Why is my Mexican Weeping Bamboo dying? zone 9

6 years ago

I planted this bamboo almost eleven years ago and it is now about 6' in circumference. Up until late last summer, it was healthy and thriving. But then, starting from the center and working outwards, it started losing a lot of leaves, culms began turning dark and dying. New shoots have been emerging from around the main, dying clump. Those new shoots at first appear healthy and with lots of healthy green leaves but then some of them also succumb to the same problem.

I live in the San Francisco East Bay (Contra Costa County) where summers are hot and dry. My usual method of summer watering was to put the hose on and let it run to make sure it got a good soak, but occasionally I would forget about it and the water would run for a couple of hours, sometimes overnight. The base of the clump is thick with bamboo leaves. I tend to leave them there to decompose and provide nutrients (in addition to occasional steer manure and fertilizer).

Any ideas as to what's happening? Could it be root rot caused by over watering? Pests such as mites?

Should I dig out the main clump and replace it with good soil in the hopes the new shoots on the periphery will grow into it?

I really don't want to lose this bamboo as it's easily the most beautiful plant in my garden.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Featured Answer

kudzu9

5 years ago

middlepath.-

Sorry to hear that. And I have to tell you that I have not had good luck with flowering myself. I have grown more than 100 species of bamboo over the last 20 years and have had 6-7 of them flower. None of them survived. I did collect seeds and have been able to start new plants from some of them, but it takes a long time until you get a decent size plant from seed. It is correct that some plants manage to survive...or at least that's what I've heard. But generally it's not the case.

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Comments (9)

kudzu9
6 years ago
Whatever is happening it's not over-watering or mites. Digging it out would traumatize it further. Concentrate on watering it regularly. Put some fertilizer on it (any standard grass fertilizer will be fine. The only other thing I can think of is whether it is entering a flowering phase: https://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Blooming-bamboo-Now-you-see-it-now-you-don-t-3283323.php
middlepath thanked kudzu9
middlepath
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for your feedback. I removed all the dead or dying canes and fertilized with grass fertilizer (I've never done this before). Then I added a steer manure mixture (Home Depot) on top as a mulch. Then watered well. Let's see what happens. Fingers crossed.

I haven't noticed any signs of flowering. I've been watching it closely since last summer.
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kudzu9
6 years ago
Good luck. Hope that works. Now you just need to be patient and keep it watered. If it gets better, it could take a couple of months.
middlepath
Original Author
6 years ago
I'll follow up in a couple of months. Thanks again!
michael pigneguy
5 years ago
did it recover
middlepath
Original Author
5 years ago
IT DID!!! I fertilized it, mulched it with steer manure, and watered it weekly and Kaboom! By mid summer it sent out many new, healthy culms and I cut out all the old culms. As you can see it's quite healthy and vigorous. I again fertilized and mulched it with steer manure this spring.

Alas, I fear all that rescue work was for naught--it's starting to flower. I first noticed it a week ago. Not all culms are currently flowering but every day I notice another culm starting to bloom. From what I've read, bamboo may or may not die after flowering and setting seed. I'm hoping to start new plants from these seeds (if possible). I'm attaching a few pics of the flowers, they kind of look like a head of wheat or wild grass.
middlepath
Original Author
5 years ago
kudzu9...

Thanks again for the initial rescue tips. Due to your advice, I've been able to enjoy this beauty for another year. To say that I'm bummed that it's now flowering is an understatement. But one thing which gardening constantly reminds me is that everything is impermanent. I'm thankful to have enjoyed this otatea bamboo for nearly twelve years.

How soon after flowering, based on your experience, does a bamboo clump die?
kudzu9
5 years ago
It takes a couple of years, but it will look increasingly bedraggled, less green, and droopier. I had a South American clumper flower last year (a Chusquea) and I let it alone until it started dropping seed. Then I collected some seed, cut all the culms (a couple hundred!), and dug it out so I could plant something new. As an experiment, I took a couple of small divisions that still looked healthy as they were new, tiny culms that had just come up, and potted them up to see what would happen. One completely died and one looks ok; we'll see. I tried the same thing by taking a larger, healthy-looking division from a different, flowering clumper several years ago, but that ended up flowering and dying the next year.

I always wanted to grow Mexican Clumping but don't have the right climate, so I don't have knowledge of whether yours might survive. Good luck.