Bamboo Can Be Pruned Near the Soil to Get it Green Again

Q. Do you have any advice on what I can do to green up bamboo planted in rock mulch and damaged from winter cold? Give them iron perhaps?

Bamboo can be sensitive to winter cold temps that we sometimes get in Las Vegas during the winter.
The most common types of bamboo used in colder climates are the "running" types of bamboo that send out runners...rhizomes...long distances from the plant and pop up where there is water available. The "clumping" types of bamboo are usually more sensitive to cold temps than "running" types.

A. There are three types of “bamboo” used for landscaping in Las Vegas. One type is a true bamboo that can sucker from its base (clumping) and increase its girth with short rhizomes.

A second type of true bamboo sends runners (rhizomes) longer distances underground to new locations where there is water. These are called “running” types of bamboo.

A third type is not a bamboo it all but called “heavenly bamboo” or Nandina. This type of plant also clusters from its base, like a clumping bamboo.

Even though they are called "Heavenly Bamboo" they are not really bamboo. They are in a genus called Nandina and sometimes called that.

Fortunately, all three can be “cleaned up” the same way; prune them back to within one or 2 inches of soil to force them to re-sucker from the base. Since the first two plants are “grasses”, any fertilizer high in nitrogen will force the suckers to grow green again. Nandina is different. It is not considered a “grass” and should be fertilized with an all-purpose tree and shrub fertilizer.

Nandina is native to Japan and China and does clump due to its rhizomes. But it can handle cold temperatures better than true bamboo. But it must be planted in amended soil and not rock to look good. Prune several big stems back close to the ground and add compost and woodchips and see it turn green again.

Apply this fertilizer before cutting them back. Then prune them, give them water, and watch them grow! All three of these plants will benefit from an iron application.