Lan Su’s stand of Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon Inversa’ is flowering!
This cultivar has green culms with a yellow groove (sulcus) and is located behind the Garden Shop. Initially it was planted alongside Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon’, which had opposite coloration (yellow culms with green sulcus); the Castillon cultivar has since disappeared from most of North America and Europe.
Bamboo flowering is a rare phenomenon, and somewhat of a mystery. Most species of bamboo flower only once every 60-130 years, and all stands of that species flower at roughly the same time, regardless of geographic location — and in many cases they all die after flowering. Most bamboo of a species are clones, divided off a mother plant and spread across the globe; lifespan is genetically predetermined. Bamboo can also be grown from mature seed collected after flowering, however the characteristics of the seed grown plants will typically be of the parent species and not the cultivar.
Other times bamboo flowering is due to localized environmental factors such as pests, malnutrition, or long periods of drought; the grove may not die in these cases. It is yet to be determined if our entire grove of bamboo will die after flowering, or if only a few canes will die. However, we spoke with Bamboo Gardens, the Pacific Northwest’s authority on all things bamboo, and their Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon Inversa’ is also flowering, so it’s more likely that it has reached the end of its genetic lifespan.
For more information on flowering bamboo, check out this article from Bamboo Gardens.
Learn more about the plant collection at Lan Su »
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