Bamboo and autumn leaf fall

Bamboo and autumn leaf fall

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Despite the fact that bamboo (well, at least most of them) is evergreen plant, most of temperate bamboos start shedding leaves as soon as weather starts getting colder.

Before and after picture on Borinda fungosa. It had lost more than 1/3 of it's leaves within a week. Culms are more exposed and will most likely get their beautiful tan in the winter sun.
Before and after picture on Borinda fungosa. It had lost more than 1/3 of it’s leaves within a week. Culms are more exposed and will most likely get their beautiful tan in the winter sun.

During the winter, plant’s activity drops and water mobility inside the plant slows down and sometimes even stops completely. With temperatures below freezing, soil can be cold or even frozen on top, effectively preventing water to get from roots into leaves. Evergreen plants continue to loose water through the leaves by transpiration during the winter. Leaf can heat up considerably during bright sunny winter day and even if air temperature is low, rate of transpiration gets higher. Higher transpiration rate becomes a problem, when roots fail to replenish all the water that is lost through the leaves. Water loss problem gets worst during prolonged periods of strong winds and on already mentioned sunny days.

First to drop leaves was Fargesia rufa.
First to drop leaves was Fargesia rufa.

Deciduous plants shed their leaves during the unfavorable part of the growing season, which can be winter in temperate parts of the globe or dry season in the tropics. Plants effectively prevent water loss caused by unnecessary transpiration by tossing away their foliage. Bamboos usually remain green during the winter, except some of the species that grow at higher altitudes in the mountains. They do prepare for the winter and shed some of their leaves though.
 

Hibanobambusa had lost less leaves than other bamboos, but it didn't have many to start with either.
Hibanobambusa had lost less leaves than other bamboos, but it didn’t have many to start with either.

When first frost arrived, most of the bamboos in my garden triggered leaf yellowing process but in only about a week, when most of the colored leaves dropped, bamboos turned green again, yet with a lot less greenery on them. Some of bamboos like to dispose of unnecessary leaves regularly, even during the summer, which means they show much less leaf loss in the fall. That kind of pattern was seen on Fargesia rufa. It was also the first bamboo to drop some of it’s leaves.
 
 

Some leaves lost, and some still yellow. It also started shooting in late fall. In late fail.
Some leaves lost, and some still yellow. It also started shooting in late fall. In late fail.
Phyllostachys aureosulcata Spectabilis either forgot to drop leaves or it managed to do it regularly so it was hard to notice. I do remember seeing yellow leaves, but they were emerging sporadically and were easily missed. Ground below and around it show almost no sign of dead leaves.
Phyllostachys Aurea is loosing a lot of leaves each fall and this year it’s doing the same. It does take a bit more time to complete the task.
Phyllostachys heterocycla Pubescens – Moso is also showing only minor leaf fall. It does like to drop the leaves in the spring after it starts shooting. Yellowing usually occurs when last year’s branches start to grow new foliage.

When it comes to scraping leaves, Borinda fungosa holds the title.
When it comes to scraping leaves, Borinda fungosa holds the title.

And the winner is Borinda fungosa. It started yellowing after first frost, in only a couple of days it was full of yellow leaves and just a couple of days later, there were no signs of yellow leaves on it. Soil around it, on the other hand is full of leaves that will hopefully protect the plant from winter cold.

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Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

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Eichhornia crassipes is commonly known as Water hyacinth and can be highly invasive. I only bought one small plant, but I ended up removing it on a weekly basis to allow at least some air and sun to enter the water. It creates dense mat of lush vegetation on the pond’s surface, but with time it shades out everything inside the pond.

Weak and small at first,...
Weak and small at first,…
When I got the plant it was quite weak and pale and after I tossed it in the spring into the pond’s relatively cold water, some of the leaves actually became yellow. It all seemed the plant will have hard time to survive, but everything soon changed to the better and it started multiplying and growing, not only above the water but below as well. It forms dense root system and hollow leaves that float on the water.

