hey there.... we just bought a black jade bamboo and are not quite sure what we are supposed to do with it in the winter. We live in southern ontario, canada. Can we leave it in the ground through the winter or will we have to bring it inside? any help or other knowledge about black jade bamboo woould be greatly appriciated...thanks!
I am not sure whether your "black jade bamboo" is the same as Black Bamboo, which is Phyllostachys nigra. If it is Phyllostachys nigra, Bambooworld rates it's minimum temperature as -26C in the ground, and the American Bamboo Society gives it a minimum temperature of -18C. If your lowest temperature in winter is above these, you should plant it in the ground, but mulch well for winter protection. In severe winters, even if the canes are killed, shoots will emerge the following spring as long as the underground rhizomes survive. If your bamboo is still small, keeping it container grown and bringing it into a frost free area - your garage, e.g. - may be an option. Again, I am talking about Phyllostachys nigra here.
I thought that the Black Bamboo and the Black Jade Bamboo were different but now i realize that they are both called Phyllostachys nigra. Oh well. Thanks for the information WG.
I think even in Niagara on the Lake, Black bamboo would die to the ground or expire outright. If you want a bamboo for outdoors, try Phyllostachys nuda, aureosulcata, bissettii (for runners) or Fargesia mureliae, nitida (for clumpers). All will be at least ground hardy in Southern Ontario & likely evergreen in the wamer parts of the province (NOL, Hamilton, Windsor, etc.)
I see Phyllostachys grown around this area that oaccasionally dies to the ground in the winter. This spring, I saw what looked to be a clump of dead bamboo groing near a sidewalk in Chicago. I looked closely and noticed that there were new shoots coming up. I see black bamboo sold around here. If you do plant it, plant it early in the season as possible and mulch well for at least the first winter. I saw a nearby park that was planted in the fall with a large grove of some type of Phyllostachys. The next spring it almost all was dead.
