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Phyllostachys arcana ‘Luteosulcata’ seedling’s autumn transformation

November 19, 2018 tarzan Comments 0 Comment

Winter is coming

Leaves become much darker in the fall. On the photo: *Phyllostachys arcana* ‘Luteosulcata’ seedling 2.

Tonight, we’ve seen snowflakes in the air for the first time this autumn. Before the arrival of winter and bitter below freezing temperatures, bamboos prepare and become hardier which makes them more likely to get through the winter unharmed. With first cold, all Phyllostachys bamboos started shedding some of their leaves to decrease water loss due to transpiration in cooler weather. Leaves also become thicker and coated with waxy protective layer, which also prevents desiccation. The variegated seedlings had a lot of issues early in the growing season, but came out in excellent shape. They lost most of the damaged leaves from early summer and spring and ended up with new, mostly undamaged leaves. Sadly, some kind of fly destroyed most of the growing tips.

color change

Like expected, based on previous observations, leaves started changing their color in mid summer. First leaves were all completely yellow. Every following leaf got a bit more dark green color in the form of dark green striping. The last leaves that grew just before winter weather kicked in, started to look almost as green as the regular unvariegated seedling form. New leaves are also much less prone to environmental damage and should survive the winter intact. The gradual darkening also appears on the variegated seedlings culms. It seems that usually green variegation forms on sulcus, but can appear on other sides of the internode as well.

Difference between the two seedlings

Very bright yellow culm of the first variegated seedling. It does have some green striping which should become much more evident next season with an upsize

The most apparent difference is the culm color. I wrote about it some time ago and observations only became more evident as the shoots started maturing. The first seedling changed from lime green to bright yellow. There is almost no red tanning, but I expect it to start again in early spring and around shooting. I’m not certain about the amount of culm variegation yet, since both the seedlings are still in young juvenile form. Based on last year’s progress, I expect them to upsize significantly. It should be interesting to see them develop.

Leaves are very similar on both seedlings and have the same type of progressive darkening. First leaves are all lime green or yellow and gradually start darkening. There seems to be a difference in how dark the leaves finally get, but it might be too early to tell for sure. It seems that the first seedling doesn’t get as green as the second one. It was also a little bit less prone to sun damage, which is quite strange, because it’s leaves were just as pale if not paler.

Second seedling often shows darker green coloration below the nodes — Second seedling often shows darker green coloration below it’s nodes

Second seedling has started with bright green culms and dark green striping. Sun tanning was extremely strong during early spring and it turned almost black on sun exposed shoots. With time it started fading to brown color with a hint of red. The lower parts that were not exposed to sun, changed from bright green to olive green color. Variegation of the culm appears on all sides of the culm, but is usually found as darker green sulcus. A lot of internodes have a dark green coloration below the node, some can extend further down as green striping. It is not as evident as green variegations of yellow culmed bamboos like Phyllostachys aureosulcata, at least not yet. Culm color might change a bit as the culms fully mature. Time will tell how they look like when they get there.

Darker green sulcus on yellow-ish olive green culm. — Darker green sulcus on olive green culm.

Variegated seedling in front and regular dark green form of Phyllostachys arcana 'Luteosulcata' seedlings — Variegated seedling in front and regular dark green form of *Phyllostachys arcana* ‘Luteosulcata’ seedlings

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Variegated seedling’s sensitivity to full sun

June 30, 2018 tarzan Comments 0 Comment

Scorching sun

At first,leaves were not damaged at all.

Shooting season is over and all the new shoots are now fully grown and branched out. At first, there was no issues related to direct sun exposure. I suspect the problem started when the sun position got high enough and its strength became harmful for delicate plants. I observed first signs of leaf damage as soon as the shoots started branching out. Then damage became more and more evident and even the newest leaves immediately got damage, some even before unfolding. Spraying the bamboo with insecticide and fungicide didn’t help much. Leaves were a bit healthier, but that could be just because the leaves started getting less variegated at the same time, changing from completely yellow to yellow with green stripes. Sun is also starting to lose some of it’s strength as days are getting shorter.

Shaded leaves

At first I wasn’t sure about the exact reason, because I also found spider mites on both variegated bamboos. With time, issue became more and more apparent. The shaded leaves that were hidden inside the bamboo clump became hard to miss- they remained healthy and mostly undamaged. Sadly, both bamboos are placed in full sun which makes them suffer leaf damage during most of the summer. Leaves in the fall should be healthy again. Last year, bamboos were much shorter and received a lot of shade from plants growing around them, this year, they became too tall for that and I’ll be able to see when they stop getting sunburns. The first leaves are also the most delicate. Luckily, most of the leaves that are damaged would fall off eventually before the end of the summer when the plants fully leaf-out.

Fully exposed leaves are damaged the most

Second seedling also has a lot of full sun related damage

changing their location

In a year or two, I’ll try to find them a more protected location with more shade. I might even divide them for the first time and try them in “different depths of shade”. Currently, finding them free space is a problem, which I hope I can resolve.

… An update a couple of weeks later…

In just a few weeks, the spot of one seedling got shaded and I successfully removed the mites as well. At the same time, laves started getting more green, just like expected. The shitty humid weather held on during most of early summer and in mid July, seedlings looked better. They started growing branches and started to look much, much better.

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Bamboo and autumn leaf fall

November 19, 2014 tarzan Comments 2 comments

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.

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.

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.

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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