yellowing bamboo

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on this bamboo that I have. It is yellowing in a way that makes me think it's a magnesium or iron deficiency but I am fertilizing regularly with a balanced fertilizer. I also thought it might be an acidity issue but I didn't think and didn't find anything that suggested that bamboo liked acidic soils? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

How old is the bamboo? It may be too young to fertilize.

I collected the rhizome from a stand in my parents yard. With that I'm not sure how to tell the age? The parent plant has been there for years (10+). It was in a larger pot for 1 1/2 years and then I transplanted it to this pot as a transitional pot this spring. I tend toward the fertilize regularly anytime camp (with seasonal considerations) generally, as appose to the wait after transplanting etc. What are your thoughts if it is to young? Thanks for the reply.

Jim,
The closeup of the foliage appears mottled which could be a sign of spider mite infestation. To check for spider mites take a white sheet of paper and hold it under the foliage and give the foliage a moderate tapping or shaking. If you see small dots the size of the period at the end of this sentence moving around on the paper then you have spider mites. I had spider mite infestations on my junipers this summer but I eliminated most of them with a mixture (from Carl Rosner) of 1 tablespoon of neem oil (or vegetable oil), 1-2 Tablespoons of dish detergent and 1-2 CAPFULLS of alcohol in 1 gallon of water. Shake well and spray on the undersides and top of foliage. Spray every three days for a total of 3-4 appications. Details herehttp://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3189
Hope you figure it out,
Eric

What fertiliser are you using? And how much? Could it be waterlogged? I find my bamboo clog's the drainage holes fairly quickly.

Paul

Thanks everyone for the replies, I think the winner may be Eric's suggestion of the spider mites. I did the paper test this morning and sure enough there were 5-6 periods running around the page. I sprayed it with this stuff which says it's a miticide that mentions spider mites specifically.



Paul, I have been using a general purpose miracle grow about every two weeks (except for during the sweltering heat) supplemented with slow release fertilizer until recently I switched to a low nitrogen higher phosphorus rooting mix. I was worried abut water logging too but I gently pulled it up to check the roots and they seem ok. It was such a hot summer it was hard to find the balance between too much and too little water since things could dry out so fast I tried to do preventative watering in the mornings which may have been a problem.


Thanks again, I will let you know haw the treatments work

Bamboo isn't picky. Being a grass it likes nitrogen and silica, but for maintenance as an accent, minimal feeding will preserve scale. Removing the yellow leaves and stem will encourage new green ones to emerge.

Thanks Bruce, I kind of thought is was not very picky but if there is anyone that can find a plant's weakness and focus in on it like a laser to effect it's death I am the one. I have another bamboo as an accent and it had a rough summer with too many dramatic fluctuations in wet/dry with this hot summer. I will give a light trim, I would like this grove to ultimately be a more dense anyway. Thanks again

I also vote spider mite. I've seen it just like this, on smaller bamboos in my glasshouse.

Hi Jim,

To my knowledge, miracle grow has neither magnesium or calcium in it. And slow release products like osmocote often don't. It is quite possible that you have a magnesium deficiency. Spider mites tend to attack weak plants. Magnesium is important for chlorophyll production, if that is impaired than the plant won't have the carbohydrates to make sugars that repel sucking insects.

It wouldn't hurt to supplement with epsom salts, a teaspoon in 9L, every two weeks.

Paul

thanks Paul, I looked at the label of the one I was using it said .01% I think. But I would like to try the epsom salts just to be sure. Thanks for the recipe.

Lucky bamboo is actually a type of plant, Dracaena. Over time, should be planted in the ground. The yellowing of leaves, some say that the roots are too heavy to stay in the water and the plant will be planted in the ground. Some people cut the roots and back into the water, but I tried and died anyway.

Kev Bailey wrote:I also vote spider mite. I've seen it just like this, on smaller bamboos in my glasshouse.

I think so too.

R

It also could be just the end-of-summer, start-of-fall blahs in Louisville. Grass-like plants (i.e. bamboo, which is NOT a real grass) tend to look pale and peaked at this time of year.

I've never seen spider mites on bamboo -- not to say there can't be any, but . . .

His picture does not show "lucky bamboo" (which could go extinct, for all I'd care).

You may be right there Jim, it has been a beat down of a summer here (as I'm sure it has been elsewhere) and I have a number of plants that I can't tell if they are done for or just shutting down for lack of energy to cope anymore. I am trying to resist the urge to mess with things too much but keep things evenly watered.