Troubleshooting

care

The problem and the cure

Not much ails bamboo that regular water and feeding won’t fix. It can pretty much hold its own against pests. Providing the growing conditions are suitable for a particular species, bamboo will flourish with minimum aftercare.

Bamboo can adjust in deteriorating conditions such as drying out. If leaves go yellow or orange this is the bamboo relocating nutrients to other parts of the plant.

Some species regularly have brown tips, for example Fortune InvitingBlack and Square Stem. Regular high humidity can prevent brown tips.

Symptoms possible causes

Yellowing leavesCold, dry roots, lack of food (Nitrogen), or could be trace elements.Lack of vigourRoots dried out or roots waterlogged, needs food, pot bound.Marks on leavesInsect damage. Mites on the underside.Browning of leavesSalt or chlorine from pools, boggy soil.Parchment coloured leavesThese are dead (If the culm itself is green then it may recover).

Pests on bamboo

If your bamboo is indoors, no fun spraying insecticide inside your home.

Insecticide and fertilizer can be delivered using a single pill. ‘Initiator’ or ‘Confidor’ – Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser. Active constituent; 200 g/kg IMIDACLOPRID.

Organic treatments. We can post direct to you appropriate predators supplied to us by Bugs for Bugs. Cost is the same as from our supplier.

mites
webbing

Bamboo Mites

Bamboo Mites (most likely Schizotetranychus celarius), can be diagnosed by yellow blemishes on upper side of leaves

Mostly affect Running Bamboo. Sometimes also Clumping species.

Bamboo Mites construct characteristic webbing 5 mm x 1-2 mm, along the underside of the leaf. You can see the mites under the web with a 10x magnifier.

Straw-coloured to greenish yellow with small blackish green spots, they are quite active, constantly moving about. Occasionally, adults can be found outside the webbing. Probably kicked out to form new nests. Often several webbed nests will form alongside each other running down the underside of the bamboo leaves.

In Japanese they are “Surprise bugs” or “bikkuri mushi“, because they arrive unexpectedly.

Control

Currently in Australia we can only recommend a miticide from a garden centre.

Organic control: We can post direct to you appropriate predators supplied to us by Bugs for Bugs. Cost is the same as from our supplier

Spider Mites

Spider mites make webs on the underside of leaves. Mites are small, (probably where they get the name) but a 10x magnifier will pick them up. They are attracted to leaves in dry microclimates. Once established no amount of misting water with an atomiser will shift them.

Control

Currently we can only recommend a miticide from a garden centre.

For organic control we can post direct to you appropriate predators supplied to us by Bugs for Bugs. Cost is the same as from our supplier.

Contact me for help!

Should you live in Sydney, Mr Bamboo can drop by.