Steve,

I was up in NJ at my son's house for Christmas. He lives in Parsippany where I-80 and I-287 intersect. I had planted two very small bamboos there this past summer. So far the Ph. rubro looks good but the Ph. aurea had quite a bit of leaf burn. I was trying to decide what else I might dig and bring him when we drive up there in May. Do you think that bamboos such a Ph. aurea that are rated at 0°F by the ABS are probably OK but at their limit in that area? I see you say your Ph. nigra is still OK. I have a small Ph. viridis 'Robert Young' for him already in a pot. I think I might take a division of either Ph. vivax or Ph. n. 'Henon'. I presume Ph. bambusoides and perhaps even more so Ph. b. 'Castellon' would struggle there during winter. I am leaning towards Ph. vivax, but have read snow loads can be a problem. It stands up to high winds here very well but the wind blows all the time so maybe it is acclimatized to it. Lastly, I am thinking about taking a small division of S. masamuneana 'Albostriata' as a small ornamental bamboo. I would appreciate any comments you or others may have.

Mike near Brenham TX

Mike,
I actually coach a swim team less than 5 minutes from that intersection. It's about 15 minutes from my house. I have a bit of a colder microclimate that Parsipanny, but that's good news for him then for the bamboo. I have no experience with P. Aurea, nor do I know anyone around here who grows it. 0°F as a limit is probably a push in Parsipanny. We see that just about every winter. However, it is not so much the cold that kills the bamboo as it is the wind. I really have to say my experience supports that. Even when it is 25°F, bamboo suffers if it is really windy. So.....this year I wrapped my bamboos in burlap (they are still pretty small ~10-15culms) and bent them down a bit. I'll know more when may comes about what worked and what didn't. I do know P. Henon does well around here. In fact, North on that very same RT 287, there is a large grove of Henon (at a restuarant near 287) that does REALLY well. I know a woman who is growing a variety of vivax and bambusoides, but both are still very small. I think if it can make it for 2 winters, you're all set. If you have the divisions to spare, I'm all for trying at your son's house. He'll probably be 5-10° warmer during the winter months than me. Let me know what you do and how things go. I'm always interested in first hand stories!
Steve in NJ

Steve,

Thanks for the info. It will be interesting to see how the Ph. aurea does there. Most of the time you see bamboo growing around here in rural Texas it is "golden."

It is interesting that someone there is trying to grow Ph. bambusoides. I am planning to move my Ph. b. 'Castillon' which is still fairly small and stuggling in the Texas sun and wind. The new culms are really nice in the spring and early summer but then they get bleached by the sun and frequently die because it is too dry. I am going to move it to where it will get more afternoon shade so I may bring some of that to NJ for him. It is not supposed to be as hardy as Ph. aurea, but we'll see.

Mike near Brenham TX

Mike, i have some of those sp. but with very limited success. Aurea gets totally killed but sent up shoots this year....Nigra and henon suffered the same last year too. i am 45 min north west of that intersection. so you might just be OK, but barely. madake and castillon all did the same as well.

Kurt