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Bamboo Shooting Calendar

Bamboo Shooting Calendar

One of the bamboo characteristics is its shooting date. Some will start shooting in early spring, as soon as the soil starts warming up. Early shooters from my list of bamboos are Fargesia Rufa and Phyllostachys pubescens ‘Moso’ seedling. There are also bamboos that do not like to wake up in the spring, but they will gladly shoot vigorously just before the winter kicks in and fries all the new growth – Borinda fungosa (gaolinensis ?).

I used to write down shooting dates into an online data table which became messy and way too large. To make things a bit more simple and easier to understand, I created separated charts of shooting dates I recorded for each of the bamboos I own. It may be a bit harder to compare multiple bamboos since the graphs are separated. By including more bamboos on the same graph, the whole thing becomes too crowded and it gets even harder to get any useful information from it.

To make it easier to compare different bamboos and their average shooting dates, I included another graph which holds that information. Bamboos are sorted from the latest shooter to those that start earlier.

GenusSpeciesCultivarDateYearDay of Year
Phyllostachysaurea15-05-20252025135
Tongpeiaarachnoides14-05-20252025134
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'01-05-20252025121
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'27-04-20252025117
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'27-04-20252025117
Pseudosasajaponica27-04-20252025117
Phyllostachysarcana08-04-2025202598
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'31-03-2025202590
FargesiaRufa27-03-2025202586
Tongpeiaarachnoides15-06-20242024167
Phyllostachysaurea13-05-20242024134
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'16-04-20242024107
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'16-04-20242024107
Pseudosasajaponica13-04-20242024104
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'09-04-20242024100
Phyllostachysarcana03-04-2024202494
FargesiaRufa18-03-2024202478
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'16-03-2024202476
Phyllostachysaurea29-05-20232023149
Tongpeiaarachnoides28-05-20232023148
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'13-05-20232023133
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'07-05-20232023127
Pseudosasajaponica29-04-20232023119
FargesiaRufa06-04-2023202396
Phyllostachysarcana29-03-2023202388
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'28-03-2023202387
Tongpeiaarachnoides29-07-20222022210
Phyllostachysaurea24-05-20222022144
Pseudosasajaponica12-05-20222022132
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'05-05-20222022125
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'04-05-20222022124
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'04-05-20222022124
Phyllostachysarcana17-04-20222022107
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'09-04-2022202299
FargesiaRufa07-04-2022202297
Tongpeiaarachnoides26-05-20212021146
Pseudosasajaponica20-05-20212021140
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'14-05-20212021134
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'30-04-20212021120
Phyllostachysarcana28-04-20212021118
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'04-04-2021202194
FargesiaRufa27-03-2021202186
Tongpeiaarachnoides10-06-20202020162
Phyllostachysaurea29-05-20202020150
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'09-05-20202020130
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'06-05-20202020127
Pseudosasajaponica02-05-20202020123
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'12-04-20202020103
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'20-03-2020202080
FargesiaRufa20-03-2020202080
Phyllostachysarcana17-03-2020202077
Tongpeiaarachnoides10-06-20192019161
Phyllostachysaurea01-06-20192019152
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'13-05-20192019133
Pseudosasajaponica10-05-20192019130
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'26-04-20192019116
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'18-04-20192019108
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'27-03-2019201986
FargesiaRufa19-03-2019201978
Phyllostachysarcana13-03-2019201972
Tongpeiaarachnoides25-05-20182018145
Phyllostachysaurea25-04-20182018115
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'25-04-20182018115
Pseudosasajaponica25-04-20182018115
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'22-04-20182018112
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'17-04-20182018107
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'17-04-20182018107
FargesiaRufa09-04-2018201899
Phyllostachysarcana21-03-2018201880
Tongpeiaarachnoides10-08-20172017222
Phyllostachysaurea20-05-20172017140
Pseudosasajaponica24-04-20172017114
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'24-04-20172017114
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'18-04-20172017108
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'01-04-2017201791
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'25-03-2017201784
FargesiaRufa20-03-2017201779
Phyllostachysarcana16-03-2017201775
Tongpeiaarachnoides11-05-20162016132
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'10-05-20162016131
Phyllostachysaurea09-05-20162016130
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'27-04-20162016118
Pseudosasajaponica21-04-20162016112
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'10-04-20162016101
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'01-04-2016201692
FargesiaRufa10-03-2016201670
Tongpeiaarachnoides13-06-20152015164
Phyllostachysaurea10-05-20152015130
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'09-05-20152015129
Pseudosasajaponica09-05-20152015129
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'28-04-20152015118
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'13-04-20152015103
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'10-04-20152015100
FargesiaRufa27-03-2015201586
Tongpeiaarachnoides26-05-20142014146
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'30-04-20142014120
Phyllostachysaurea28-04-20142014118
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'12-04-20142014102
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'25-03-2014201484
FargesiaRufa04-03-2014201463
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'08-05-20132013128
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'01-05-20132013121
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'26-04-20132013116
Phyllostachysedulis'Moso'20-04-20132013110
Pseudosasajaponica20-04-20132013110
FargesiaRufa15-04-20132013105
Phyllostachysaurea17-03-2013201376
Phyllostachysaureosulcata'Spectabilis'05-05-20122012126
Hibanobambusatranquillans'Shiroshima'03-05-20122012124
Fargesiadenudata'Lancaster 1'09-04-20122012100
FargesiaRufa22-03-2012201282
Phyllostachysaurea03-03-2012201263

