Propinqua Beijing starting to take up some space

[stevelau1911]

Last spring, my propinqua beijing happened to stay relatively in its tight clump for its 3rd shooting season while hardly upsizing at all, but it looks like the rhizomes might have already crept up to 4ft away from the main clump by now. There are 5 whip shoots, but none of them are probably mature enough to make decent divisions.

Based on how it looks now, it might be primed to explode in size for next year, and really fill up some space.



This also seems to be more like a screening bamboo as it seems to prefer producing an abundance of culms, and relatively skinny rhizomes. It should be evergreen on most winters for zone 6 growers, but if it doesn't have good size potential, I might have to change it up with something bigger like prominens, or else it would just get shaded out by the atrovaginata.

I think propinqua beijing may be better suited as a long privacy screen along the property line.

[Iowaboo]

its a nice plant, I need to move some of mine in a better location, because gets blunt of winter winds, though starting to go in the road ditch.

[pokenei]

Here's my Beijing, holding on to dear life. (It's there...look closely)

I've had high hopes for this plant, but if it turns out to be an average screener like Bissetii, then ... even more disappointed

Everyone, pray for my Beijing...

[stevelau1911]

I think as long as it is tarped as temperatures drop below -10C, those leaves should stay on through the winter, even in a zone 5, and that's all it needs to make a few small shoots. This type of bamboo does tend to shoot twice a year, so the only key is to make sure those leaves are still green by around shooting time which is usually the 1st week of May around here.

Once established, I believe this bamboo is a bit more cold hardy than bissetii, and it has up-sized with more ease. I just don't know if it has good size potential until next year.

[jd.]

This type of bamboo does tend to shoot twice a year, [...]

After the summer drought, the 'beijing' bamboo here was one that sent up shoots after it finally rained again.
' perhaps a foolish thing for bamboo to do in zone 5 as a subsequent frost halted those shoots from developing.

Once established, I believe this bamboo is a bit more cold hardy than bissetii, and it has up-sized with more ease.

Here, it's not the hardiest bamboo in winter winds even in a mild winter and suffered with only low sheltered leaves surviving. I'd expect it to need protection to perform better.

What sort of damage did you see on your bissetii that you did not see on the 'beijing'?

[stevelau1911]

I think Bissetii is still pretty hardy, but on the unusually cold winter of 2010/2011 where it almost dropped down to -9F on one night, it seemed like the top half of bissetii was badly leaf burned while the propinqua beijing was only about 20% leaf burned all throughout. I was dealing with one of the coldest winters in recorded history, and my plants were much smaller back then so it may not have been a fair assessment. It typically gets only down to the lower single digits or a few degrees below 0F for winter around here so I don't expect a repeat of 2010/2011 any time soon, especially with the polar ice caps at minimal levels this fall.

This year I let people dig out my entire bissettii grove because I simply didn't like its aggressive nature accompanied by an abundance of shoots, and slow upsize. I also don't think bissetii has great size potential with cool summers due to its tiny rhizomes, and it is more of a screener than anything else. It was directly behind my atrovaginata so it was getting shaded out anyways by a bamboo that appeared to have superior size potential.


JD, how is your bissettii doing? I know it can get pretty tall in warmer climates, but the mature grove I dug mine from got no more than 12ft in height which is shorter than many of my current juvenile groves.

[jd.]

I planted it here at a marginal location that killed the majority of small bamboos by spring, including the bissetii. Coincidentally, a small propinqua 'beijing' bamboo planted there did survive through the same winter.

This year I let people dig out my entire bissettii grove because I simply didn't like its aggressive nature accompanied by an abundance of shoots, and slow upsize. I also don't think bissetii has great size potential with cool summers due to its tiny rhizomes, and it is more of a screener than anything else.

I don't miss it either.
I gather bissetii is one of the smaller Phyllostachys bamboos that grows like a weed when conditions are right.

If you're looking for another bamboo that's strongly upright and potentially taller than the atrovaginata, I've read that Phyllostachys makinoi shows good hardiness and potential size, up to 20 m (65 ft) tall with 8 cm (3") thick culms. A grower in Oregon reports slow spread while a grower in Alabama reports moderate spread, so there's also less aggressive growth to deal with.

[stevelau1911]

If you are in zone 5, you probably should tarp all your bamboos for the first few seasons to give them a chance since they won't have their full hardiness yet.

I've had makinoi for 3 years now, and it really hasn't up-sized much as it is still around 1/3 inch by less than 6ft tall culms while most of my other bamboos have continually upsized. It seems to be weaker than most of my bamboos in leaf hardiness, but usually still manages to hang onto leaf buds, but I do expect better hardiness as it matures.

