If you are wondering why Bamboo Plant Leaves Turning Yellow, don’t panic. Seeing the leaves of a bamboo plant turn yellow can be alarming, but mostly it is actually a normal occurrence.
The same applies to bamboo stems, which can turn yellow at any time of the year, whether in spring, summer, autumn or even winter.
However, you may not be able to give bamboo the conditions it needs, and I want to make that clear. You can read what I have written here, but I have also written about happy bamboo, so maybe that gives you some certainty. In this article I will talk about real bamboo plants and the different stages of yellowing. First of all, we should look at what is normal with yellowed bamboo and what is not, what is written about here.
Although bamboo is an evergreen plant, it only forgets a few yellow leaves (culms) at the end of its life cycle, so it is not really an “evergreen” plant.
Normal bamboo leaf yellowing
Like many other plants, bamboo sheds its leaves and forms new ones, but what happens is that it cuts off the nutrients in the leaves to use in other places.
Due to the lack of nutrients, the leaves fall off, turn yellow and eventually die back to their original colour, a sign of disease.
Since bamboo is an evergreen plant, most species lose their leaves very gradually and replace them with new ones. In this respect, bamboo plants usually have a mixture of green and yellow leaves, but they are not always the same color.
Spring can be more yellowing than in other seasons, but when it comes to bamboo leaves, spring is usually superior to autumn in terms of colour.
The discoloration of the leaves can be caused by lack of water or wind damage, but a little research on certain strains usually gives you certainty. If the leaves turn yellow and fall off, followed by green leaves, you have a big problem. An indication that an existing problem is when the tip of a leaf turns brown and discoloration occurs at the tips of some leaves.
Normal bamboo culm yellowing
It may sound ridiculous, but some bamboo species turn yellow when they mature and turn green in the stalk. The yellow bamboo varieties have a different colour than the green varieties of the same bamboo species in other parts of Asia and Africa.
Sometimes bamboo plants simply shoot out in the cold season, and depending on the location and hardness, fresh shoots can die when the temperature drops. If your young stems turn yellow or perhaps even brown, do not panic and look at your bamboo plant. This is normal when it is not yellow bamboo, but if you are panicking, you may have behaved yourself because the young stem has turned yellow or perhaps even brown.
Do not spoil your view with a photo of your bamboo plant or even with a picture of the young trunk on the other side of a tree.
What species have more yellow leaves or culms than others?
This is true of Phyllostachys Aurea, also known as fishstick bamboo or golden bamboo, a commonly used bamboo fabric. As mentioned above, some species develop more yellow leaves than others, but not all.
They are very strong and useful, but they grow upright and lose a large amount of leaves in spring. Golden Bamboo is the best bee in late winter and early spring, except for some fishstick bamboo species such as Golden Bamboo.
Phyllostachys Edulis Moso is not as common in the United States, but its properties are perfect for the production of bamboo threads. Fargesia Murielae, also known as umbrella pygmy, will shed more leaves in autumn, so that the tree behaves like this.
Still Concerned? Let’s do troubleshooting!
If you still think it’s yellow, it may be time to start debugging, especially if you’re like me and still believe it’s yellow.
1. Fresh bamboo leaves are yellow
Look for the latest leaves in the middle of the day so you can distinguish them from the ones in front of them, such as the red leaves on the left and the yellow leaves on the right.
A common problem with soils is that they are too alkaline, but most species prefer slightly acidic soils to reach pH levels. When the leaves turn yellow, this may indicate that the plant lacks iron, and a common cause of the yellow coloration.
If you are worried about the pH of your soil, you can buy a pH test kit and I would recommend getting one.
Then you can test your soil and plants in it, or add another layer or mix it with your existing soil. Either way, soil conditions can change and there can be a stimulating compost made of organic material such as compost, slurry and other organic material.
Another option would be to add an acidic plant food, but be careful not to use too much fertilizer. You can buy organic iron and clay fertilizers and add them to your soil and plants. Bamboo may not seem too much, another option would have been to add some sour plant food.
If you have too much alkaline soil in your garden, you can add sulphur to make your soil more acidic and get a 5 pound bag and so on.
2. Older bamboo leaves are yellowing
The soil does not provide enough nutrients for the bamboo, so you might want to use nitrogen fertilizer, as the old leaves are turning yellow, which I do not think is a natural leaf drop.
No fertilization is therefore necessary, but you will need to fertilize at least once or twice a week, if not more, for the rest of the year.
Observing the first signs of yellowing is a good indicator, as it can be confusing when exactly you need food. You can feed your own bamboo plants or add commercial fertilizer, but there is no time to use fertilizer.
3. Bamboo leaves turn yellow with brown tips
Bamboo plants need a lot of water, so you need to increase your water frequency, but if you see a lot of yellow or brown leaves and the soil is dry, stop watering.
Those who are too busy to water manually should seriously consider a drip irrigation system that gives their plants the water they need. Beware of raking the leaves off the ground, as they keep the soil moist, but not the plant itself.
4. Bamboo leaves have yellow-pale spots
Or maybe the problem is actually a pest – not just the leaves themselves, but some other plants as well.
If you see a yellowish-pale stain on your bamboo leaves, it is most likely a mite infestation. They are hard to see because they are very tiny and suck life out of the leaf, but they suck life out of every leaf.
So you can easily identify the area and there are many ways to get rid of it, but you have to do it yourself. You can use neem oil, wash the plant with water, insecticide or soap and rinse again with soap and water.
5. Yellow bamboo leaves and culms
Bamboo needs a well-drained soil, and if the soil appears too damp, you have to do something about it. Turn it over to record water and water it regularly, or turn it into a tree trunk and do it from the front.
This will help to open the heavy clay soil so that it can drain better and also provide more nutrients to the bamboo. Organic waste should be used from time to time, but not too much, as this will lead to more soil erosion.
Other reasons why your bamboo plants are turning yellow
Since there are so many small factors that could affect bamboo health, we have to let you decide what factors might be the problem. There could have been more reasons why bamboo turns yellow, but let’s decide which of these factors can cause it to turn yellow.
Of course you can replace the soggy soil, but it is possible that you simply planted the bamboo in the wrong place. Maybe it was too sunny, maybe it is too windy in your usual area, or in some cases it may have been the opposite. This can be difficult to fix and can cause many problems for your bamboo, not just the plants.
Chimonobambusa bamboo turns yellow even if exposed to direct sunlight, which would appeal to Phyllostachys bamboo. You must not use the acid soil trick unless you have Shibatea bamboo, but even here it always depends on the types of bamboo we have in the garden. I hope that will help you to take care of your yellowed bamboo plants, and I am sure that you will.
