Hello! No doubt the problem sources to the root-zone, and the potting mix in which the plant is growing. First, is there drainage in that container? If not, you must immediately change that. Secondly, although it is late in the season, the potting mix should probably be changed to something made from screened bark and other durable gritty ingredients, such as perlite, pumice, DE, turface, lava rock, et cetera. Excellent drainage is what these plants love, particularly in the Winter. Josh

Read your post. Sounds like a classic case of overwatering. I have bamboo in South Texas (zone 10). I started out overwatering as well. Bamboo does not like to be soaked. If you can, dig down a little ways and look at the node (culm lines). You can visibly see a drowning plant. All of the tissue will be mushy and brown around the node. You need to let this dry out to try to get some new growth and root, but do not leave it exposed to air after you view it. Cut back your watering drastically. If you see the leaves start to curl in, then you will know it is too dry and time to water again. As to fertilizer - ABSOLUTELY. Bamboo is a grass and so LOVES a very high nitrogen count fertilizer. You can feed it monthly (or less with a slow release fertilizer). You can buy a very inexpensive grass fertilizer like a 32-0-10 or 29-0-0 at Lowes or Home Depot. Make sure it is NOT a weed and feed variety or you can kill the plant. The Scotts sells for $35 for a 50 lb. bag or $13 for a smaller bag. For my full grown, 5-foot diameter plants, I put a full coffee cup per plant. If your Alphonse Karr plant is new and about a 5 gallon size, I would put 1/4 to 1/2 coffee cup of the fertilizer spread all around the plant, not just directly on the roots, and maybe a little more after you see it start to respond. Water a little to soak it in and then watch the leaves turn brilliant green over the next couple weeks. If you have a high alkaline soil, you can also add a few minerals like Calcium and Magnesium, or just some garden sulpher. That's why I buy the grass fertilizer with added 2% sulpher. If it looks like you are going to lose the plant, I would dig it up and let it recover in a mix of 1 part sand, 1 part peat moss and 1/4 part compost until it starts to shoot again. Remember, it likes full sun 5-6 hours a day. Good luck. Alphonse is a beautiful peach-shooting plant!

Thanks for the replies. I will drop down the watering schedule to every two weeks. I just get worried when I see the ground hard as a rock. Soil here is not the regular soil I am used to. Thanks.

You may want to repost this to the vegetable forum. There's lots of helpful people there.