Taking Care of Bamboo

How to Take Care of Bamboo

Bamboo is a beautiful exotic plant that has become a popular addition to many American landscapes. Indigenous to tropical areas in Asia, bamboo is a hardy plant that makes it easily adaptable to new environments. It is easy to keep bamboo either indoors or outdoors with very little maintenance.

What are the Two Types of Bamboo?

First let’s discuss the two main types of bamboo. There is clumping bamboo, and running bamboo. Clumping bamboo grows in small clumps and is not invasive. Running bamboo, on the other hand, grows an intricate root system that duplicates underground so that you will find new bamboo shoots sprouting up all over your garden within a few years. Either kind of bamboo requires the same kind of care, so the only relevance this has is in terms of which kind you want to grow in your garden.

How do I Take Care of my Bamboo Plant?

Generally speaking, all you have to do to take care of bamboo is to water it regularly, give it plenty of sunlight, but not direct sunlight, and fertilize it during the spring or summer months. There are no known pests that attack bamboo, so that also makes it easy and enjoyable to grow.

Watering Bamboo

Bamboo loves water, but you should train it to dig down deep for its water source by not giving it so much that the dirt is always soggy. By growing deep for its water, the bamboo will develop a stronger root system. If you are growing bamboo outside, you should water it twice a week when it is young and just getting started. After a few months, you can decrease the watering to just once a week. If soil is drenched, you will risk causing root rot, so make sure that the soil has a chance to dry up between waterings.

If you have a bamboo plant inside or one that is living in a pot, you may need to water it slightly more often. Just remember to check the soil so that it never gets completely dried up, but also never stays soaking wet.

You can learn to “listen” to your bamboo plant by paying attention to the leaves. If the leaves are drooping, the plant is telling you it has too much water. If the leaves are curling upward however, the message is that it is thirsty.

One more note about watering your bamboo: filtered or natural spring water is best. If there is too much fluoride in your tap water, the leaves may turn yellowish.

Sunlight for your Bamboo

Bamboo does not like direct sunlight, but it loves sunlight! In its natural habitat in tropical forests, there is plenty of sunlight that hits the tops of the trees, yet plenty of shady spots as well. Sunlight with some shady filtering is a perfect location.

Soil and Fertilizers

Potted bamboo plants should be placed in clay pots with small stones in the bottom for good drainage of the water. You should use a loose sand and soil mixture which will also aid in the drainage. Mulch is an excellent way to top the surface of the soil as bamboo loves the stability of both temperature and soil moisture that mulch provides.

Bamboo is a fast-growing plant, so it tends to need fertilizer to help it grow to its full potential. If you want to add fertilizer to feed your bamboo plant, do so in the spring or summer. A nitrogen-rich fertilizer is optimal in the spring; less nitrogen should be used in the summer. You can fertilize in the fall as well, though the amount of nitrogen should be low. Never fertilize in the winter. Nitrogen can burn or damage the root structure if there is too much of it. Therefore, take note to follow the timeline as to when you add a nitrogen rich fertilizer.

Taking Care of Bamboo - More Tips

Pruning Your Bamboo Plants

It is good to prune your plant from time to time. Be sure you use a sharp knife and cut through the stalk just below one of the joints. Spray a fine mist over the cut area several times a day for a week or two. This will ensure new growth from the cut piece. With the new piece you cut, you can put that in fresh, clean water to start a new plant. There is no rule to pruning other than to meet your own personal taste.

Repotting Your Bamboo Plants

When you feel it is time that your bamboo needs a larger pot, simply choose a pot that is approximately 2 inches bigger than the current pot. Place some nutrient-rich soil in the bottom and then place the plant, along with its present soil, into the new pot. Fill in the rest of the space with more nutrient-rich soil. Bamboo plants take such transplants very well.

Growing bamboo is easy and enjoyable. Fortunately for bamboo lovers it is the fastest growing plant as well. In addition, there are literally hundreds of varieties to choose from and they are all easy to maintain. Because bamboo is fairly easy to care for it has become a popular addition to many landscapes both inside and outside the home or office.