I am having the same weird problem. Two 8-yr-old clumps of golden bamboo (Phyllostachys spectabilis) in my Seattle yard are also dropping hundreds of their new, green spikes of leaves--unopened--and the tops of the newest canes are stunted, soft, and breaking off. Canes less than full height are turning flaccid and dying back to the ground. Old leaves are turning yellow and dropping while others are still green and healthy. There are no rolled or wrinkled leaves indicating that the soil is too dry. An adjacent clump of black bamboo nearby looks normal. I gave everything a good soaking yesterday even though the soil wasn't particularly dry within the root barriers. Wait and see are next. I have no idea what stressed the golden bamboo so badly, but it was something very recent, judging by the full formation of the first spring canes and the dieback of the later growth. Maybe a family of voles moved in last month after my neighbor finally mowed his knee-high grass. Maybe it's the weird weather. If anyone else is having similar problems, I would like to hear about it.

I didn’t know I needed a new thread. I can do that....plant hardiness 7b, and we probably got into the teens with windchill a night or two. Very wet winter and spring. Spring is also colder than usual. Just now hitting 80 for the first time this year. None of my plants have leaves now (maybe one or two leaves here or there on one plant) all have green stalks and some obviously damaged with brown stems.

Please excuse the dark photo ... There's a better one below. Just wanted to show all the tips are variegated again. The plant is huge and has doubled in size! It had nothing to do with sunlight. What did I do? I repotted to a 6" pot & changed the soil to a light & airy, quick draining 50/50 mix of Miracle Gro African Violet Potting Mix and Miracle Gro Perlite. I was preparing the mix for my Thanksgiving Cactus & John Little Plumerias and had some left over. The plant has literally doubled in size! The leaves and stems are also larger. I'm sure the root system just took off in this mix. The African Violet mix contains the following ingredients: processed forest products, peat, coco-coir, compost, sphagnum moss, perlite, slow release NPK .21-.11-.16 fertilizer, wetting agent.

Yes. You can't just remove the leaves as they will grow back. You need to remove the lower branches as well by cutting all the way back to the culm.