Update on blackberry winter survival (three weeks later)… Uncovered Plants - Black Satin (no winter damage). These were low to ground so maybe some snow protection. - Triple crown (some winter damage) - approx. 20% die back). Seem to have handled the winter fine but some dieback, primarily on the thinner canes). - Ouachita (some winter damage) - approx. 10% die back). Almost no dieback…surprising because I thought they would be less hardy than other erect varieties. - Kiowa (significant winter damage - approx. 75% die back). At first I thought these had overwintered well, but two of the four plants didn’t leaf out and the other two were significantly damaged. This variety has had some health problems over the last two years with (2 of 6 previously dying). Since this year’s crop was a loss and I have had problems with this variety in the past, I decided to replace them with a newer, thornless variety: Von Blackberry. - Prime Ark 45 (significant winter damage - approx. 50% die back). Honestly, some of the dieback may be from the primocane fruiting sections from last fall, but what is left seems to be growing well now. I think I’ll make these a primocane only crop after this season. - Wild Treasure Trailing. In ground planting - left uncovered and plant died back to ground. Potted planting (covered) lost most of its cane length. Given space and effort, not sure this variety is worth keeping. - All raspberries were uncovered and nearly all had no noticeable winter damage. I even had a blackhawk black raspberry and two double gold raspberry plants in pots just sitting in the open and both plants are growing really well and blooming. - I did have two canes on the Cascade Delight raspberry that died during the winter but I believe that was partly due to exposed roots from some soil erosion in their raised bed. Covered Plants. - Black Diamond. I decided to give it a reprieve and let it grow again this year but spray it for cane borers. I had to remove all of last year’s growth due to cane borers but this year it has three times as much growth (e.g. canes) and looks healthy. There’s already a 8” of growth this season and that’s a lot for this variety in my climate. - Siskiyou. No winter damage. Both plants look good and have been putting on amazing growth (well, at least amazing compared to my previous attempts). These second year plants each have 5 or more canes and the cane diameter has doubled since last year. The primocanes are already about ½ inch thick (e.g. diameter) and about 12” in length so far. Yeah! Last year’s growth is getting ready to bloom. - Kotata. No winter damage and the plants are growing new canes. I have 2-3 new canes per each plant and there’s about 6-8” of growth so far. Less vigorous growth from these plantings. - Thorny Boysenberry. The non-potted plants suffered the trifecta of cold weather, cane borers, and voles, so I have maybe 10% of the canes from last year but they are getting ready to bloom. I have had problems with leaf spot on these but I gave them a good lime-sulfur spray treatment this spring, so hopefully this will help. New growth has been outstanding with the cane diameter doubling, much like the Siskiyou blackberries, and there are 8-10 canes per planting with 12-18” of growth already. I’m going to do a better job of protecting these in the winter this year. - Marionberry. I lost about 50% of the cane length from the overwintering period but have learned more about what not to do while preparing them for winter. Plants seem fine but not as vigorous as Siskiyou or Boysen but more vigorous than Kotata. - Loganberry. I lost about 75% of the canes on these from cane borers and the cold. These may be the least cold hardy of the trailing berries that I own. The primocanes are growing vigorously though.

I generally assume photosynthesis is occurring anytime it's above freezing (for sure)...but I'm sure the needs and rate is much slower during sub-freezing temps. What part of Nebraska are you ? I lived in Columbus for 3 years and don't think that most of these bamboos would make it there. In particular the wind when temps are below freezing would be murder on the growth. You might lose the canes each winter and never get any size (at best). I'd advise sitting with protection from wind (and shelter against a warm wall if possible). I never did care for the anti-dessication sprays...but you might look into them. Even in zone 7A in Oklahoma, I had winter dieback sometimes on P nigra. I haven't tried any of the fargesias though I had the nuda and aureosulcata. I believe they're all rated above your zone, nigra:7, aureosulcata & nuda:6. It's fun to try, but w/o a microzone, I don't think you're going to get more than maybe 5 foot culms.

Some bamboos like Ph. Atrovaginata will have no problem... Can't say about others. It definitely isn't good to have most bamboos in standing water. If you are buying the property anyway, give it a try. But if you are buying it solely to create a bamboo nursery, I think you have a high risk business plan. Plus, what if there is an "every 20 years" type event where the flooding is more severe... It could kill off your whole business. Pretty sketchy.

OP described one way running bamboo can become a nuisance, by deliberate planting which still occurs in some places. However around here (midAtlantic) Golden Bamboo Phyllostachys aurea, is routinely dumped. Homeowners dig it up, take it to the local roadside and dump it. Left unchecked, it forms large colonies. I was part of a volunteer group that got together to rid this species from our park. The colony was about one acre. It took 4 workdays but we cut and removed it all. That was 4 years ago, sadly it has all come back with a vengeance. It really wasn't followed up on.Yours truly has started the process all over again. This pic shows recently cut stems painted over with 41% glyphosate (undiluted) Regarding foliar applications with either herbicide or vinegar/salt I have no experience. Normally with herbicide backpack sprayer temps must be 60 F or higher. Seeing how this is a bamboo forum it really cannot be repeated enough, Golden Bamboo really has no redeeming qualities. A large infestation of this Chinese weed on the property is a liability. ZERO wildlife value of any type. One USDA site says "birds & small mammals are reported to feed on seed". Anyone familiar with this species knows the fallacy in that statement. It may be that pandas eat the foliage, I'm really not sure. Either way that's not a justification for growing it here. To finish on a positive note, one can collect up stems and use them for fire kindling. They burn fast and hot, even when green. They will make popping sounds but not a real problem.