B Chungii size

[Bamboo Conne'isseur]

I am wondering what size pot does chungii start looking great? If I purchase a seven gallon, will I end up with the blue culms, or will it take a year or so?
Just was thinking about this after hearing several people mention how it looks like crap for a few years, before taking off.

[boonut]

Mine looked great in any size pot. My pots are in my back yard in the city... with a lot of protection from wind and about 50% shade. When I planted it at the farm, the leaves got smaller, the culms got yellow instead of green, and the leaf margins all got browned.

This is pretty typical for moving a bamboo with lots of care... great soil etc.. to being put out at my farm which is in full sun and full wind with alkaline soils. That is a big shock. Great drainage to not so great drainage. The more you let the bamboo get root bound, the worse the shock.

I find the same results for most bamboo... about the third year, they all take off and do very well. Even the leaves get larger and no more leaf margin burn. They adapt.

Just keep all of this in mind when reading my posts... I have unusual conditions. I think as soon as my screens get large enough and my bamboo and other trees get nice and established, my bamboo will look great again.. similar to what they looked like in great soil at my house. I have some bamboo that has been in the ground at the farm that do look very nice.

[boonut]

BTW, how are the B. Bambos cuttings doing? Have they taken over your house yet?

[marcat]

I beleave the new culms will be blue right away. They(the individual culms) loose it as they get older.
MarCat

[Bamboo Conne'isseur]

BTW, how are the B. Bambos cuttings doing? Have they taken over your house yet?

Considering I don't have a lot of space, they probably will. They all seem to be fine, except one that I planted directly in the ground in a shaded spot by the road. Seems some kids or a dog or something tore it up. I have the others protected though. Those are gonna be monsters, and fast. I'm gonna put one in the ground by my bedroom window; with those thorns on it, it will be quite the pain in the ass for someone to try to get in; a nice added bonus.

In regards to the chungii, I thought I read somewhere that it kind of looks shabby at about the three gallon size, and once it gets a bit larger it starts to look better. Does it take a while for it to be able to have the full on bloom effect? Kind like how lako does not get really black until it gets around a seven to fifteen gallon size.
Thanks for the replies Allen and Marcat.

[Roy]

..snip...

In regards to the chungii, I thought I read somewhere that it kind of looks shabby at about the three gallon size, and once it gets a bit larger it starts to look better.....snip..

That was probably me you heard bitching and griping..... Oops, I meant to say moaning and groaning about my smaller B. chungii. Until mine get some size to them, the edges of the leaves, most of the times, even in the ground, have dried out portions and are a light yellow. I may have a couple hundred pots of various bamboos, but I can alway easily pick out the B. chungii by looking at the crummy leaves. It's not that way on every B. chungii I have in a pot, but there is enough of it to say that, at least in my backyard, that it is common. Irritates the hades out of me, but I have gotten better in the last few years, but not nearly close to meeting my expectations.

[marcat]

Roy I had the same problem with a Chungi I bought last year and never could figure it out. I wanted to divide it before I put it in the ground but had to wait till this spring to do it. The leaves did the same as you describe and even though it put up about 7 shoots (started with three culms) five of them aborted. Have you found any way to improve their pot existance I did divide it and plant half but the other one I want to keep in a pot.
Oh and I topped the culms to reduce moisture loss and used one of the canes (maybe I should still call it a culm) to give added support to the potted one and the cane is putting on new growth. Hopeing (but not holding my breath) that it will root too.
Marcat

[Roy]

Roy I had the same problem with a Chungi I bought last year and never could figure it out. I wanted to divide it before I put it in the ground but had to wait till this spring to do it. The leaves did the same as you describe and even though it put up about 7 shoots (started with three culms) five of them aborted. Have you found any way to improve their pot existance I did divide it and plant half but the other one I want to keep in a pot.
Oh and I topped the culms to reduce moisture loss and used one of the canes (maybe I should still call it a culm) to give added support to the potted one and the cane is putting on new growth. Hopeing (but not holding my breath) that it will root too.
Marcat

Marcat,

With my success ration on B. chungii I definitely shouldn't be giving advice. With that being said, I have not been able to get information from those that are having good success with B. chungii.

One thing that has seemed to help with my potted ones is to put plenty of Perlite in the pots to provide for a lot of drainage. I've noticed that the roots will rot out quickly if the pot doesn't drain exceptionally well. Of course that doesn't explain why the same plants in the ground do the same thing.

[marcat]

Roy I believe the excess water in a pot stagnates and the bacteria count goes crazy which is why potted plants get root rot easier than planted ones. At least its a good guess...LOL
MarCat

[Bamboo Conne'isseur]

..snip...

In regards to the chungii, I thought I read somewhere that it kind of looks shabby at about the three gallon size, and once it gets a bit larger it starts to look better.....snip..

That was probably me you heard bitching and griping..... Oops, I meant to say moaning and groaning about my smaller B. chungii. Until mine get some size to them, the edges of the leaves, most of the times, even in the ground, have dried out portions and are a light yellow. I may have a couple hundred pots of various bamboos, but I can always easily pick out the B. chungii by looking at the crummy leaves. It's not that way on every B. chungii I have in a pot, but there is enough of it to say that, at least in my backyard, that it is common. Irritates the hades out of me, but I have gotten better in the last few years, but not nearly close to meeting my expectations.

So you think that chungii would look fine if planted immediately?
Seems that most bambusas benefit from higher amounts of water than other tropical bamboos. I guess chungii is the exception.
On another note, I read that it is not the excess water that causes root rot in plants, but the lack of oxygen to its roots. It appears that plants such as B. chungii and papaya need more oxygen in their soils, so the well draining soil types tend to expel the water faster, which is followed by air entering the spaces the water left. I noticed with my papaya that when I took it out the ground, and made the soil much more airy, its growth rate, and lack of rot just was excellent. Before, it was almost exclusively in sand. Although sand drains well, it also compacts, leaving the plant with very little oxygen for its roots. I took it out, chopped almost all the rotted dead roots, then put it into a mix of sand, cow manure, top soil, and lots of vermiculite, and perlite. Its really loving that mix.