Your New Planting
If this is your first time planting or caring for bamboo, the following list of tips and guidelines will help to ensure that your new plants thrive.
- Depth: Unlike trees, this is not critical. There is no bark, so you can plant the root ball a little deeper than the surface, or flush. Just make sure that the burlap or ball top is covered slightly so it doesn’t wick water away.
- Watering: Of course, you want to water in thoroughly, so the air pockets are gone. If it is in the ground, once per week is adequate. If it is in a planter in the sun, it may need to be watered every few days in hot weather. The leaves will curl slightly if it badly needs water.
- Fertilizer: No Nitrogen! Not for the first 90 days, and this includes any in the soil if you are placing in a planter. Later you can fertilize with any fertilizer twice per year. Fresh chicken or cow manure is fine after the break in period.
- Containers: Make sure the container drains. For example, a stock tank should have several 3/32 inch holes drilled just above the bottom seam.
- Barrier installations:
- The 60 mil HDPE should be 24” in the ground. If you do not have that depth of soil, you will probably have rhizomes escape in future years.
- CRITICAL INSTALLATION: The soil next to the barrier must be properly packed to work correctly. If you have a 5-6” wide trench (like most trenchers dig) you will want to slightly curl the bottom edge toward the new planting. Think of it in terms of which way you want that rhizome going if it tries to travel down the face of the plastic. You want it pointed back to the grove. VERY IMPORTANT- YOU CANNOT FILL A DITCH 24” with dirt and then pack it from the top. Only the top will end up being packed. You should place 6” in the bottom, pack it with a sledge hammer, fill it 6” again, pack it with the sledge, then finish the top 12’ and pack tightly. If you have excavated the entire planting area, you should place the plastic around the inside, place 6” in the bottom, pack with a plate compacter or a hand tamp, then 6” more, then place your plants on top of this and fill in around them. Do NOT tamp the root balls on the top. But you can tamp around them with an axe handle, hammer, etc.
- Mulch: This is very helpful, regardless of the soil. The type is not important for bamboo. You can use free wood chips, grass clippings or commercial mulch at least 3-4” deep around the area in which you want the plants to spread. If your plants are 3 or more feet apart, you will need about 2 bags of “big box” mulch per plant in a 3’ circle around the plants.
- Dividing the bamboo: Except for the ground cover types, do not divide your new plants under any circumstances. After a few years if you want to transplant some, call the nursery and we will discuss the best tools and techniques.
- Trimming: The easiest time to shape your planting is when the shoots are just up and are still soft. There is a video on the website showing this effect. And if you have more detailed questions, don’t hesitate to call the nursery.
- Tying off large plants: There is no bark on your bamboo like a tree has, so you can tie directly to the culm if it is so tall that it needs to be guyed off. Drive 3 stakes a few feet away from the plant and run your wire or string from there. After a year it will no longer be needed.
