Basic Bamboo installation tips and instructions for pots and in ground plantings
Below are some tips and suggestions for installing our tropical clumping bamboo plants for both pots and in ground landscape plantings. Please remember that our bamboo are tropical bamboo from Florida with minimum temperatures ranging from 28F for our Black bamboo to 12F for our Multiplex varieties. Before planting, make sure you know the minimum temperature for your bamboo (you can find them all on our website www.bambooplantsonline.com) . If your in a climate where the temps dip below the minimum, consider planting your bamboo in a pot and protecting it over the winter. Bamboo can be grown for a season in pots then easily cut back and successfully overwintered in a protected area, or in a high light area indoors
General information about bamboo plant
-Bambo is giant clumping grass. Treat it like a grass by giving it plenty of sunlight, water and even amounts of fertilizer
-Bamboo is a tropical grass and prefers high light, medium to high humidity conditions. The closer to tropical conditions the better for your bamboo.
-Bamboo can tolerate a good amount of fertilizer and water. Bamboo has an extremely fast growth rate when given ample water and fertilizer.
-Bamboo does all its growing in fits and spurts and shoots naturally from March to September,but can shoot a bit earlier or later, depending on its environment. When it is not shooting the bamboo is growing below ground and building strength for its new shoots.
-Each individual bamboo shoot only grows for around 60 days. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on land, and mature shoots can grow over 60 feet in 60 days. Each new shoot emerges and reaches its maximum height within 60 days of emerging, so its important to give the clump all the water and nutrition it needs to push out strong culms. .
For Planting in Pots
1. Choose as large of a pot as practical. Bamboo is thirsty and grows large quickly. The larger the pot, the more water and nutrition the plant has access to, and the less frequently you will have to water it.
2. Keep the bamboo moist. Bamboo does not like to dry out. Keeping it evenly moist will ensure a happy, healthy plant.
For planting in the ground
1. Dig a hole twice the size of the bamboo root mass. (approximately the size of a 5 gallon bucket)
2. Add some compost or manure to the backfill and the bottom of the hole. This rich organic matter holds nutrients and water and will help keep the root mass more evenly moist.
3. After planting, cover the hole with mulch to keep all the water from evaporating. The mulch will break down to slowly deliver organic nutrition to the roots.
4. Sprinkle some Slow Release fertilizer on top of the hole. Use a high nitrogen slow release fertilizer like our Bamboo Special 13-3-13 for best results. Our Fertilizer is the highest quality available and is a true coated slow release. What makes our fertilizer special is its 365 day controlled release. This means fertilizing your bamboo is as easy as one application annually.
5. If using another fertilizer follow the instructions carefully. Some fertilizer uses water to release its nutrition. Too much water and all the nutrition is released at once. We strongly urge a time release fertilizer to keep the nutrition in the root zone and out of our groundwater.
