Growing Bamboo Successfully

When to Grow Bamboo

While bamboo plants grow all year long, there are two main growth phases; below-ground, and above-ground. Depending on where you are planting your bamboo, these growth seasons will vary. Typically, from October through April (below-ground season), the plants form buds underground; and from May through September (above-ground season), the plants grow above-ground and develop shoots.

When is the best time to plant your new bamboo? Soil temperatures (not air) need to be at or above forty degrees Fahrenheit for four to six weeks for the roots to have a chance. Therefore we recommend you plant in the summer and fall months (towards the middle to end of the above-ground growth phase), because the buds will have more time to water and grow into a stronger plant, which will result in healthier and larger shoots the following above-ground season. If you plant at the start of the above-ground phase you will see instant growth (the plants typically double in size in just a couple months), but the roots will not be as strong as if you had planted in the below-ground phase. That said, they will have time to catch up as long as you take good care of your bamboo.

Choosing Your Bamboo Type

You’ll need to choose between running or clumping bamboo. The primary difference between the two is the spacing between the canes. Clumping bamboo also take longer to grow (hence the name for running bamboos – their growth can “run” away). The particular species of bamboo you select will depend on weather conditions – consult your local nursery.

Determining Your Soil Type

The first thing you’ll want to do is determine the type of soil you have. Bamboo plants need lose and well aerated soil to prosper. This means that clay-based and compacted soils are not optimal. To begin, you’ll want to loosen and aerate your soil with a shovel, digging holes with a backhoe (a hydraulic excavating machine) if necessary. You’ll want to apply mulch at least on an annual basis.
 

Planting Your First Bamboo

While the soil you plant your bamboo in is loose and well aerated, you want to make sure that you compact the soil around the plant itself to prevent air pockets from forming around the roots (which would prevent water and nutrients from the soil from reaching your plant). When you first plant your bamboo, dig between one and two inches down, and create a small moat around the plant to facilitate watering and feeding in its initial growth stage. When adding multiple bamboo plants, you’ll want to consider how you want them spaced. Closely-spaced bamboo are typically used to create a shelter from wind (but no closer than 4 feet between each plant), while more widely spaced bamboo can be used to grow lumber or shoots. Consult your local nursery for spacing arrangements on different bamboo species.

Taking Care of Your Bamboo

Your bamboo plant will store its food in horizontal underground stems known as rhizomes and its canes, known as culms. Since it takes a few years of carefully nurtured growth to achieve these food stores, it is essential that you take good care of your bamboo in its early growth stages. The first growing season you can expect a few new canes. By the second season your bamboo plant should have twice as many, although it will take another year or so for them to reach significant heights.

During the above-ground growth phase, it’s important that you fertilize your bamboo plants every 4-6 weeks, depending on the amount of rainfall. Consult your nursery for the type of fertilizer suited to your soil type. We recommend that you use organic fertilizer and with high Nitrogen and low Boron levels (although in for your first growing season you should stick to a Nitrogen value of 10 or less).

The number one killer of bamboos is lack of water. Optimal growth for bamboo plants is achieved in areas that experience high rainfall. If you live in a drier area, you should consider setting up a drip irrigation system (sprinklers won’t cut it because they don’t water deep enough). You’ll want to obtain irrigation tubing with emitters built into the line, and run one line beside each row of plants (for single plants use a double ring coming off a main line). Use a filter at the water source, and place a flush valve at the end of each line. In drier areas, you’ll want to run the system for one hour every night (set it up on an automatic timer), with less time in wetter areas. Running the water for longer periods is both wasteful and useless.

Following the second above-ground growth season, you’ll want to start thinning out your bamboo by removing some of the oldest canes. Make sure that you remove only the old growth (usually the smallest), and cut them at the base (no higher than the third node). You can repeat this every year or so, making sure that you don’t remove the young shoots. You may also prune branches and shape your bamboo (see our shaping guide for details). Once a cane grows to be four years old it has achieved maximum strength, so you can remove those if you’re going to use them.

Finally, you can control your bamboo growth by mowing a strip around them, placing a barrier at least three feet into the ground (or a mulch pit that you check for new growth annually), or by placing them near water (they will not grow into a stream or pond).