March 2019 in the garden - Bamboo, some well-behaved, some not so much

Discussion in 'Talk about UBC Botanical Garden' started by wcutler, Mar 20, 2019.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    For the coldest, nastiest month in the garden, Douglas Justice decided to feature bamboo, which turned out to be pretty interesting. See his blog at March 2019 in the Garden | UBC Botanical Garden. As usual now, if you go look this month, you can get a link to Garden Explorer with lots of photos all collected in one place for all the featured plants. If the March tour is no longer available, open a new tab and copy the plant names into the search window. There are lots of good photos in the blog, and in the explorer, better than these.

    After my neighbour and I photographed this clumping Borinda fungosa, Douglas appeared just as panic was setting in when we found the label with completely different words. We were sure we were looking at the correct chocolate-brown to green-brown culms with pale grey-brown culm sheaths (quoting from the blog here). It was the first one we looked at, so we didn't have anything to compare with for the appropriate elegance.
    Borinda-fungosa_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_125528.jpg Borinda-fungosa_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_125732.jpg Borinda-fungosa_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_130738.jpg

    Another clumping bamboo, Fargesia scabrida, is the largest clumping bamboo in the garden. It is supposed to have stiffly upright blue-green culms with persistent papery, orange-brown sheaths. Maybe these photos show that.
    Fargesia-scabrida_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_140945.jpg Fargesia-scabrida_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_141058.jpg Fargesia-scabrida_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_141259.jpg Fargesia-scabrida_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_141326.jpg Fargesia-scabrida_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_141355.jpg

    Here is another clumping bamboo, in the north garden next to the Garden Pavilion, Fargesia robusta, with culms turning to "butter yellow" in the sun. It was a glorious day yesterday, and butter yellow culms were delightful to see.
    Fargesia-robusta_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_144223.jpg Fargesia-robusta_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_144851.jpg

    I will post some running bamboos later. In the meantime, you can check out a photo of a Chilean bamboo in flower (Wikipedia says the Chilean bamboo), Chusquea culeou, that @Daniel Mosquin posted recently on Instagram: Daniel Mosquin on Instagram: “This species of Chilean bamboo, #chusqueaculeou , is undergoing a masting year. Mass blooming of almost every plant occurs approximately…”
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2019
  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Now for the less well-behaved, running bamboos. This first one is so pretty though. Phyllostachys bambusoides 'Castillonis'.
    Phyllostachys-bambusoidesCastillonis_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_131019.jpg Phyllostachys-bambusoidesCastillonis_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_131406.jpg

    Here is Phyllostachys edulis. You can see the sand-filled trench that is supposed to allow for easy removal of the wandering rhizomes.
    Phyllostachys-edulis_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_142735.jpg Phyllostachys-edulis_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_142934.jpg Phyllostachys-edulis_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_143010.jpg

    Douglas didn't mention Sasa palmata, but I'm a fan of this genus with its large wide leaves. The one I posted before is Sasa veitchii, which has leaf margins that turn brown in the winter, a strangely very attractive attribute. This is supposed to be a running bamboo, but it looks very innocent here, not far from the plant above, and it is supposed to have been planted 10 years ago. The attraction for me here are the leaf veins and the grey leaf undersides.
    Sasa-palmata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_143533.jpg Sasa-palmata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_145917.jpg Sasa-palmata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_145932.jpg Sasa-palmata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_145946.jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2020
  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Kids, don't try this at home. This is Phyllostachys aureosulcata. I went over to see the young delicate-looking plant in the first photo, but it has friends, or I guess they're relatives. There are only supposed to be two plants here.
    The yellow culms are nice, but the overall impression was a little distressing.
    Phyllostachys-aureosulcata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_134738.jpg Phyllostachys-aureosulcata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_134731.jpg Phyllostachys-aureosulcata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_134250.jpg Phyllostachys-aureosulcata_UBCBG_Cutler_20190319_134659.jpg
     
  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Here is one that Douglas showed us on the David C. Lam Asian Garden Members Tour today: Chimonobambusa tumidissinoda. It's good at running, but at least it's attractive and has awesome culm nodes.
    Chimonobambusa-tumidissinoda_UBCBG_Cutler_20190321_163441.jpg Chimonobambusa-tumidissinoda_UBCBG_Cutler_20190321_163253.jpg Chimonobambusa-tumidissinoda_UBCBG_Cutler_20190321_163256.jpg Chimonobambusa-tumidissinoda_UBCBG_Cutler_20190321_163400.jpg
     
  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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