i have a large container of it o nmy deck, its still pretty young. it has about a dozen or so going, and about ten of those are all zig zag at least the first 6 feet or so and tehn they straighten up after that which i guess is usual. its the only zig zag bamboo i have so i don't know if i just got lucky or what. maybe its genetics, maybe it has something to do with being in planter. don't know to be honest, but anyway mine do zig and they do zag!!lol

looks like this but bigger

oops anyways heres the link

http://home.comcast.net/~terrav/phyllostachys_aureosulcata_spectabilis.jpg

I got a YG from Fred that zigzags for him so it will be interesting to see if it does for me.

My spectabilis does great...

At least 3 culms are Zig-zag-ing...

& it's not finished yet.

It took 4 years to start...

I believe the cultivar of yellowgroove which favors kneeling culms is called "alata"

No, mine are all straight.

bambooo- I have alata, what do you mean by kneeling culms? It is kind of plain with all green culms, but is supposed to get bigger(probally the type specimen, instead of yellow groove).

Alata is thought to be the type form for the species but Yellow Groove was 'discovered' and named first. Alata is the all green form and although I usually see it listed as taller, 2 experienced nurserymen have both told me that they think it is actually smaller than YG.

I would imagine that it's genetics and not environmental but it will be interesting to see what shows up on this thread. Maybe I should send a division to someone with zig-zag culms in their area and see if my clone changes in that environment?

Had plus 30 new culms this year and over 50% had major to minor zig-zag. Eyeballing the whole grove, it appears this is above normal. I have noticed that in years past, many
smaller new zig-zag culms have died prior to getting back to vertical at a zig or zag node. The majority of my zig-zaggers this year were larger culms so most survived the trauma of changing direction. There was nothing that happened this year that would have caused stress so I would not consider stress as a zig-zag generating factor.
Based upon what I observed, zig-zag may occur more frequently as groves mature. I would agree that it is probabaly a genetic factor (s) that cause the zig-zag.
Rgds

I have the all-yellow variety (aureocaulis). Last year it had about 40 new culms and none of them zig-zagged. This year the number of new culms is at about 100. The first sheaths are just now starting to fall off. Nothing yet, but the season is still young. I'll let you know.

By the way Brad, the gigantea you sent me is putting up it's first new shoot, and the broken culm has kept its leaves, it looks like it will pull through!

Here are some pics of the culms that are bent. Actually it is more like slight waves in the culms rather than bends or kinks. Out of 50 culms only 3 have any sort of distortion.

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I think the smaller culms have more of a tendancy to have zig-zags than the larger ones. I have larger culms this year and I don't recall noting that any were zig-zag.

I noticed that my Rivercane is sending up a lot of new shoots this year. The Shibataea kumasaca is very slowly developing leaves and appears to have one shoot. I'm also wondering if I should expect the Arrow bamboo to send up more than just the two shoots it has sent it.

foxd-
I've had a stand of Yellow groove for over 30 years and it still zig-zags (maybe 1/2 to 2/3 of the culms). This ranges from slight bends to ones that go up 6", turn at a 90 degree angle to parallel the ground, and then turn vertical again after several inches. For me it's not age. Mine do get a lot of shade, though.

My aureosulcata has put up 20 or so shoots and only one has exhibited a slight kink similar to Eric's.

Maybe we should all get down and pray for more zigzagging. Sorry, I just read a curious passage in one nursery catalog. See the Meyeri description: Some culms show a crook, referred to as 'genuflection', near the base...

Sounds nice and poetic in a way, but my google search on 'bamboo genuflection' did not come up with one alternate hit. Might be completely legit, but I have to wonder. Anyone have a take on this or is Tripple Brook Farm padding its technical vocabulary a little?

Here is a link that might be useful: tripple brook farm

hoe_hoe_hoe-
Perhaps the writer of that passage is a very religious person. Seriously, the term is "geniculation" and both words derive from the Latin for "knee." However, geniculation is a state or condition, so culms that genuflect must be pretty lively. Either the writer was just a little too sloppy with word choice, or is anthropomorphizing the bamboo. Aren't you glad you asked?

Kudzu, I'm sure you hit the nail on the head. Surely, "geniculation" was the term meant. It appears that the term "geniculation" can refer to the act of kneeling, but also, like you said, refers to the state of being bent. Both are nouns and though I couldn't find reference to genuflection referring to "a state"- considering certain video images I have seen of people falling into "trancelike" prayers before alledged visions of spiritual figures, it doesn't seem like it would be too much of a leap in usage. However, "genuflection" is definitely the more anthropomorphic term, having those inescapeable tones of religious or otherwise respectful reverence where geniculation is a more mechanical and thereby neutral term.

Definitely glad I asked. A little linguistic babble is good for the soul.

Thanks for providing the correct term. I've sent the nursery a gentle suggestion/ explanation.

I look forward to the day that I see maximum sized Moso shoots in my yard. You may find me genuflecting. And I undoubtedly will be "in a state" as I do so. Look out Webster, lol.

hoe_hoe_hoe-
Peace be with you, my brother...

My YG doesn't genuflect nor geniculate but its rhizomes do anthropomorph.

This is the beginning of year 2 for my 2 transplanted clumps. The culms in my clumps that grew in the original, well established grove had about 80% zig zags, many of which were VERY pronounced. This year I have about 50 new shoots, none of which display zigs nor zags.

I have four local divisions with no zig or zag. the place where i got them from has a few. They are all shooting. the plant i have from Fred is a zigged culm but no shoots from it. first full season in the ground. it is still alive and has some leaves on it. I expect that it is getting itself established yet. it was a bare root when i got it. happy to see it is still alive.
Kurt

We stopped by a local open house yesterday being held by a Zen group. They have a grove of Yellow Groove that had been there many years. In fact, it was planted by the previous owner of the land who had given me my starts of it. Anyway, the grove is impressive, some of the culms are at tall or taller than the two story apartment building next door and there are signs that it had produced culms much taller in the past, before we had the string of bad winters. I'm going to try and get back there and photograph one of the stumps where one of the culms had been cut. The culm that had grown there had to have been awesome. I was stunned!

Here is an update. Out of about 60 new culms, 2 have shown definite bends in the lower sections. This is more pronounced than was exibited on last years crop. There are still about 30 more shoots that need to extend, so maybe there will be one more that show this characteristic. That would make it about 1 in 30.

I also had to include a photo of the unique colorations of Ph. a. aureocaulis in the springtime. Â :) Â Â Eric

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Foxd what would you estimate the diameter of the cut culm? that mature grove by my house where i got a few starts seemed to be max 1 and a half to three quarters diameter. It is in a nice protected area between cedar trees. you could barely notice it when you drive by. I assume that is part of the reason it is rather large because it's a little sheltered in the winter.

Kurt

Yeah, these were in the one and a half to one and three quarters range. I'm used to seeing them about an inch in diameter, though this year I seem to have some that are larger.

The history of the patch is rather interesting. The previous owner had an ongoing feud with the owner of the apartment complex next door over the property line. The patch sits near the property line and probably has rhizomes that cross it, though I didn't see any shoots on the other property. I do remember going by there several years ago and finding that someone had hollowed out the grove from the apartment side and was using it for trash storage. The grove has been cleaned up since the Zen House was built and the property landscaped.

My 20 year old planting has very few zig-zags, maybe 1/100
Leo

I suspect that the amount of zig-zagging in the culms is due to the characteristics of the soil that the shoot has to push through. Different soils produce different amounts of zig-zagging.