Previous shooting graphs

Graph 1: Borinda Fungosa shooting date
Graph 2: Fargesia Denudata ‘Lancaster 1’
Graph 3: Fargesia Rufa shooting date
Graph 4: Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’ shooting date
Graph 5: Phyllostachys arcana ‘Luteosulcata’ seedling’s shooting date
Graph 6: Phyllostachys aurea shooting date
Graph 7: Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’ Lamatempel shooting date
Graph 8: Phyllostachys pubescens ‘Moso’ shooting date
Graph 9: Pseudosasa japonica ‘Tsutsumiana’ shooting date

Graph 10: Average Shooting Date Comparison
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13 thoughts on “Bamboo Shooting Calendar”

  1. Alec says:
    May 17, 2016 at 18:30

    Hey there! Where in Europe are you located? I’m trying to grow ‘Moso’ and P. A. ‘Spectabilis’ up in Scandinavia at the moment. What are your absolute winter lows, if I may ask?

    Reply
  2. tarzan says:
    May 17, 2016 at 20:52

    Hello!

    I grow them both in zone 7a, Ljubljana, Slovenia. It’s in Central Europe. Usually temperatures during winter drop to around -15°C, sometimes lower. For example, last winter, we’ve seen -20°C for a couple of nights, this winter, we’ve only seen -10°C, which means we’ve had a very warm winter. Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’ had shown almost no damage at -20°C. Some of the branches on the north-eastern side were partly leaf burnt, but overall, all the leaves remained undamaged or got a small brown leaf tip.
    Moso was badly damaged and the parts of it, that were not completely covered with snow, got completely defoliated and eventually in the spring leafed out, but not without strange leaf deformations and continuous loss of leaves and branches – I removed most if not all the damaged culms. Since the plant (seedling) is still young, cold hardiness improves each year. I think that Moso damage that winter was not caused by extreme cold alone – most likely it dehydrated due to strong dry north-eastern wind and sunny weather. Deadly combination for any evergreen plant.

    Reply
    1. Alec says:
      May 17, 2016 at 23:30

      Thanks for your speedy response! Ah, Slovenia! The one country here in Europe I really want to go to – seems like a little known gem 🙂

      It seems like your winters are similar to ours. Annual lows over the past five years (my neighbor kept records) were all between -11C and -16.5C, but once every decade, we may get down to -20C if northeastern/eastern winds blow in from Sweden. Winds from that direction, however, are extremely seldom here with the nonstop Gulf Stream from the southwest. My fear is that temperatures tend to stay above 0C in December, leaving most plants bare for the ca. -15C cold snaps in January. I’m predicting many years of mulching. It’s good to see that the Moso survived -20C temps, though! That gives me even more hope 🙂

      Our summers are probably much cooler than yours, with last summer not producing a single day of temperatures over 30C or a single night over 20C. With this mild coastal climate, the challenge will be getting the plants enough sunlight and heat.

