# When Will my bamboo Flower/ **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-my-bamboo-flower/472559 "2008-11-13T17:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-my-bamboo-flower/472559/1 "2008-11-13T17:48:46Z")
I’ve heard that all bamboo plants in the world flower at the same time, so i’m wondering when my plants will. For the record, my species is phylostachys aureola-will it all die when it flowers? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-my-bamboo-flower/472559/2 "2008-11-13T18:24:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I’ve heard that all bamboo plants in the world flower at the same time, so i’m wondering when my plants will. For the record, my species is phylostachys aureola-will it all die when it flowers? Your first statement is a little unclear. There are many species of bamboo. About a 1,000. Many are described as flowering “infrequently,” and some produce a “mass flowering” which is what you probably heard about. The age at which a particular species flowers varies though. From wiki: > [@](#): > > Bamboo can grow six or more inches a day though there are exceptions (below). Although some bamboos flower every year, most species flower infrequently. In fact, many bamboos only flower at intervals as long as 60 or 120 years. These taxa exhibit mass flowering (or gregarious flowering), with all plants in the population flowering simultaneously. The longest mass flowering interval known is 130 years, and is found for all the species Phyllostachys bambusoides (Sieb. & Zucc.). In this species all plants of the same stock flower at the same time, regardless of differences in geographic locations or climatic conditions and the bamboo then dies. The lack of environmental impact on the time of flowering indicates the presence of some sort of “alarm clock” in each cell of the plant which signals the diversion of all energy to flower production and the cessation of vegetative growth.[6] This mechanism, as well as the evolutionary cause behind it, is still largely a mystery. More info [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo#Mass_flowering). I find bamboos very interesting. Anyway, regarding your species [I found:](http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/node/324) > [@](#): > > Golden bamboo flowers infrequently and may not flower for several decades. P. aurea spreads by rhizomes and culms grow from side shoots at alternate nodes of the rhizome. So, I don’t know when it’ll bloom, or whether it dies after blooming, but since it’s continually spreading via rhizomes, I’d guess the patch of bamboo would be permanent, even if individuals die. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-my-bamboo-flower/472559/3 "2008-11-13T18:35:21Z")
If I am not mistaken (and I could be) much of the bamboo in the US is descended from a single cutting (obviously one cutting per species) so that you are basically dealing with a single clone per species. Thus, they all tend to flower at the same time (not all the plants in the world, by the way). while I don’t think it is inevitable that bamboo dies after flowering, it is often the case. here is a [cite](http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/WhenBambooFlowers.html). I have heard that people planning a large bamboo planting make some effort to make sure that species is not currently in flower.