P NIGRA HENON

PHYLLOSTACHYS NIGRA HENON: Tustin Solana Beach Los Angeles Torrance

Long Beach

Hollywood

New York City

S France Cane Section

Probable height in Southern California within 3 years = 15'
Probable ultimate height in Southern California = 25'
Height in habitat = 50'
Loses leaves around 0 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Loses canes around -5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rhizomes die around -30 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
If growing in the ground it prefers full sun.
A running bamboo - rhizomes will run sideways and downward in moist earth unless restrained with a root barrier.
Minimum soil depth required for a healthy plant = 6"


Probably the best medium-size running Japanese timber bamboo for landscaping in S California. The green culms are slightly rough to the touch & covered with a light gray wax-like coating. New shoots have culm sheaths which are combed with fine purple lines & bushy clumps of black-purple hairs on the tips. The shoots are said to be somewhat acidic in taste.

Made famous in 1980 when American botanist Soderstrom declared plants in NYC IBM lobby to be Henon. But Soderstrom was a grass expert, not a bamboo expert. And he died soon after, thereby eliminating the possibility of any criticism. Since then it's become popular for atriums in large buildings throughout the U.S. A bit too popular - there are other Bamboo as attractive and big and healthy and sometimes more appropriate than henon. The maintenance contract on the IBM henon includes periodic replacement of plants that start to look bad. I believe the plants at the IBM building, while beautiful and impressive have created a problem. First of all, I and a lot of other growers doubt they are actually Henon. They are too tall for Henon. I've actually talked with some of the growers who supply the replacement plants and they say they don't actually know what they are - they just know what plants will meet the specs required and dig those plants out of the ground in Georgia and northern Florida, grow them in containers for awhile and then regularly ship them off to New York where they are inconspicuously installed at night without anyone realizing the amount of cost and effort involved in keeping them looking good. Originally from China. Up until the middle of the 18th century this was the most common Bamboo in Japan and was cultivated for edible sprouts plus strong, attractive culms. Introduced into the West about 1890. From 1900-1905 the plant flowered so constantly and vigorously that it seemed about to die. Then it stopped and hasn't flowered since. In S California one gallon pots planted in the spring grow 2' high the 1st year, 6' high the 2nd year, 15' high the 3rd year. Single node rhizome cuttings will produce foliage in response to heat and humidity in early spring. Cuttings should be kept in a hot humid environment until they produce roots and leaves, which may take 4-6 months. Divisions can be made at any time during the year except while the plant is shooting.
Installed in the lobby of the Long Beach World Trade Center in 1989, however pots were inadequately watered and had only 400-500 foot-candles of light, resulting in dry leaves with dark brown tips. I think they were removed after several months.
A homeowner in San Francisco, 3-4 mi from ocean, 2 mi from the bay bought some 35’ high henon from a local nursery in 2003. They were weak in 2004, weak and failing in 2005. He was fertilizing them with ‘bamboo fertilizer’ supplied by nursery every two weeks. I advised him to cut the plants down somewhat and stop fertilizing. He cut some of the plants down to about 20’ and stopped fertilizing. In 2006 they started doing well. The plants that were cut down leafed out, healthy new growth came up from the ground to about 25’ and even the remaining tall original canes started looking good.