Indoor Bamboo & Bonsai

There are many types of tropical, clumping bamboo that are suitable for growing indoors in pots. These plants are tropical grasses and growing indoors will require a little extra care. Bamboo loves humidity and tropical conditions, so putting them in an air conditioned office with only artificial light is quite a harsh environment for bamboo. Most professionally maintained indoor bamboo in commercial applications like hotels and convention halls are in high light situations and are periodically rotated with another bamboo of the same species and maturity that has been kept outdoors, for some time to re energize. This 2 plant approach is the easiest way to keep spectacular bamboo indoors. When growing bamboo indoors, plant nutrition becomes very important. I highly recommend using Essential plus & Companion in the soil, as well as Slow release nitrogen in the root zone and  foliar sprayed. All the bamboo in this category are suitable choices and have successfully been grown indoors. The 2 most forgiving plant species to grow in this category are Bambusa Ventricosa Buddha belly & Silverstripe bamboo. The others are not much more difficult it is just I have found these to be the strongest and most adaptable of the bunch.  

Bamboo is a diverse group of grasses with over 1200 species. It is not commonly known that some species of bamboo make excellent houseplants, but it is something we have been doing at Green Thumb Palms for quite a while with beautiful results we would love to share.

• We have been growing some very rare collected varieties of Clumping Bambusa as well as temperate running Plieoblastus and Sasa  bamboo in pots, with much ease, success and satisfaction
• Bambusa Ventricosa Buddha Belly, featured in the picture, is one of the best clumping varieties for pot culture. It is a reliable highly adaptable clumper. The plant bellies only in response to water stress.
• All bamboo suitable for pot culture will be listed within the category "Bamboo for Pots" 
• Dwarf and small varieties suitable for bonsai culture are listed within their own category "Bamboo for Bonsai"
• The temperate (running) varieties require far less light than any tropical clumping bamboo and as a group make more interesting houseplants. 
• Indoor temperate bamboo offers a much more impressive variety of leaf color, varegation & forms
• Small and dwarf varieties are selected specifically for pot culture. Sizes range from just a few inches (plieoblastus distichus) to 4'-6' (indocalamus tessellatus)
• All potted bamboo will need to have its canes periodicly thinned out and eventually will need to be repotted or divided into several plants. Thinning out the number of canes is one technique for slowing bamboo down in its container
• Thinning is simply leaving the new growth and thinning out some of the older less desireable canes
• Bamboo being kept in pots or as bonsai can be root pruned as well. Root pruning is removing up to 20% of the roots with a sharp knife or saw and replaceing it in its original container. Root pruning can be done the same time as thinning, depending on your desired result.
• Bamboo Plants Online grows approximately 30 temperate (running) bamboo varieties and a handful of clumping tropical bamboo that are well suited to be grown indoors. 
• While we cannot yet offer all these varieties commercially, Bamboo Plants Online will offer these bamboos as limited quantities become available. Our intentions are to introduce several fresh species every month until they are all commercially available