titurbo2-
Where did you get that bamboo? While leaves can be somewhat damaged by wind burn, the wind wouldn't affect the culms. What you described is a classic case of transplant shock. It sounds to me like you got a division that was recently dug and put in a pot and sold to you without the nursery holding on to it long enough to make sure it was stable. If it were me, I'd be talking to the seller about a replacement.
As regards the existing plant, there are three possibilities: 1) it may end up being ok and the culms may even releaf; 2) the culms are dead but the rootball is still viable; or 3) it's a goner. I'd lean toward number 2, but it's just a guess. When you planted, did you get a look at the rootball? Was it good size or not? Was it moist?

The plant was growing in full sun and had been in the pot (supposedly) several months. I can vouch for this as the roots were starting to circle the pot inside just a bit. I'm pretty sure the leaves were hurt by the drive as they turned brown BEFORE I had time to plant it in the ground. Basically drove it home, watered it good every day and the leaves died 2 days later. THEN I planted it.
Terry

Well, all I can say with that additional info is that you shouldn't be having this problem! It sounds like you did the right things. It's possible that it missed getting watered a few days before you bought it, and you witnessed a delayed reaction, especially if it's been hot. I'm still having trouble attributing all that damage to windburn. I've driven for 3 hours at highway speeds with culms sticking out of the back of my van and gotten no leaf loss.

If the culms themselves look ok (i.e., no coloration change), then you should get some releafing over the next couple of months. The first signs will be tiny little buds at the nodes and/or on the branches. Keep watering and treat like it's alive and well. Good luck and keep us informed.

If the soil doesn't drain well, saturated soil will turn the leaves yellow.

I really doubt that SE FL warm, humid wind would "burn" any leaves, in the sense the cold wind burns with wind chill.

UPDATE,

After a couple of weeks, the bottom half of both stalks have put out new green growth. I'm not sure how far up the stalk they growth will go. One stalk was bent over by Hurricane Katrina so I just cut it off about 6 feet up. Got new green growth up to the cut. Looks like it is growing good so now I'll just patiently wait for new shoots to come up, THEN I will be happy.

Terry

titurbo-
Glad to hear it's recovering. For comparison, I had a tropical bamboo that I left out too long last fall, and it lost every leaf and had some browning of the culms due to a cold snap. It's releafed all the way to the tops of the culms...so just keep doing what you're doing and don't do any more topping. You should be ok. Might be next spring before you get new shoots coming up.