Bamboo (?) question

(Question)

We recently bought this house and it had these three bamboo (?) shrubs. With the warm and cold winter, it appears as though the bamboo has lost all of its leaves, but it does have some green at the base.

Should we cut these back? Later in the season? Are they salvageable?

It gets sun most of the day. We are in Hamilton.

Thank you.

(Answer)

Hello, Sean

I can’t tell if that is a bamboo clump from the picture you have submitted. Hamilton is in USDA zone 6 and some kinds of bamboo plant can be grown in Canada in Zone 5 and 6 according to a specialist bamboo plant company .  Of course the plant you identify as bamboo could also be a grass or a weed. In which case, please send us another picture when the plants are in more active growth.

” If there is still colour in the culm (hollow stem of the grass), and it has not discolored to grey, it is likely that the plant still has life in it.  See if there any leaf buds emerging from the leaves that still have colour. If the leaves turned brown in the winter or early in season you may even have to wait for several months before any signs of new growth appear.If the hollow stem of the grass is completely grey you may have to cut it down to ground level. But new canes may still emerge from undamaged rhizomes /roots under the soil. “
 This is Canada’s Bamboo World Answer to the question:   All the leaves on my bamboo plant are brown. Is my plant dead?

Additional information about the wonderful and elegant bamboo plant can be enjoyed on the following links.

https://www.bamboobotanicals.ca

https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/bamboo-for-toronto/