How big is this and how long have you had it? Young specimens of almost any bamboo have a lot of foliage and are bushy when young. They want to grow and having more leaves fuels the growth. When they get several years older and throw up taller culms, the lower part of the culm is more visible, or you can trim lower branches to show more culm. One caution: Is this in a pot or in the ground? Buddha belly is a not super hardy bamboo, and in my Zone 8 (Seattle area) a cold snap can kill it. Hopefully, your Zone 8b will be a little warmer.

...just so you know, stress causes the "Bellying" to be more pronounced...ie...lack of water and fertilizer. Don't go overboard and let it wither or starve though...Z

Thanks, y'all

I expect this is a few years old, but I don't know for sure. I bought it in a 30gal pot from Houston Bamboo, and it's now in the ground.

I guess it's been about a year or so in the ground, now, and it's taking the winter just fine. I didn't cover it and this last winter was pretty cold, at least for here. 'Course this winter was weird... I lost things I thought would hang in, and things I thought would hold out got fried.

I knew it wouldn't belly so much in the ground, but I was hoping for some height and some view of the culms. I expect it'll get better before too long.

This picture is pretty descriptive of the foliage, and the density:

http://morningdewtropical.com/images/gallery/Bambusa-Ventricosa--Foliage.jpg

thanks again
tami

Looks good... ever decide to devide it or dig any up... I'd love some...seriously... maybe trade some moso for it too. :-D
Thanks
CJ @ clutedad@nc.rr.com

Hi ya Tami from New Orleans and Picyune,Ms. (Thats my split personility showin' ;o) and welcome to the party! HA!
I would add as CJ notes that a pot bound Budda's belly will make with the bellies while a free roaming one will tend not to belly. So the culms that were contained in that gallon pot will have bellies but the runners that will form one day will not.
Now with that said if you were to restrict those runners with a good strong barrier they will make with the bellies alright :o)
Also you can limb these guys up ya know to expose the bellies. Thats what many nurseries do to show off the bellies so they will sale. With these having been in the ground for a year or so I don't see where this would hurt 'em in the least.
Yak with ya later :o)
Mike

Hello Tammy... How is your Buddha doing? I just bought a small one and was hoping for an update on how they winter here in Jackson County.

I lost your email when my last computer died.

Terry

Referring to what Jetstream said, I have a Buddha belly in a pot growing on my balcony (condo life in Florida, gotta love it) & I decided I would neglect it to try to make it form the bellyÂs. Wellllll... I made the mistake of letting it stay dry during the hottest part of the summer (you know, I thought the more stress the better). Well I ended up nearly killing of the plant. All the new culms coming up from the ground died off & I nearly destroyed the root system. Well, I got some of the most terrific gardening product I have ever owned called "Plant Success Mychrozial Tablets". I put 4 of those in the soil & watered it every 3-4 days. Now it has tons of new shoots on the original culm & the beginnings of a couple new culms coming out of the soil! The only thing is, the bellyÂs are not anymore pronounced =0\ I would think that having nearly killed the damn thing would have stressed it out enough to at least make it swell a bit! Oh well, I will stress it in other ways now =0). If you guys have other tips for growing them in containers, I would love to know!

-Ray-

Re
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bamboo/msg0915444111591.html

My question involves Buddha's belly bamboo in general and...; "stressing" specifically, i.e., the likelihood that stressing may apply to other bamboos, as well as BB...

Here is a link that might be useful: BB BAMBOO,