PS Below is a link to the photo of a fat new boo shoot. (Hope imageshack people do not consider it offensive/adult content!) :)

Question: Why are so many of the new boo shoots "rotting" and "aborting" before they get more than a couple inches out of the ground? The soil is very clayey where they're planted, and I'm hoping it's not a drainage problem that is causing them to abort... ??

Any advice very much appreciated.

Thanks!

http://img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newfatboocopyright4mu.gif

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:403489}}

Hi, again...

Don't mean to sound impatient, but am worried about my dying bamboo, so I hope someone will take time to look at the photos uploaded to the sites noted above, and give some advice, if any is available, about what's causing the giant bamboo to die--and what, if anything, we can do to prevent more loss...??? (Other than being rather unsightly, will it harm the healthy plants to have the dead ones standing there, all grey and withered looking??)

What do you think is causing their death--is this natural, or are they dying from disease or poor drainage of clayey soil, or...?

These were called Tanakae by the company that sold them to us, but they look like Vivax or "Leopard"... Most of them have large blackish-brown spots... Anyway, am very concerned about losing both the plants and the huge amount of $$$ invested in these!

Thanks for any advice anyone might have...

Cheers,
ivy

PS Yes, we probably will also call the company (again) although the last time we called they were not very helpful. That's a whole other story, and maybe we'll go into it some time later! LOL... Thanks again.

Were the spots on the culms there, when they were planted or do they appear or get more numerous as they die?

Was the bamboo planted from containers or from field divisions?

Does the soil retain a lot of moisture or remain wet constantly?

A certain number of new shoots will die each season. It is early for new shoots to be emerging here, but where you are they may be fine if you don't get a heavy frost. Too much water, or too little water, can cause a higher number of new shoots to die off than normal.

Do all of the leaves look healthy on the green culms?

Did the plants start dying recently or has it been a gradual thing? A high sudden death rate would make me think of too much water, which causes root rot, or some runoff chemical polluted the soil making it poisonous for the bamboo to grow in.

In the first picture with the all brown culm, it appears to be dead. The other picture with the culm that is half brown, is more than likely also dying. The third picture with the thick shoot and two green culms appear to be very healthy.

It is not likely that you have something contagious that would go from one culm to the next killing each as it spreads. From my experience, more than likely, it is something to do with transplanting or the soils ability to drain or retain water. I'm leaning toward too much water, especially for a newly transplanted bamboo and especially if it was a field division.

The ph of your soil may be a problem and needs to be something to keep in mind.

Personally, I don't think it is anything serious or something that can't be corrected.

Kt

I don't see anything in the pictures that would make me worry too much. Are a lot of the culms doing that?

It may be that the bamboo place is not being as helpful as they should because they think there is not really a problem... It sounds like they might not have great customer skills, but they might also just have a legitimate lack of concern.

How big is your planting area? Bamboos are very surface oriented plants. It may be that you can make them happier by adding a few inches of really good soil on top to let them grow into.

My recipe for good bamboo dirt is:
2 bags of cheapo potting soil ($1.50 each)
1 bag of well composted steer manure ($1)
1 big shovel full of peat moss (another $1 or less if you buy in bulk)
1/4 cup of 16-16-16 fertilizer (Don't over do it... None is better than too much!)

This will get you a good wheelbarrow full for about $5. It will probably cover about 2 square yards at 2 inches deep. If you do this each fall for a couple of years, it will give 2 inches of extra insulation for winter and the roots and rhyzomes will have time to grow up into this soil to take advantage of it's better water and nutrient properties. Plus, after a couple of years they will have a well drained little mound to live in if the ground below is too soggy.

Last notes: Get a guage to measure how wet the soil is. They're cheap and easy to use. Once you know if you really do have a water problem, you can hopefully fix it.

Good Luck!