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Quick update on 3 variegated P. arcana ‘Luteosulcata’ seedlings

June 26, 2016 tarzan Comments 0 Comment

I’ve already been writing about possible variegated seedlings from the second batch of seedlings. The variegated seedling from the test germination of 10 seeds remains my most variegated Phyllostachys arcana ‘Luteosulcata’ seedling. The other 3 possible variegated seedlings still show signs of variegation, but they are far smaller and variegation can not be confirmed. The seedlings in the second batch were sown tightly and became weak as they started to grow larger. I failed to plant them into individual pots on time and I’ve lost some of the seedlings that started drying out due to lack of light and water. One of the most affected was the second most variegated seedling that refused to start shooting even when other seedlings started to put out their second shoot.

I found it completely dried out and it seemed to be lost, with only 3 remaining leaves, that were also folded all the time, except during night, early morning and rainy weather. I decided to plant it into compost in the raised bed together with other two variegated seedlings and hope for the best. After almost two months, it somewhat recovered and now it’s pushing two small shoots that prove it’s going to live.

This one seems to be loosing variegation

The third seedling, the one that was dark green with white variegation, looking as inverse version of the first seedling is growing into almost completely green seedling. It’s growing slowly and it changed variegation along the way into white stripe on dark green leaf, similar to Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’, but that faded out too. It will be interesting to see if it returns or not. By planting it outside, it should grow fast enough to discover its possible unique features further.

Praing mantis fighting the insects that damage my seedings — Praying mantis fighting the insects that damage my seedings

Already mentioned first – and most variegated seedling, started growing faster after I planted it into compost outside in the raised bed, but it also got severely attacked by aphids, fungus gnats and all kinds of unknown bugs. The result of all those insects outside are dark brown spots and speckles on its leaves. Highly variegated leaves are also prone to become damaged by direct sun exposure. When the shoots leaf out, the new leaves become dark green enough to withstand the scorching summer sun way better. Spring was wet again and we are now entering the hot and sunny part of the year. Hopefully the seedlings will upsize considerably during the summer.

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New Batch of Bamboo Seedlings

February 12, 2016 tarzan Comments 0 Comment

In early winter, I have germinated 10 Phyllostachys arcana ‘Luteosulcata’ bamboo seedlings to test germination rate. I stored the rest to start growing them later. To preserve space I decided to germinate the majority in late winter, so that they can be moved outside as soon as possible.

Their time arrived and I placed all the seeds into relatively small pot that should be enough for them to start showing some of their basic characteristics. The best part of growing bamboo seedlings is the fact, that some of them may show extra features like variegation, cold-hardiness, sun tolerance, drought resistance or how vigorous the plant is. Many characteristics are not visible until later, when bamboo gets mature enough, but some can be evident from the very beginning. Some of the seedlings are strong from the beginning, and there are always seedlings, that “complain” about everything and rarely live more than a couple of years. The goal is to find any possible seedling that would end up having any of the genetic treats that would make it special. It’s fairly easy to start the seeds, but eventually they start taking a lot of space and you have to make selections and decide which of the seedlings are worth keeping.

Among albino seedlings that are too degenerated to survive, there are usually some variegated seedling that are healthy enough to survive. They may lack vigour and would have trouble surviving from seed in the wild, but with some help, they can be grown to the point, when they can thrive. Variegation often shows later in plants development and sometimes, even if the seedling shows some signs of variegations early, those features can fade away completely as bamboo gets maturer. That’s why you can’t really tell how special bamboo plant is, unless it’s completely healthy and growing for some time. Based on observation, you can pick good candidates that could eventually become worth growing for whatever reason.

I’ve had some luck during the germination trial and one of the plants appeared with serious issues producing chloroplasts, which results in unnaturally pale and variegated bamboo seedling. Low photosynthesis rate makes it grow much slower, but with some pampering, I was able to keep it alive. With all the remaining seeds (at least ten times more seeds), the number of variegated seedling should be even greater. It was not.

Strange colouration could be a sign of variegation.

There were many seedlings that started showing some minor striping on their first couple of leaves, but those are usually just temporary and will eventually fade out. They can develop some sort of variegation later, so if they are growing healthy, it’s worth growing them for a while longer. One of the seedlings shows more pronounced white striping and even some kind of leaf deformation. I have yet to see if it’s just deformed and will perish before it’s first shoot, or perhaps it’s just showing first signs of variegation.

One of the seedlings is showing similar variegation to that first seedling from the test round. It has similar striping and also fades from pale green to yellow leaf with green stripes, but it’s much darker in the beginning and it actually shows some stripes that are completely green right after the leaf unfolds. If that doesn’t change, it may become more vigorous and healthy, but greener version of my previous variegated seedling.

There are also other bamboo seedlings that also show signs of variegation, but I intend to wait a while for them to become more evident. I’ll update this post in a week or so.

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Arundo donax – Versicolor

August 22, 2014 tarzan Comments 0 Comment

Arundo donax is tall perennial cane that grows up to 6 m tall, but can grow even taller in optimal conditions with enough moisture and as much sun as possible. It grows in all kinds of soil types, can tolerate dry and wet soil, withstands polluted waste water contaminated soil and soil salinity.

Variagated aArundo donax variegata shoot — Variagated Arundo shoot

Arundo donax “Versicolor” is a bit smaller, less aggressive version with striped leaves. It’s a bit less cold hardy and lacks original Arundo’s vigor, but in temperate climate, cold hardiness doesn’t really count as long as underground rhizomes survive the winter. In warm climates without freezing temperatures, canes remain green and stop growing at low temperatures. When spring arrives with warmer weather, canes start growing again, pushing out branches from original stem. In colder climate, everything above ground turns brown, but the canes usually survive and can also branch out in the spring. Usually all the canes are removed during the late winter or early spring, because fresh growth looks much more attractive.

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