BAMBOO DAMAGES CONTINUE

 

 

Maybe the best way to start off this posting is to explain why it has been so long since I last added to my blog. More than just a lack of effort on my part, it is the direct result of how -- & to who -- I am directing my thoughts & feelings now days.

 

The reason for my lack of blog publishing is simple:  FACEBOOK.

 

My Facebook "friends" -- numbering less than a hundred partners -- are all current friends, one time co-workers, &/or former school chums.  All these people had -- or have -- some form of "relationship" with me. I know them.  They know me.

 

My postings on Facebook are accompanied by at least one photo -- sometimes more -- & are quick & easy to produce.  I wish the blog was as easy to transcribe on.

 

With my blog, the information & writings are shared with ... well, everyone, everywhere. [Just look at the flag counter to see the various countries reading my pages.]  A lot of readers who I have no knowledge of & never will.

 

So ... bottom line, the Facebook postings have been quicker, with an intended & known audience & thus more frequent. 

 

I will continue my blog writings ... hopefully with enough interesting reading material for ... "everyone".

 

Now ... back to this blog posting.

 

My previous entry was regarding the damages on my property as the result of the MAJOR snow & ice storm in Central Arkansas at Christmas. I spent much of the past wet, cold Spring cutting, hauling & in many cases, burning the bamboo which split/broke due to the weight of the Christmas snow storm.

 

About the time I was getting a handle on the clearing process -- I still have one more LARGE pile of cut bamboo to be dealt with -- a Spring-time storm of straight-line winds, caused new havoc on my bamboo groves.  In this case, the damage was to new, tender bamboo growth ... that which was growing to replace much of the bamboo previously destroyed.

 



The photo above shows the current bamboo being removed.  The uniform green color is an indicator that each clum is NEW, un-seasoned bamboo growth.  The wood had not yet hardened & was thus at the mercy of the high winds.  It will be next year, before the bamboo grove will again attempt to replenish & replace itself.

I enjoy growing my bamboo & love the look it features to my property. Controlling the growth is sometimes an issue, but his year, it was been a major project to keep up with the damages to my bamboo.

WINTER BAMBOO DAMAGE

 

Despite the claims of how hardy bamboo is -- mostly true -- the plant can suffer damages in extreme winds & in the Winter ... damage from ice & snow.  Such an event resulted in damages to ALL my bamboo groves.

 

Just as forecast, on Christmas Eve, 2012, weather conditions turned ... well ... "UGLY". Rain turned to freezing rain in rapidly dropping temperatures.  In turn, wet, heavy snow soon followed, totaling at my home, almost a foot of snow on Christmas Day.  Following are a few photos of that snow fall & the beginning -- & on-going -- process of removing the destruction which occurred on my property.

 

This is the "greeting" I received Christmas morning.  Not only was there damage to my bamboo -- shown above & in other photos, being bent or broken to the ground, due to the weight of the ice & snow -- but there was major damage to many trees & "minor" damage (if there is such a thing) to almost EVERY tree.

 

Some bamboo seems unaffected, while other clums -- the proper name for the "cains" -- show the affect of the weight on them.

 

Due to the size of much of my bamboo, the oppressive amount of snow & ice causes the clums to split, shatter, and/or break.  This bamboo will have to be cut to the ground & removed.

 

Major tree limbs & branches will have to be removed from the stream where they have fallen.  More bamboo remains in the background, bent & broken.

 

The photo above is a good example of the damage to the bamboo: some clums broken & on the ground, while other sections of the grove are resisting -- but bending -- under the weight of the elements.

 

As the conditions improve -- December 27th -- some of the bamboo begins the process of trying to right itself as the snow & ice recedes.  Broken bamboo can not revive itself.



 

The bamboo grove -- seen in the first photo of this post -- begins to release itself from the confines of the ice & snow.

 

The beginning of 2013, with the departure of the snow & ice, shows the damages more clearly & helps to illustrate the "clean up' facing me over the next several months.  The broken & damaged bamboo clums will have to be cut, removed, sectioned & burned.  

 

Some bamboo has broken off at high levels & is on the ground & other sections have split & a portion hangs down, still attached to the original clum.  Everything damaged will have to be removed before the Spring growing season begins in March.

 

Not all the damages are to the bamboo.  The lifted pant leg revels where I managed a bit of cutting on myself.

Bamboo is a very attractive plant, & I still enjoy it in my landscape.  I just wish some of the Winter storms of Central Arkansas did not do so much damage, requiring the time & effort to remove the remaining destruction.