"tropo" wrote
I think [B.] balcooa has about the same cold hardiness
as D. asper, at least the Javanese clone, I don't know
about the Thai seedling clones. I once lived in a river
valley in NSW where we regularly had minimum temps
of -7 degrees C (about 19F) A balcooa I planted was
killed to ground level every year for 3 or 4 years. Each
year recovering bigger and stronger because of the
build-up of surviving rhizome mass. Then one winter
was mild and the culms survived and the clump never
looked back. To look at the massive clump now,
15 years later, you couldn't tell it ever had a hard time.
Asper should do the same but whatever protection you
can give it over winter will only help.
Especially that first one if it's only a small plant.

Thanks, that's very encouraging. I'll try to provide better
drainage (clay/sand mix on most of my land, with clay for
a long way underneath: high ground for the area but very
water-retentive) and some serious winter protection for
a few years: found a source in south Florida that's not too
expensive (for D. asper and some other slightly hardy
tropicals, though not B. balcooa). I have a B. dissimulator
that gets stronger every year in the way you describe, but
I think it needs better drainage than it is getting, as it's still
sickly.

Another problem is that the cold-tolerant clumpers tend to
shoot fairly late, at least for me, so that by the time the first
frost hits the new culms have not hardened off enough to
survive it. Then the clump puts out sort of off-season, rather
undersized new culms in spring...and then proper ones only
a few weeks before frost, AGAIN. It's very frustrating.

Mark.