Bamboo shooting season 2012

It is the middle if May (mothers day), and my bamboos are finally starting to get going. Most of them have started shooting, but the best is always going to be last. At least most of my bamboos are putting on an upsize of some sort

Phyllostachys parvifolia: There are many shoots that are just barely out so I still can't determine their diameter yet since they can still gain a lot of diameter when they are just barely out of the ground. This one looks like it should get over 1 inch.

Uncovering the bamboos for spring

Since it is already warm enough with little to no threat of sub zero temperatures left in the forecast, I decided to remove most of the tarps from my bamboos so they can get some sun, and ensure that they don't heat up under the tarps to make shoots too early. They came out of their tarps looking great. The only leaf burn that happened was to the unprotected portions, and that is still very insignificant as our winter low only got down to 0.4F(-17C) which is not enough to cause that much leaf burn on the hardiest species, as long as it is a short exposure.

There was nearly a foot of snow which is nearly gone now after 2 days, and temperatures are lingering above freezing day and night around 30-45F since the warm winter continues and here are some of the pictures.

Phyllostachys dulcis