Young frog sitting on water hyacinth leaf
Young frog sitting on water hyacinth leaf
Water hyacinth was providing shade and protection to tadpoles and all kind of water organisms. Tadpoles then turned into little frogs and they too loved the floating plant. It soon started to show it’s invasive nature and started to take over the pond. At that point I started manually removing them. When I was taking them out, I noticed there are different organisms living and hiding in their dense root system, so I tried to keep those and only toss out the invasive plant.

Eichhornia crassipes flower
Eichhornia crassipes flower
In the end of August, Eichhornia crassipes finally started flowering. This plant has two major flaws, first is it’s uncontrollably invasive and second, it starts blooming way too late. When it started flowering, autumn almost began, so beautiful flowers couldn’t last long. It would be great to have them in full bloom from let’s say early June.
 
 
 

It does have beautiful flowers!
It does have beautiful flowers!
When colder weather kicked in, the plant looks less and less attractive, flowers were gone and leaves turned pale. When first frost arrived, it burnt most of the plant and I removed great deal of it. I used it as mulch to protect other plants from extreme cold and it worked quite nice. I also noticed that earthworms just love water hyacinths roots. When water hyacinth freezes, it dies off and if in water, falls to the bottom of the pond. I’m not sure if tadpoles next spring liked the taste of it, or it still sits on the bottom. I’m not going to plant it again, because it grows way to aggressively. It can be used for mulch, compost, worm food and can be great for tadpoles and other creatures inside the pond, but the fun is over soon. If only it could flower earlier, then it would be tough decision and I’d most likely grow it again… and again.

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Insects

Insects

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Something died around here?
Something died around here?
Gardens are usually full of all kinds of insects and animals. I gathered several photos of insects.

One day in the summer, young hedgehog died and I’ve noticed a lot of green flies all around. I haven’t found the source until much later, when the flies and foul smell were already gone.

beetles-columbine Unknown beetles on Columbine flower. There are many different beetles roaming around the garden and these two were ‘snapped’ while watching the flowers.

chinese-ladybugs Chinese ladybugs almost removed the population of local ladybugs. These two are chinese version that is bigger and has more black dots on their backs. They are all beneficial to the garden so I love to see them around, especially doing what these two were doing. Aphids and mites beware. 🙂
 

Enormous caterpillar of unknown butterfly
Enormous caterpillar of unknown butterfly
Vast amounts of green attracts leaf eating creatures like caterpillar on the photo. The size of the caterpillar was unbelievable. I’ve seen colorful beasts, but this one was just huge.

Hairy bugs copulating.
Hairy bugs copulating.
Beetles making love on dandelion flower. These hairy creatures can usually be seen in late spring and early summer.

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Overwintering Cyperus papyrus “King Tut”

Overwintering Cyperus papyrus “King Tut”

Papyrus waiting to be saved
Papyrus waiting to be saved
Cyperus Papyrus “King Tut” is only hardy to a bit below freezing and even that only for a short time. After first frost that did no damage to it, I decided to take a division and take it into protected place in the basement.

If grown from seed, it doesn’t get large enough the first growing season and I really need to save it. This summer it grew a lot, even with a lot lower temperatures than usual with abundance of rain. I saved some seeds, just in case I end up losing the mature plant. Some say, that with a lot of protection, Papyrus can handle the winter if it gets protected from freezing temperatures. I intend to keep most of it outside, covered with layer of dry grass, branches and straw, and large sheet of PVC above that to insulate the roots from winter cold as much as possible. If it can survive the winter outside, I’ll have one less plant to worry about next winter.

Overwintering Cyperus Papyrus Rhizomes are thick and hard to break using a shovel, so I had quite an exercise getting it out of the waterlogged soil. I dragged it into the large plastic container without drainage holes. I used concrete mixing tub – it’s strong enough so it won’t break when filled with water and large enough to accommodate the division. Hopefully I didn’t damage the roots too much in the process.

Papyrus in it's temporary container New division had to be trimmed first, so it doesn’t lose too much nutrients trying to keep the green parts alive.

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