Green Panda Bamboo Bushy Growth and Tall Stalks

My Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda' bamboo hasn't put on much vertical growth. When I first took it out of the box it was about 13 inches tall, now it's closer to 15 inches tall - but one of the more noticeable areas of growth is a lower bushy section near the base of the stalks. When I first got it, it had none of these.

Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda' only putting on a few inches up top this Spring but lots of bushy growth below

This bushy growth below with just a handful of longer stalks rising above the undergrowth resembles an older specimen I saw at a local nursery. Below, this Fargesia rufa in a 5 gallon pot has lots of bushiness and just a few stalks rising upward in the middle.

Fargesia rufa - an older specimen of this bamboo has a similar growth habit with bushy growth below and stalks rising upward, and sort of a gap in the middle.

Compare this to when my Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda' showed up in the mail and had no bushy growth at all, just a few stalks hanging on for dear life...

What's Growing in My Salvia?

One of my Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night' is growing faster than the other, but maybe I've been attributing the increase biomass to a weed and not the Little Night itself. At first I noticed a different leaf texture growing on the plant, but when I saw little white buds forming I knew this wasn't part of the Salvia at all.

Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night' with an intruder right in the middle

It must be a weed that came along, and has been growing the whole time. Funny, the one with the weed is actually doing better.

Ok, you might be thinking - great blog post Eric, you pulled a weed, good for you. Well it's Saturday morning and that means I get to inspect my yard and look at it very closely and then blog about taking photos of it, which is like my version of fun!

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud in Indiana

I'm giving the Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ weeping redbud a try here in Zone 6a Noblesville, Indiana. Online I see a mix of 5-6 hardiness, and I haven't seen a review anywhere about Ruby Falls here in Indiana, so let's go for it!

Ruby Falls is a mix from parents 'Covey' (weeping with green leaves) and 'Forest Pansy' (upright with maroon leaves), and I read that 'Covey' is thriving at the Chicago Botanical Gardens protected from wind, and even as far north as Wisconsin.

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ weeping redbud - 4 yr old specimen from Sooner Plant Farms

Mine is on the north side of the house tucked into the L shape by the front door and protected from NW winds and afternoon sun by my garage. After my Japanese maple died, I did some work amending the soil and re-directing the downspout. My best guess is the maple died from drowning in a clay bathtub (what a way to go!).

It spent 3 days in the box going UPS ground from Oklahoma. I ordered from Sooner Plant Farms after I drove to 2 local nurseries here in Indiana. I actually used a vacation day from work because I called a nursery 40 minutes away and they said they had it in stock. After driving there in the rain, it wasn't there. So much for calling ahead! I ordered online that night (Monday) it shipped Tuesday and was on my doorstep on Friday. It arrived standing upright and I tipped it sideways to open it.

One broken branch but otherwise in great shape. The soil was still moist because they used water retention gel.

I was excited to get it in the ground, but first things first, I had to get the dead Japanese maple out of the way first. As I was cutting it down, I noticed just the faintest remnants of green tissue on the bottom branches. I'm not going to wait around 10 years for this tree to possibly rebound. When I dug up the roots, it validated my decision. The roots were rotten except for one tiny section that still had finer root structure intact.

Next, I wanted to extend the downspout out past the redbud so that rain water would run downhill away from the tree instead of pooling around the roots. I dug a trench following the curve of the gravel/mulch boundary. The plastic tubing didn't extend all the way into the yard, which is fine. I ended the tube with a 8 inch deep gravel pit. Then I connected the pit to a trench I dug along the front of the rock bed, like a moat around the rocks connecting all the way to the concrete walk, then I filled the moat with rocks.

I covered the plastic tube with more rocks and tested it out by spraying my roof with water. The water ran all the way down to the edge of the bed and following the moat around the front. They clay soil actually helps out with this because you can send the water where you want it. In this case, I'm just trying to spread it out as it spills into the grass and away from the redbud location.

What a mess! I think creating order from chaos is one of the appealing things about landscaping

Next, I dug down further than necessary to get the root ball in the ground. I probably went down 2 full feet, then filled the bottom 6 inches with rocks and pea gravel. Then I added a small bag of topsoil, set the root ball on top of that, and added another bag around the top creating a mound that came up to the base of the trunk.

I added back some of the rocks I had moved, but left a good portion bare below the tree to let the roots get some air. I might add the rocks back once the tree gets established, or I might try moss or mulch. I want to see how the moisture works out now that the rain spout completely circumvents the redbud.

Without the downspout catcher, I actually have more room. I might move the rocks around a bit, or try a Liriope or two among the rocks.

Just my luck! As soon as I got the tree in the ground a thunderstorm rolled in and I got to see the new downspout extension in action. No flooding, and good wind protection - I'm feeling pretty optimistic!