year to establish. The other has done very well, producing new culms all summer including a new one coming up now. From memory I'd say I've got five or six culms on that one.

I probably won't divide again next year but will wait at least another year and at that point I'll only divide clumps in two without trying to get any more out of them than that, now that I know how tricky they can be to establish.

[Big john]

Here are two pics. Had trouble reducing them so they would upload.