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Originally Posted by Pam Moore
I have a bamboo, bought about 20 years ago at Wisley, labelled
"phylostachys nigra" but certainly NOT nigra! It is a tidy,
clump-forming plant and has been split once about 6 years ago, since
when it has multiplied well.
Now it looks very sad. For a couple of months I have watched it from
the house, turning brown, but I have not ventured close to look at it.
I thought maybe it had suffered in last summer's drought and I had not
realised it, being partially sighted.
Today I made a point of looking closely at it. All leaves on all
stems (20 or so) are showing very little green, but there are a lot of
dark brown BUDS which I take to be flower buds. I have heard that
bamboo sometimes dies after flowering.
Has anyone any idea what may happen next and what I should do?
Pam in Bristol
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It is Fargesia nitida, which the unscrupulous sell as black bamboo, because it has dark grey culms. Probably easier than selling Ph. nigra which has green culms until they slowly turn black. F nitida definitely is flowering now (though not all varieties). I have not heard of/seen Ph. nigra flowering now. As the others say, it might just live for you, but don't feed it. Otherwise, since it has been flowering for several years now, you can buy a post-flowering F. nitida, not very expensive, which will be safe for the rest of your life. Might also be fun to grow your own from your own seed.