As an evergreen plant, bamboo leaves retain their color even in winter. Only in spring does the bamboo shed some of the old leaves when the new ones sprout. But leaf fall can also be an indication that the plant is not feeling well and is drying out. Detect and treat dry damage in a timely manner.
How do I save a dried bamboo?
If your bamboo has dried up, you can cut dry stalks deeply and hope for new growth in spring. Water the plant even on frost-free winter days and make sure there is enough light for photosynthesis.
What to do if your bamboo:
- has more dry leaves than green ones
- Leaf tips turn brown
- gets completely dry stalks
First of all, like all evergreen plants, bamboo continually loses leaves from late autumn onwards. He doesn't throw it off all at once. But in doing so, it frees itself of exactly the leaves that it can no longer use - namely the leaves that no longer receive enough light for photosynthesis!
This leaf fall is completely normal for the plant and solving the problem is easy. Cut dry, pale bamboo stalks as deeply as possible. So that the others get enough light again. If you thin the bamboo, the inside of the plant also remains green. You can also shorten the tips. Then even more light comes inside and ensures sufficient photosynthesis.
Identify and treat dry damage in a timely manner
You can tell from these 3 damage patterns whether it is dry damage that requires quick action:
- Dried leaves: If individual leaves lose their color and fall off, it's not a tragedy, because new growth forms in the spring.
- Dried, pale and pale stalks are also replaced with new stalks from the roots when new growth occurs. Simply cut off the dried stalks.
- Dried roots can cause actual, but rarely occurring, complete damage to bamboo. This mainly happens when the bamboo overwinteres outside in the pot or when the bamboo is planted in late autumn and has not yet rooted sufficiently before the winter cold. The result: poor new growth in spring or the bamboo dies.
Prevent cold drought and winter drought
Many of the bamboo varieties available from us can tolerate winter temperatures down to -25° degrees. Cold temperatures generally have little effect on hardy bamboo varieties. But the cold dryness or winter drought even more so! As an evergreen plant, bamboo evaporates moisture even in winter. If it cannot supply itself with water again from the frozen soil, drought damage occurs. Normally the bamboo does not freeze, but dries up because its roots die!
As a rule, every bamboo needs 3 to 5 years to root properly in the location. Only after this time does it reach its specified winter hardiness. This means you have to water the bamboo additionally. Even on frost-free winter days.
Tips & Tricks
Give your bamboo a chance – no matter how dry it looks! Because bamboo is extremely capable of regeneration. Even when it looks very sad and dried up, there is still life in the plant. Cut dry stalks down to the ground. Do not worry! In spring new leaves sprout and your bamboo reveals its delicate beauty and elegance again.