So far, many of my bamboos are already primed to challenge the 20ft mark next season. Here are the heights of my species that have broken the 10ft mark so far.
Dulcis 15ft
Parvifolia 14ft
Atrovaginata 13 1/2ft
Propinqua Beijing 13ft
Decora 12ft

[jd.]

If you are in zone 5, you probably should tarp all your bamboos for the first few seasons to give them a chance since they won't have their full hardiness yet.

Growing bamboo in this windswept zone, I'm obviously motivated to torture them at times. Perhaps only Lance (Iowaboo) is more punishing with his bamboo.

I reason the problem with that location was the lack of all day sun along with competition from grasses during the growing season. The plants with better summer growing conditions seem to better recover from the usual winter top kill. Even while the propinqua 'beijing' bamboo there survived, it never grew as well as a 'beijing' bamboo situated in full sun. Both faced competition from grasses in the summer and suffered top kill during the winter.

I've had makinoi for 3 years now, and it really hasn't up-sized much as it is still around 1/3 inch by less than 6ft tall culms while most of my other bamboos have continually upsized. It seems to be weaker than most of my bamboos in leaf hardiness, but usually still manages to hang onto leaf buds, but I do expect better hardiness as it matures.

That's one unhurried bamboo. Perhaps your relatively cool growing season compels Phyllostachys makinoi to chill out.
The bud hardiness sounds promising.
Has your makinoi the same sun exposure as your propinqua 'beijing' and others?

[Iowaboo]

Growing bamboo in this windswept zone, I'm obviously motivated to torture them at times. Perhaps only Lance (Iowaboo) is more punishing with his bamboo.

what state do you torture yours in?

Since last winter was mild, I had a good percentage of top growth survive on my bamboo, but then spring freeze helped wipe out shoots. My tallest was 12' spectabilis until wind knocked top out. In the photo it will show relevant size compared to my 6' self- started as a 1 gallon in 2006, and now 6 years later. Tends to be vertically challenged in this climate, but not horizontally challenged.

[stevelau1911]

I keep makinoi under full sun, but I've never protected it before as I've wanted to see its true hardiness, and it seems to be less hardy than most of my bamboos as leaf damage can occur at around +4F which is only hardy enough for the warmest winters here.

Iowaboo, it looks like if you get 1 zone 6 winter, all you groves can probably double up or more in height seeing how they seem to be suppressed by the winter. Have you ever tried vertically tarping one of your largest bamboos, and sticking Christmas lights inside to counter the winter extremes? I think a set up like that could allow bamboos to reach decent sizes even in zone 4. Since parvifolia is known to break 10ft from rhizome within a season, I don't see why many bamboos wouldn't be able to break 10ft within many seasons.

Here's the overwintering test I did on my atrovaginata last year with a vertical tarp. This set up obviously turned out to be pointless as it never reached sub-zero last winter and the unprotected leaves stayed green anyways.

[jd.]

what state do you torture yours in?

Since last winter was mild, I had a good percentage of top growth survive on my bamboo, but then spring freeze helped wipe out shoots. My tallest was 12' spectabilis until wind knocked top out.

' that state east of Davenport.

Here the spring freeze also turned some early shoots into mush. The aureosulcata here is a newer addition than the tallest bamboo here, a parvifolia that's had exclusive use of a raised bed.

This set up obviously turned out to be pointless as it never reached sub-zero last winter and the unprotected leaves stayed green anyways.

Hehe. We never know exactly what the season will bring.

[pokenei]

I think as long as it is tarped as temperatures drop below -10C, those leaves should stay on through the winter, even in a zone 5, and that's all it needs to make a few small shoots.

I think a couple inches of snow is all it takes to cover all the remaining leaves on my planting. I doubt it has energy to produce shoots following this winter, otherwise it wouldn't have sacrificed most of its branches and leaves just to survive. Perhaps by late summer next year, it might put up some small shoots, or it may not. Neither of my little Atro divisions produced any shoot this year, instead, opted to invest in rhizome production instead.

[Iowaboo]

Here's my Beijing, holding on to dear life. (It's there...look closely)

I've had high hopes for this plant, but if it turns out to be an average screener like Bissetii, then ... even more disappointed

Everyone, pray for my Beijing...

I have a piece that looks like that too, think is 2, maybe 3 years since I transplanted it and is rarely noticed in the brome.

[Iowaboo]

' that state east of Davenport.

Here the spring freeze also turned some early shoots into mush. The aureosulcata here is a newer addition than the tallest bamboo here, a parvifolia that's had exclusive use of a raised bed.

my parvifolia has special place, too- on south side of house, I'll have to measure it sometime. Some of the biggest shoots came up against house, so cut those out, don't want them scraping against siding.