Don't worry. There's nothing wrong with your bamboo...it may just be too early in the year. My dulcis doesn't shoot until about June (although admittedly my Zone 8, Pacific NW climate is cooler than your Zone). Also, even established bamboo do not always reliably put out the growth expected each year. Your failure to spread compost likely had nothing to do with this. However, if you want, it wouldn't hurt to spread some standard slow release fertilizer at this time of year. Good luck, and report back, please, if you do get shoots later in the year.

Thanks so much for the calming words and for the fertilizer tip. I'll keep waiting!

Jenny

If your area is dry like it has been here, then it could be the drought unless you regularly water the bamboo. Presently we are in an 'Extreme' level drought and headed for 'Exceptional' which is the highest level of drought rating.

My bamboos did not get the water that they needed late last year and early this Spring, and most of mine haven't put up shoots yet either, and those that have, are putting up smaller and fewer shoots than I expected.

Kt

kentuck makes a good point. Those of us who live in the Pacific NW sometimes forget it can be dry in the spring in other parts of the country. By all means keep the bamboo moist as well.

OK, Here's a new wrinkle. My Dulcis shoots every year right around the 10th of march. By the 15th I'm busy digging shoots. Here it is the 6th of April and They are just starting to show. The only difference I can see is that we had a 5 week warm spell Jan. Feb. I really thought that the shooting season would start early. So..maybe they have to have X amount of cold, much like fruit trees. lots of research, but no answers.

Hmmm. . . mine still haven't started to shoot yet. Like Hank11, I think mine normally shoot in mid-March, so by now I should be seeing something. Do stands of bamboo ever skip years?

Jenny

I've found that dulcis is one of the bamboos that makes less shoots than most other species, but when it shoots, it generally sends up nice fat ones. In 2009 when I got mine, it sent up 1 shoot that got up to about 92 inches tall. In 2010 it shot up 4 of them which topped off around 80 inches, but I think the main reason for the slight downsize is due to it only having 1 culm to work with.

Now with 5 culms well leafed out along with the original 2ft twig, I'm expecting some great things to happen. Perhaps a few 12 footers if I'm lucky.

I have noticed that some years mine will produce more than others, but not sure if they 'skip' a year like fruiting plants etc. In a dry year they will be stresses enough not to put up many or larger shoots the next year.

Cold does not seem to have much effect on the shooting since most of my runners can tolerate much colder weather than what we have here. In fact, this year we had almost three times as many below freezing days as we have in any one year in the past 22 years and even a couple of much colder than normal nights, but I think the lack of water during last years growing season has left the plants without a lot of stored energy to produce many and sizeable shoots.

Kt