Nice bamboo. The yellow runner is likely Ph. bambusoides 'Allgold' (or 'Castillon' if it has a green sulcus). Unfortunately my knowledge of clumpers is limited by the fact that I live in a colder area than yours and can't grow those beauties. If you don't get those other two identified here, try posting this query on the www.bambooweb.info site where quite a few folks grow clumpers.

Thank you Kudzu! (what is a green sulcus???) The green clumper is some kind of timber bamboo... but... I don't know what kind.

On a bamboo there are rings that are called nodes, and on certain bamboo, mainly the Phyllostachys types, there is a vertical groove in the culm that goes from node to node. In some bamboo these grooves are the same color as the rest of the culm, and in some it is a different color...often green if the culm is yellow. So my question was: Are your culms all yellow or do they have a green groove (sulcus)?

Thanks for asking Silversword. I was wondering the same thing. And I do think it's a timber bamboo. It actually looks a lot like the Oldhammi but my DH says it's not the same.

Kudzu, I gotcha now. I just went out and checked that groove, and the entire boo is yellow, including the grooves. In other words, they have a golden sulcus :) So it's likely that they are All-Gold?

The 'Big Green Timber' is a probably a Bambusa. Possibly a B. malingensis, B. pachinensis, or maybe B. ventricosa. If these don't sound familiar, then there are a few other close probabilities.

The 'yellow clumping' looks like B. mult. Al Karr but I know you mentioned that you already have this plant ID'd above. It too is a Bambusa.

Kt

Iggy-
Yes, I'm pretty certain that it's Ph. b. Allgold: it has the form of a Phyllostachys, the culm color is typical, and Allgold usually has some leaves with cream-to-white striations, like in your photos. So that is the most likely guess. There are couple of other Phyllostachys with all-golden culms, but I don't think the characteristics match what you have.

Hi Kentuck,
I'll have to look into those. My DH says it's going to get 4" culms... is this possible???

Thanks Kudzu... as I was looking closer today I found a couple with just one green stripe. Is this a characteristic of the All Gold or do you think possibly there were a couple mixed in when transplanting??

B. beecheyana gets very large culms just like oldhamii.

Help... I'm super scared... I just went outside and noticed on my boo's there is a lot of brown. I've googled it and can't find anything that looks like this,but it looks like it's killing the culms :(((((

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Not sure about the brown spots. My Al Karr gets that on many of it's culms but it never harms the overall plant.

Is that B. vulgaris 'Vittata' PAINTED BAMBOO?

Kt

iggy-
Where are you finding the green stripe and how pronounced is it? Can you post a picture of a culm section that's maybe 4-5 nodes high?

Kentuck... whew!! I hope that's all it is. I'm not sure if it is painted or not, I thought Alphonse Karr but am not certain. Do you know how to tell the difference? It seems to only be affecting that kind. I thought it was damage/stress after purchasing but it seems to have spread.

Kudzu, it's only one tiny stripe, very thin, like a pencil mark. Only from one node to another long. About four feet off the ground, and only on one to two per plant. I will take some pics tomorrow and post.

iggy-
Can't tell from the detail level in your photo whether it's Alphonse Karr or Painted. The stripes on Painted are more pronounced and thicker...and look like they were painted on. When culms of most bamboo get older they can develop patches and lose color, but I have to say that those do look a little strange compared to what I would normally expect. However, I don't think you have to worry that the plant is diseased or dying. Here is a link to photos of Alphonse Karr:
Al Karr

And here is a link to Painted:
Painted

Compare the pictures and you should be able to figure which one is in your photo.

Will look forward to your next post with the green stripe on the runner. There may be one other possibility based on what you show me.

I believe the runner is Phyllostachys aereosulcata (aeroecaulis). It looks just like mine and the green stripes are about like a pencil mark _not on the sulcus. Only about 1 in ten culms have this feature and the stripe does not appear on the whole culm just on certain segments. As for the clumper I have no ideas.

The heavily striped leaves are only sheath leaves(temporary leaves) and after the real leaves come out they will mostly be solid green.The sheath leaves will fall off. Which really disappoints me. That looks like that is what's going on with yours. I'm no expert like Kentuck or Kudzu. But I do grow aereocaulis and this looks exactly like it. I grow 22 different species and have only been growing for 10 years. But this is the only bamboo that I know of that has this characteristic. I could be wrong and if I am please someone correct me.

