bambooweb.info

Hi there. I've posted here once before, and realized I forgot to check back in. I am Alec, and I live in Eastern Norway, with extremes between -15C/5F and 35C/95F. We face the ocean (never freezes, sea winds almost exclusively bring mild ocean temperatures; mountain air need to cross the sea before it gets here). I spent some of my teenage years in Houston (TX) and Osaka (Japan). The former started an interest in more exotic species and the latter made me focus on Japanese plants, including bamboo. I am a professional landscape architect, so hobby and work do come together at times.

So for a short update in case you guys find my only other post here, my P. edulis grown from seeds then died one year due to negligent spring watering. I gave up on anything but Fargesia while completing my studies in a different town. Time has passed and I feel less interested in starting bamboo from seed (albeit very rewarding at the time). I have the opportunity to order any bamboo from a local garden center now, and I am curious what to try out.

Long story short: What Phyllostachys would you recommend trying out? I am thinking of P. atrovaginata at the moment, but P. vivax is a close second. Maybe P. edulis with proper care this time? Read some local experiences below for reference.

My location:
USDa zone 8a
Heat zone 2
Sunset zone 4 (closest)
Scandinavian zone H2

Chart from the garden weather station, after ten years of monitoring.


I'm located in the east of Norway. The property sits on bedrock with relatively shallow pockets of soil, which makes it susceptible to ground frost, with the frost and soil depth line at around the same depth (20 inches / 0,5 m). As a reference, Fargesia murielae and F. nitida do well, but I have noticed that the F. murielae that have been placed up against native peat soil tend to have shoots coming up in late summer and leave leaves unfurled through the winter. A F. murielae that was placed in deep sandy soil at my childhood home close by never did this.

As you may have surmised, my limiting factor is cooler summers and ground freeze problems. A lot of online references simply mention USDA hardiness zones, but I've found this very unreliable due to our shallow soil cover and shorter growing seasons (soil temps hit 60F / 15.5C in June and dip below that by the end of September).

References
OSLO



The botanical gardens about 50 mi / 80 km north have a big variety of bamboo species. It sits directly north of me at end of the Oslofjord. The climate is a bit more extreme than mine, due to it being encompassed by landmasses on most sides.

Fargesia
murielae
nitida

Phyllostachys
aureosulcata
bambusoides
bissetii
humilis
edulis
iridescens
nigra
parvifolia
propiniqua
reticulata
viridis
viridiglaucescens
vivax

Sasa
kurilensis
palmata
tsuboiana
veitchii

I have stopped by every other year or so, but this fall I noticed almost everything had been cut back, presumably due to a lot of dieback last winter. The only Phyllostachys with a few standing culms (around 10 ft / 3+ m) were P. edulis and P. vivax. Almost all the Phyllostachys from the list above did, however have new though meager growth with pretty horizontal stalks resembling some sort of ground cover. All Fargesia were gone, but Sasa tsuboiana and Sasa palmata looked unscathed. For the Fargesia to die seems extreme as I have never seen any damage on them where I am, after planting 7 of them in different spots over the last 15 years. I have only ever seen them die when grown in containers.

GOTHENBURG



Another botanical garden is locaged 110 mi / 180 km to the south in Sweden. Gothenburg faces the open ocean, with a Europe's biggest like to the east. This minimizes the effect of Siberian winds, but also makes it more exposed to ocean winds, bringing summer temperatures down.
They can boast a few bamboo species as well. Altogether, my local climate should be something in between Oslo and Gothenburg.

Fargesia
denudata
dracocephala
murielae
nitida
robusta
rufa
scabrida

Phyllostachys
atrovaginata
aureosulcata
decora
humilis
nuda

Pseudosasa
japonica

Sasa
palmata
veitchii
ramosa

I can't say much for these, but online photos seem to show a thriving and well established groves of P. atrovaginata ([photo 1] [photo 2]) and P. japonica. Neither of these have been attempted in Oslo. The other Phyllostachys and Sasa don't have any published photos online (Fargesia do, and seem to do well), but I will stop by next time I go down south.

Sorry about the lengthy post! Hope the data at least may be of interest to anyone with similar climatic challenges.

Alec,
Thank you for the update, and the beautiful climate charts! Did you do those completely manually, or use some kind of application, or website?

Our climate here in Fort Collins is hotter than Oslo in the summer, and colder in the winter, and much dryer year round. So, I have to cover my bamboo in winter and provide for air circulation.
I never realized Oslo was so pleasant and balmy. Perhaps if I win the lottery I will visit there sometime.

Thank you,
Bruce

In my experience, your best bets would be P bissetii and most P aureosulcata varieties.

P vivax will get killed to ground any time it gets to -15C (5F). I'm on an island supposedly in USDA plant zone 7A, which is not supposed to get that cold, but every several years we have a freeze event with gale or hurricane force winds, and my vivax stands get top killed.

P nuda can also take the cold once it is mature, but is slower to get established.