Soil Bamboos will thrive best in loosely textured, well aerated, and slightly acidic soils. The soil should be able to drain quickly, however still retain moisture at the same time. Remember that soggy, saturated soils do not allow air to the root system of the bamboo plant. If your planting area is made up of a clay soil, then you might want to add sand as well as some organic material to area. The soil should be loose and cultivated only about 1-1/2 to 2 feet (.5 m to .6 m) deep which will give the rhizome plenty of room to grow.
Mulch/Fertilizers Bamboo plants will receive a huge benefit by placing mulch around the plant. The mulch will act as a layer of insulation that will keep the soil moist and warm. By keeping the soil moist and warm it will allow the rhizome and root system to grow plus greatly reducing possible freezing or heat damage. The mulch will also provide many needed nutrients that are needed for healthy growth. Mulching promotes new shoot growth and extends the shooting period.
You can use many different sources for mulch; such as, leaves, composted manure, straw, hay, lawn clippings, pine needles, wood chips, etc.
A full range of fertilizers can be used from phosphorus, potassium, and higher amounts of nitrogen work well. However, organic materials are the best to apply. Some suggestions would be rotten cow and horse manure, decayed plants like rice and wheat plants, rice and barley bran, and other vegetable matter.
The best time to fertilize is when the new shoots are forming underground. This can be different depending on your climate region. Most likely it will be sometime between February through April. Do not fertilize when there is a threat of a winter freeze. This can due damage to the bamboo.
Watering Watering once a week is normally good enough for well established bamboos. Do keep in mind that when the weather becomes very hot and dry you will want to water more often. You want to keep the soil moist so that if you would stick your fingers into the soil it would be moist. Also in hot, drier climates bamboo plants benefit from mist. The mist creates a more locally humid environment and helps keep away many pesky insects.
Ample soil moisture promotes shooting in much tropical bamboo and starts a period of active growth.
Heat & Light Heat and light tolerances very quite a bit. You will have to make sure that you check the specific requirements for your bamboo. There many bamboos that require or should I say prefer shade, however many bamboos can thrive in both situations sun and shade. Many ground covers prefer shade will many of your tropical species enjoy a lot of sun light. Remember that if your bamboo is in mainly sun than you will want to pay specific attention to watering and mulching.
Trimming/Pruning You will want to trim and prune all dead and dying culms that are on your bamboo. By pruning the culms you are allowing the plant to provide proper nutrients to the new and well established culms. Pruning and trimming also allows you to thin out your bamboo to allow more sunlight to the ground, which will keep the soil warm and help produce new shoots.
Another type of pruning or trimming is with bamboos kept in containers. These bamboos need to have the rhizome pruned once every year or two. If the rhizome becomes to big then it will not absorb the water that it needs correctly, hence killing your bamboo slowly.
By paying special attention to these 5 steps your bamboo garden will flourish providing you with many years of enjoyment.
If you plant bamboo planted late in the year, you should mulch the plant heavily. You should also provide the plant with protection from cold and drying winds. Successful growers in colder countries usually protect their bamboo plants with a heavy mulch through the winter. In extremely cold climates, a mature bamboo grove with an efficient layer of bamboo leaves covering their base will yield soft soil even when the surrounding soils are frozen hard.
If your bamboo species spreads underground, you must install a barrier to control the spread of running bamboo before it gets out of hand. For most situations a barrier of 30 inches deep is recommended. In other than very light soils the bamboo rhizomes are usually in the top few inches of soil. However, when the bamboo rhizome bumps into an barrier, it will turn and sometimes it will go down. So it is very important to keep the soil tight and compact on the base of the bamboo, as well as eliminate air pockets next to the barrier so the bamboo does not creep any deeper than you want. If you need to add more soil, simply add soil on the top. You must prevent deep rhizome growth to contain the bamboo effectively. It's also good to surround the plant with a shallow trench 8 to 10 inches deep--this is a cheaper and easier method. You will simply need to check a couple of times in the summer and autumn if any rhizomes have tried to reach across the trench. These can then be cut off easily and extra bamboo growth can be contained.
Freshly planted bamboos do need frequent and generous watering. You should water the bamboo twice a week during mild weather and daily during hot and windy weather. It is recommended that each plant under 5 gallon pot size gets a gallon of water and for bigger bamboos, more than 1 gallon will be necessary. Once your bamboo plant has reached the mature size, it will survive with much less water, but until then, a lot of water and fertilizer is necessary to achieve the best possible growth. It is actually the lack of water, especially in the summer that is the leading cause of death or poor growth of new bamboo plants. The reverse is also true: if you give too much water to newly planted bamboos daily, or for longer than a few minutes, the leaves will drop. Older and more mature bamboos can take a lot of water but freshly planted ones can suffer from too much as well as too little water.
When spring arrives, you will notice that there will be a significant yellowing of the leaves, after which the leaves shed off. Don't panic, leaf shedding is natural and should not cause concern because bamboos remain evergreen and renew their leaves in the spring. They have to lose their leaves gradually so they can be replaced by fresh new ones. If you care for your bamboo well, a healthy bamboo plant will have green leaves most of the year and yellow leaves in the spring.
Both David Schindel & Michael Russell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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