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RE: [GWL]: Golden bamboo

Dear friends -- and Lon:
       This is, indirectly, a GWL appropriate question. I met yesterday with the cultural attache of Taiwan, who is going to help me with my book project, 81 close-up flower photographs that illustrate the 81 verses of the "Tao Te Ching." During our meeting at her Manhattan apartment, she asked me for help with her golden bamboo, half a dozen large pots on her 16th floor outdoor, south-facing balcony. Her nursery person had wrapped them in plastic fixed with duct tape for winter but they look awful through her large windows. She wondered if there is anything else she could do to protect them till spring that might look better. She's being such a help to me and my project that I really want to help her in return.
       The bamboo came from Monrovia and I tried to call their toll-free number to see if they have a horticulturist available but was limited by their available phone choices. I will try to call the company in California at their regular number on Monday. The USDA hardiness zone range for the plant is 7-11. New York City is zone 5. I had initially thought burlap might look better, but if the plant is zone 7-11, the plastic may be necessary after all. They really look dreadful.
       Should she just consider replacing them next season with a heartier variety? (I don't think money is an issue here and there is lots of bamboo growing in the Woodstock, NY area, where I live in a zone 5 area bordering on zone 4 so there must be more cold-tolerant varieties.)  One possibility I thought of might be to have some plexiglas panels cut that could be assembled with screws each fall and stored in winter to create a mini greenhouse in which the pots could be gathered. Also, should she be watering them at all during winter or just let them go dormant?
       Thanks for your help. Again, the plant is golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea, and is recommended for tubs.
       You may want to reply off-list at abarriststern@aol.com.

Many thanks,
Andrea Barrist Stern
Journalist/photographer
Woodstock, NY 
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