      I’ll be following your blog from now on! Just discovered it through your comments on Grannos’ blog 🙂

      Reply
      1. tarzan says:
        May 18, 2016 at 0:17

        Moso likes sun, but as soon as it gets well above 30°C it starts rolling it’s leaves around here. If there’s wind, it looses water even faster. I’m sure it won’t grow as fast as ‘down’ here, but you should be able to keep it alive. Winters without snow are being an issue here as well – snow usually comes from south, which means it often rains, rather than snows. On the other side, cold comes from north-east and it’s usually dry, sunny and often windy. Without snow, there’s a good chance Moso gets damaged. Just a bit more to the south, there’s Mediterranean climate and they don’t have such problems.

        Grannos must be close. Possibly a bit more to the south, because he sees first shoots earlier.

        If you ever need advice just feel free to ask. Good luck!

        Reply
        1. Alec says:
          May 18, 2016 at 0:59

          Yeah, we have the same patterns here. I’m excited to try it, though! My moso are grown from seeds, but I should be looking around for rhizomes as well.

          Thanks! I will definitely ask if I need a consultation 🙂

          Reply
  3. Suman Peel says:
    September 16, 2019 at 18:30

    Hi,

    I am not a seasoned gardner and trying to grow a variety of Phyllostachys Aurea in Bristol, UK. The weather here is usually mild (5 – 20C) with an average rainfall of 80mm, but we do see occassional snow.

    I bought a variety of Phyllostachys Aurea in a pot with 5 canes reaching a height of 2-3 m about 5 weeks ago. I replanted it in a bigger pot straight after, and to my surprise I noticed 4 fresh culms about a week ago. My bamboo seems confused and so am I as to how to care for it. It was planted in new compost, would it be advisable to fertilise it at this stage?

    Many thanks for your time.

    Suman

    Reply
    1. tarzan says:
      October 9, 2019 at 16:29

      When the young bamboo gets planted, it’s best to leave it alone and only fertilize with well composted manure or compost. When it settles enough and starts growing roots and rhizomes, you can start fertilizing, but if you used compost when planting, it should have enough. I would also stop fertilizing by now, because there’s a chance it gets damaged during the winter if it still actively grows when the weather cools down. Phyllostachys aurea is a bit more prone to cold damage than other, more hardy Phyllostachys. I would leave it alone and start with fertilization in the spring, right before shooting (around mid March should be fine).

      Reply
  4. Carmel says:
    November 26, 2019 at 17:23

    Enjoy your bamboo articles! Do you have a list of bamboo species, in order of hardiness? I live in Canada, on the east coast, and in USDA zone 6, because it’s closer to the ocean, we don’t get extreme cold–usually. And often it gets hot in the summer now that the climate is changing, many days above 30*C, which was not the case in times past. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. tarzan says:
      November 28, 2019 at 10:15

      Hello,

      thank you for thumbs up! There’s a list here. Bamboos are sorted by their hardiness and their hardiness zone.

      Reply
  5. Tomas Dvořák says:
    January 7, 2024 at 13:45

    Hello. I like your Phyllostachys arcana luteosulcata variegata. Can you write me more information?

    Reply
    1. tarzan says:
      January 7, 2024 at 21:18

      Thank you for this comment. I’ll write more about it in the following days. I’ll let you know when I do. There are no more recent photos, but all 3 of the variegated seedlings are still growing. The most variegated is a bit weak, but I’ll plant it into large separated pot, before I can finally get it somewhere with unlimited space to grow.

      Reply
  6. Tomas Dvořák says:
    January 9, 2024 at 19:05

    Thank you for answer! I am big fan of bamboo. I have almost 90 cultivars, but varigated arcana not. Do you have any Facebook or Messenger ?

    Reply
  7. Tomas Dvořák says:
    January 9, 2024 at 19:14

    I grow bamboos in Europe in The Czech Republic. I have Facebook profile: Bambusy Panda

    Reply

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