Good morning Kudzu,
I found one of the pics on my photobucket that shows the green stripe but will take more after work. It's the furthest right culm, directly next to the artichoke leaf, and then the green stripe repeats itself just above the next node. None of the mature culms seem to have that marking.

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Kudzu, Thanks for the picture links. After googling around a bit just now I found Alphonse Karr has culm diameter of 1.5" and Painted has a culm diameter of 4". My culms are larger than 1.5" already, so I'm tempted to think it's Painted based on that alone.

I just found a website with someone else who has the same issue with his Painted bamboo. B.v.Vittata shoot damage

It's an old posting, but I emailed him to see if he ever got a resolution.

Ok, I called Bob my bamboo guy to come out and take a look. I'm super worried there is something really wrong with them. He sounds perplexed by my description and he's been doing this for over 40 years. He said he'll call me back in a little while. I'll keep you posted!

iggy-
Those culms in your picture look fairly slender to me. Are you sure about the dimensions (we're talking diameter here, not circumference)? Here are some photos of Painted Bamboo I took in Hawaii where the biggest culms were about 3"-4" in diameter. You don't seem to have the thick, characteristic striping in your photos or the same, chunky proportions of the culms. And note how the stripes end just short of the node.

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I'm thinking you really do have Alphonse Karr.

One last thing: you might want to post in the forums at www.Bambooweb.info with your concern about the patches.

HMMMM... maybe you're right ;) I think I need one of those caliper measuring things. I'll take a measurement best I can with a tape or ruler and a closer picture of the stripes this afternoon. Thank you for all your help Kudzu!

boomantoo-
All speculations are welcome! I thought about Ph. a. 'Aureocaulis,' too, but I was troubled by the fact that those striped leaves looked pretty pronounced and permanent to me, and I've never had any of the light green pencil striping on my culms. I also have some Ph. viridis 'Robert Young' and that one has that yellow shade of culm and randomly gets that faint pencil striping on some culms, but mine doesn't have striped leaves. I'm still leaning towards thinking it's Allgold...although mine doesn't have the pencil-striping on the culms. My experience, though, is that there are some cultivars of certain bamboo that have minor variations...

Kudzu, why is it that I lose the heavily variagated leaves when the permanent leaves come out? My P.a.aereocaulis only has the thin stripes on 1 out of every 10 or 20 culms. Of course our different zones may have alot to do with it.

Hi Kudzu... here are some more pictures:

Base of Yellow Unidentified:
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Yellow Unidentified Green Stripe:

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iggy-
One more thing and we might be better able to nail down the mystery runner. Run your fingers up and down a culm: Is it smooth or rough (like fine sandpaper)?

LOL Kudzu!! Thank you for embarking on this mystery tour with me! It's smooth, very creamy to the touch. Not at all rough.

iggy-
Well, that rules out the choice of Ph. aureasulcata 'Aureocaulis.' So my best guess is the Ph. bambsoides 'Allgold.' However, why don't you cross-post on BambooWeb.info and see about a second opinion?

boomantoo-
I don't know why you lose the heavily striped leaves; my Aureocaulis keeps them. But I will correct my post above: I took a really close look at my Aureocaulis and, of the probably 50 culms I have, a couple had that light green striping here and there which I never noticed previously. I'm thinking that the amount and frequency of culm-striping and retention of variegation are just some minor variations within the cultivar. And you could be right about the different Zones having an effect....

Thanks Kudzu. I posted on Bamboo web. One person seems to think it's P. vivax Aureocaulis....... What do you think about that? :)

I have to admit the new pictures show big differences in the striping characteristics. It does look different than the aureocaulis. I do love the striping on the mystery plant. Good Luck

Thanks Boo! I love the striping too... it's very understated but the green is very pronounced and the stripes are so "clean" looking.

iggy-
I'm not convinced that it's Ph. v. 'Aureocaulis' and I posted my reasons on that site...

Got some answers from the 'boo man!

The thin yellow clumper is Alphonse Karr.
The yellow runner is AllGold.

Thank you for all of your help! Our only mystery now is the large green clumping. The boo man said it's Oldhamii... but that's not what he said when he sold it to us so my DH is a little irritated (cost $50 more per plant, and we already had Oldhamii).

I agree with those IDs on the yellow ones. The green clumper illustrates the difficulty of distinguishing between some of the green bamboos...and maybe the "boo man" is even not sure at this point!

I think "boo man" will be called "no clue man" around our house for a while :)