Fargesia nitida blossoms
 

I've got about 15 species of bamboo in New Mexico (yes- they hate it here).
Over 30 years of having bamboo, none have ever blossomed-of course! I've
seen large stands of dying bamboo in blossom in Thailand and China and some
blossoming bamboo near Machu Piccu, Peru, but never had any of mine bloom.
Yesterday I found flower bracts on my 15 year old Fargesia nitida. So can
anyone tell me what to expect? Is the whole plant going to die. Is it
likely to set seed if it is the sole plant in Albuquerque? Should I do
anything active in the way of pollination if I want seeds?
Rick

Fargesia nitida blossoms
 

I would not expect it to die in only one year. But it is probably on
its way out. Sometimes bamboo will flower for several years in a row.
(I think F. nitida puts out seeds pretty well, but sometimes bamboo
will flower but not actually produce seeds.)

Sometime in September or October (perhaps a little later in New
Mexico), the seeds should be ready. Be sure not to collect them too
early (i.e. clip branches before they are fully ripe). But you also
might have to worry about birds eating them. I am not sure.

Anyway, F. nitida flowered around here in 2002. Yours could be a
(literally) late bloomer, or it could be from a different original
propagation. I don't know a lot about flowering bamboo, but one thing I
am sure of is that I really want some F. nitida seeds! I wasn't into
bamboo yet when they flowered around here.

If you would be willing to put me on a list, I would love to buy some
seeds from you if they develop.

Cheers!

Fargesia nitida blossoms
 

One more thing I found... good advice:

Fargesia nitida seeds

Weekend Gardener wrote:
I have never had the privilege of collecting bamboo seeds, but just in
case I do, I had looked it up a year ago. You can harvest the seed
individually by hand. But it seems the best way to know that it is ripe
is to allow it to fall to the ground, as they only fall when they are
ripe. In order to not leave things to chance, it is recommended that a
piece of cloth or a tarpaulin be placed on the ground, and the seed
bearing culm be shaken. The best germination rate is when the seeds are
sown fresh.