probably depends where you are.. temps.. etc ...

it was dug up.. hacked to pieces.. moved to sale.. then your house .. planted.. etc .. its stressed .. let it settle down.. and get to business ....

water it properly.. and be patient ... it will come.. when it comes ... and if it doesnt.. it doesnt ... so be it ...

bottom line.. dont go fixing.. what might not be broken..and just be patient ... dont love it to death.. by worrying about it ...

water it properly ... let it near dry between waterings.. and otherwise ignore it for a month.. and bazinga ... there it will be ... [or not..lol]

ken

ps: its stressed.. not hungry.. fert is not a response to stress ...

thank you guys and our winters have been unusually moderate for the past years never really dropping below the 20's so we will just have to see if it makes it or not. Is there a way i can tell when it needs to be watered? any other advice for the future?

Water enough to keep the soil moist to a depth of at least 12". Although relatively drought tolerant once established, it will look better and grow faster with ample soil moisture. Drought stress will show up as the leaves forming a deep 'V' shape.

Bamboo is also a heavy feeder just like you lawn is....it is afterall just a giant form of grass :-) So you can use a regular lawn fert at the same time you do your lawn - May, July and September.

If the one shoot came from the only remaining "bud" on it then the plant has no additional ability to grow shoots - whether or not there are any additional shoot initials left is critical to what future outcome is possible. This remaining growing point count will depend on how large or how small of a division you were supplied.

But no Bambusa is a USDA 6 plant anyway, except when grown in a greenhouse during the winter. The hardiest kinds of Bambusa are repeatedly deemed USDA 8 yet these are pretty much never seen as established, lasting plantings in Seattle for instance. (With the fact that these bamboos make their new stem growth during winter having been suggested as the main barrier to their routine outdoor cultivation that far north).

thank you everyone for your help and ill keep updated if it shoots any or not. I'm pretty sure the one culm that was chopped was 1-2 years old and that i saw small buds forming on the rhizome when i planted it. i guess all i can do is water and hope that maybe in summer or fall it shoots if not maybe next spring. Im left wondering how long it usually takes for them to appear above surface. the temps are in the high 80s to low 70s in the day

Don't expect bamboo to behave like a shrub you planted. It wouldn't be surprising for nothing to happen until next spring or summer...presuming it makes it through the winter. Even a bamboo with a large rootball and better top-growth than you have will not necessarily do anything the first year it's planted.