Those canes that you have today... they won't produce any fruit this year but they will be your fruiting canes next year. Blackberries put up new canes each year, which flower the following year, then die (but are replaced by new canes, which fruit the following year, and so on). The canes your plant puts up next year (2015) will be MUCH bigger than the canes you have currently, but won't fruit until 2016. This year your plant is just establishing a good root system and basically getting ready for next year, as next year will be its first full year in your garden. When your plant produces fruit next year, don't pick the berries as soon as they turn black or you will disappointed as they will be sour. Leave them on the canes for an extra day or two until they get softer and lose their shininess and become a kind of a dull black.... yummmmmm!

I think that this particular "Culture Sheet" is one of the better ones by the Bakers. One thing to remember about Zygopetalum plants is that they are generally very tolerant. They may not LIKE temperatures in the 90+ F range, but they can tolerate it FOR A WHILE. You won't read about Texans or Floridians successfully growing this genus outdoors! Nicole, you wrote "when I initially put it outdoors, some of the leaves turned a darker green/reddish tinge". That puzzles me. I have seen dark green leaves on Zygos but not simultaneously with a "reddish tinge". Usually, a reddish tinge in Brasilian plants is a pigment reaction to sunlight, not too much or too little. And, as Baker wrote, dark green leaves "...indicate too little" [light]. Something to keep in the back of your mind. Have fun! Remember, all of those numbers are AVERAGES, not absolutes! --Stitz--

Perennialfan, I read up on these shrubs, very beautiful shrub. It does like partial shade to full shade though, so I can't get one. Darn it. People were stating they grow like weeds and they are very easy to propagate. Patience and soon it will be full of leaves for you I am sure. The most interesting point of this shrub is the barks stay green all winter. Even without the leaves, I bet that is a nice sight. Good Luck with it.

ellenmarie- Putting them in new pots will be unlikely to produce any significant new growth this year...but it will make the plants healthier. As far as bringing them in for the winter, you should do that because bamboo in pots are not as cold hardy as in the ground. Also, it would be good to know what the actual scientific names of the bamboo are. Blue Fountain" is probably Fargesia nitida, which could be planted out next year when it is more established and survive your Zone 6 winter (albeit with foliage/culm damage)...it's in-ground hardiness is about -15F to -20F. The "Giant Clumping" bamboo could be a number of varieties, probably of the Bambusa genus, but none of those will ever survive a winter in a pot or in the ground in your area. Most Bambusas typically can't survive below 20F. I'm in Zone 8 and have never had any of them make it more than 1-2 years where I live.