Usually brown tips mean too much water (while curling leaves indicate too little), but those weather conditions certainly suggest that you should be watering frequently. How wet do you get this, and is it a container with well-draining soil and drainage holes? Maybe it would help if you bought a $5 moisture meter at one of the big box stores.

I have been watering mine everyday. I have several nigras in containers of different sizes, and all have brown tipped leaves. This happens every year. Yes, the 100+ temps have been rough, which is why I water everyday.

If your soil is heavy, you need to water less often, and if it is loose(light) potting soil mix, such as what you get at the store, you may need to water a bit more often. Also, the size of the plant and how much root/rhizomes you have, will determine the amount of water needed also. Confused yet?

Kt

hello guys, thanks for the info.

it is in a container with potting mix and plenty of drainage holes. i even bought pot feet for increased drainage. i usually water the container for about 15 seconds, which makes the water run from the bottom of the pot shortly after watering.

kentuck, the newest canes are probably about 5 feet tall, and i have one new shoot i noticed the other day. when i bought the plant from a local nursery, it was pretty root bound. i put it in a larger container and hoped for the best.

kudzu, i'll look into getting a moisture meter, thanks for the suggestion.

trc79-
Sounds like you are doing the right things. Sometimes when you repot or have a rootbound plant, you'll get some unavoidable damage...plus, those temperatures could be a factor. I have a more temperate climate and find the moisture meter is still useful (and much more educated than my fingertip in the soil). I've also found that the moisture levels can vary around the perimeter of a plant more than you might think so it's good to take a couple of readings in different spots. Good luck. You should be fine when the plant stabilizes.

Planting a root bound plant of any kind can be tricky. It has to do with a phenomenon called wicking. If you spill a cup of water on dry soil, you will notice that the water spreads in a radial manner - i.e. in all directions. This is because capillary forces in the spaces between the soil particles pull the water away. When you grow a plant in a container, the sides and bottoms of the container physically stops this "wicking" effect of water. (Unless it's a terra cotta pot.) That's why, when you yank the root ball out of it's container, the bottom bit of the media is still moist/wet when the surface may appear dry. A root bound plant may rely heavily on the increased saturation of this bottom part of the media for water. Imagine, then, what happens if you were to bury this root ball in a larger pot. All of a sudden, there isn't that physical barrier which keeps the water retained in the rootball. Instead, the water is wicked off by capillary action into the surrounding "new" media. The effect also depends on the differences in the physical characteristics of the different medias. But in general, the media of a root bound plant is bound to be deficient in organics and is more likely to lose out than to gain. I would suggest a thorough soaking everytime you water, but don't water as frequently. I would highly recommend using the moisture meter. In this case, the key is the moisture content in the root ball. Until such time as the bamboo has established of a root/rhizome system in the new potting media, it is still depending for water on the moisture in the original media.

I had been giving my potted bamboo plant about 2.5 gallons every other day or so, after measuring with a moisture meter. I would pour from a bucket into the edge of the large plastic pot. Quite a bit of water would exit out the drainage holes. But I started watering with a smaller container (same amount of water) and pouring down into the center of the plant. Very little water drains using this method. It seems a lot of the water was just running down the insides of the pot and out the drainage holes without being absorbed by the soil.

I would also add: water thoroughly till water comes out the bottom and wait 5 minutes and do the same thing.I got alot of booos in containers and especially the larger than whisky barrel planters need this done.When I was removing one from one container I cut to divide and repot it the middle was bonedry even though it was watered beforehand.That's why I always rewater the pots a few minutes later repeatedly.

I try to water with rain water or spring water. I think the chlorine in the tap water causes the brown tips.

I have my own water well here, so mine does not get brown tips from chlorine, but I agree that chlorine can cause browning. All of the Phyllostachys species that I have growing in pots, get brown leaf tips. Over-watering is most likely the reason for mine, but it never has ill effects on the plants, they otherwise look and grow as healthy plants.

Kt