What's wrong with my Bamboo?

Question

I planted a Bamboo Yushania Anceps, a couple of years ago, and last year, it "went to seed" producing seed heads. This year, it has struggled to grow many leaves and no new shoots have come up, should I have cut it down to ground leval last autumn? Please help, as it is still looking very sorry for itself!

Answer 1

Hi - Bamboo should be cut down in February - it is likely that it got frost 'burn' over the winter which has knocked it back.  Give it a mulch of leaf mould or some well rotted manure and leave it be, it will bounce back next year - bamboo is quite hard to kill.  Good luck :-)

Answer 2

Hi greybeard the George Burns look alike, are you worried about the length of your bamboo - short or long ? How long would you like it to be?

Answer 3

Many bamboos die after flowering. If yours has produced seedheads, this could be the problem.