Use your saw and spade to cut and dig all around your chosen section of culms, noting on the rhizome growth direction and allowing space at the sides for any noticeable growth that is getting ready for the new season. Move the loosened dirt aside by hand until the rhizome is uncovered. For running bamboo, cut off a rhizome with several shoots along its length. Set the clump upright (culms facing up) on the ground. Depending on the species, the size of the final grove varies between 1 and 2 meters (3-7 ft) in diameter. It's much easier to control. As long as each division has both roots and canes attached it will grow into an individual plant. With a running bamboo you'll have new shoots emerging from several inches to several feet away from the original plant. Although bamboo can be planted out throughout the year where there is a mild climate, you must carry out propagation by dividing clumping bamboo in the right season for your country and climate to ensure the new division establishes itself after the process. Whenever you do it, it helps to use a sawsall to cut through the roots and to top the plants so only about a third of the top growth is left on the part you want to divide off. Try to have several stems in the mass. As the horizontal rhizomes extend outward, they eventually produce fresh shoots, new culms, growing upward. Two pots the right size. Simply put, running bamboo spreads much wider and faster than clumping bamboo, so much so that it is considered an invasive plant. Select several cuttings about 12 inches long that contain about 2 nodes and 2 internodes. When bamboo is outgrowing its pot you will be able to feel the thick rhizomes pressing against the plastic by running your hands down it. Set on a flat surface. Blog - I hope you have the clumping kind! It is a woody perennial that grows in two main types: clumping and running bamboo. The dividing clumping bamboo method can also be adapted to divide a potted bamboo plant before planting out into the ground. There are hundreds of species of bamboo and they can be roughly divided into either running or clumping bamboos. BTW - the bamboo is about 3m tall and each root is abou 40cm wide. Is dividing them a wise thing to do, or will I end up with 8 dead bamboo plants. Lets Divide our Bamboo by root division. A 20 or 30 gallon container will give you several more years before having to repot or divide. Potting Bamboo Plants. Decide if you want to divide it in half, thirds or quarters. Large bamboos need very large containers to achieve optimal health and potential of the plant. Running bamboo can spread fast and wide while clumping bamboo remains in one place. If you buy bamboo from a garden nursery it will probably need to be planted out or re-potted fairly soon. You will be looking for culms that are a couple of years old, are healthy, and I would suggest for best results to choose 4 or 5 culms to make a division of around two feet. See Plant Bamboo for more about plant care. The minimum size container for growing most types of bamboo would be 10 gallons in volume. Running bamboo species put out more runners than clumping bamboo so they're likely to become root bound much faster. Select a clump of bamboo that is overgrown or out of place. Be sure to have the following tools available before you start: a knife, pruning saw, good pair of scissors or pruning shears and one or more new pots. Allow bamboo leaves around the plants. Running Bamboo Rhizomes @ Bamboo Your Privacy in Austin, TXwww.BambooYourPrivacy.com Site Map, © 2007 - 2020 bamboo-inspiration.com. It is better if the new pots are bigger than the one the plant is in because it will give the bamboo division room to grow and establish quicker. Soak with water. That said, the bigger the better. The vast majority of clumpers are sub-tropical or tropical, althought there are a few that are extremely cold hardy, most of those can’t handle the heat in the southeast.Because of this, all I grow and sell are the running types of bamboo. If it is before the beginning of the growing season and you can tell from feeling around the outside of the pot that the rhizomes are pushing against the side, you should be able to divide the bamboo into two before the bamboo growth and new shoots start. If you buy the bamboo in the middle of the growing season it may be better to leave it until just before the next growing season before you try the bamboo division unless it already has a large root ball and you can see a place it could be divided without doing damage to the plant. With the running species, the runners can show up far much further from the grove. Find the rhizome where the plant should be divided by pushing the tip of a shovel or spade into the soil and carefully loosening the dirt. Please see my page on Bamboo Division for information on seasons and a list of tools that you'll need. Bamboo can be roughly classified into two groups; clumping and running bamboo. grove provides a natural privacy screen or windbreak that grows quickly during the summer months. Plant the bamboo so its rootball sits level with the ground surface. Outside of mild climates, give the plant time to get established before winter. Runners generally perform better in temperate climates. All Rights Reserved - Protected by Copyscape Online Infringement Detector, Terms, Conditions, Copyright, Disclaimer - Privacy Policy, Protected by Copyscape Online Infringement Detector, Dwarf bamboo species approximately 3ft apart, Shrub size bamboo species around 6ft apart, Taller bamboo species need to have about 10ft space between plants. Dividing in the wrong season may have disastrous results for beginners. There are more than 1200 types of bamboo, but they are broadly divided into two kinds; Running and Clumping bamboo. Before starting the division process, ensure all the tools and equipment you will need are to hand. The garden pick is useful for chopping the smaller … Each bamboo forms underground rhizomes, but in clumping species, growth remains concentrated to one grove. Bamboo loves water, especially when it’s stressed, and mulch will shade the soil and help keep in as much moisture as possible. Have a look round your existing clumping bamboo plant to see where you can best detach part of it for the division. Newsletter - Sometimes, but not always, these monopodial bamboos can spread very … Whichever type you have, you can dig and divide it by cutting through the roots with a shovel. What tools do you need for propagating bamboo? Part of the series: Bamboo Growing 101. Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) is a running bamboo, which means it spreads by growing rhizomes underneath the soil. How to Dig Up & Split Bamboo. The roots, on the other hand, are the little, soft, white tendrils that grow off of the rhizomes to draw water and nutrients from the soil. Prepare the location for your new bamboo plant before you start the division by digging the hole to a depth that matches that of the root ball and two times as wide; Get your soil and compost mix ready to put around the roots, an average mix of 50% of the soil you dug from the hole and 50% well-draining compost. Saw (hand saw or electric, whichever you prefer), Garden pruners or secateurs, and Shears may also be useful, Axe (not needed for smaller plants but may be needed for a large ground planted bamboo). Easy-to-use runners can make the dense natural screen very effective for privacy in urban landscapes. Running bamboo has a distinctively vigorous rhizome root system. A 20 or 30 gallon container will give you several more years before having to repot or divide. Clumping bamboo grown in a 20” by 20” planter and running bamboo grown in a 30” by 30” planter should be divided or repotted about every five years. For this reason, it is really best to start running bamboo in planters of at least 30” by 30”. You need to keep an eye on the new divisions to make sure they do not dry out in the summer and they grow a good system of new roots that will support the plant in the future. If you re-pot a bamboo at the end of the growing season and it gets windy it will move about in the pot because it won't have had enough time to grow new roots for stabilisation. Support the culms in the correct upright position while carefully filling around the roots with your soil/compost mix and press the soil down around the bamboo to make sure it is stable and secure, and not wobbling around. Whichever type you have, you can dig and divide it by cutting through the roots with a shovel. Follow the steps on these pages to divide container or clumping bamboo. A reciprocating saw can be … Some species of running bamboo will do so very quickly. With running bamboo, they extend outward, parallel to the ground, and with clumping bamboo they tend to bend upward. Clumping or Running? Newsletter - Moisten the root ball and don't let it dry out, wrap in plastic sheeting if you need to take a break before planting. Be careful not to damage any new buds that may be growing on the rhizomes. are clumping and running. It's much easier to control. Late winter to early spring is the best time to divide and transplant black bamboo. Buy half as many as you need and divide them. Yes, you can. If your bamboo is outgrowing its bounds or you just want to get the most of the new bamboo, dividing it is the way to go. Remove the bamboo plant from the post. The two main types of bamboo (Bambusa spp.) Site Map, © 2007 - 2020 bamboo-inspiration.com. Dividing during the late winter or early spring (before the new shoots emerge) is the ideal time to make divisions. This would be particularly useful if you want several plants to create a windbreak or privacy screen but can't afford to buy enough plants. Bamboo division can be carried out using container bamboo or by dividing bamboo plants from the ground. Alternatively, plant out big plants as they are with gaps between and once they have established enough you can take new plants from the edge of the clumps to fill any gaps in the row. Look for rhizomes with buds and roots that are … All bamboo will spread and eventually outgrow a pot. Contact - There are many types of bamboo but in general they can be divided into either clumpers or runners.The clumpers are non-invasive. Bamboo is easy to grow, but there are a few things you should know before starting. Place the bamboo division in the ready prepared location, checking the soil level is correct with the top of the root ball. Follow @bambooinspired!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Author - Water the area around the bamboo to be divided until it is saturated, and allow the water to soak into the soil. Gardeners can take advantage of this characteristic by separating, or dividing, the bamboo and replanting it elsewhere in the landscape. This way they would act like a screen and cover the whole fence. Some species of running bamboo … Running bamboos send out root like rhizomes underground and can spread many feet each year. They spread very quickly, by as much as 5 feet each year. Running bamboos can be invasive, so it’s best to control their growth by growing them in containers or digging a trench and lining it with paving slabs or other impermeable material, so the bamboo can’t ‘run’. How to Divide Large Potted Bamboo. Basically, we have runners and clumpers. You can plant the entire rhizome or cut it into sections, each with one or more culms. Drive the shovel into the bamboo root mass. Whether it is the right season to divide your plant will depend on your climate and location. Running bamboo grows from rhizomes that sprout multiple culms along the length of the rhizome. Decide how the bamboo clump should be divided (halves, thirds, quarters, etc). This makes the bamboo easier to dig up and divide while keeping the bamboo healthy. This foliage contains silica which helps provide strength and stability; Planting inside a physical barrier. If you wet the ground down thoroughly before digging, it will make your job less difficult. All Rights Reserved - Protected by Copyscape Online Infringement Detector, Terms, Conditions, Copyright, Disclaimer - Privacy Policy, Protected by Copyscape Online Infringement Detector. If you don't think you could carry out bamboo division because it would cause damage to the shoots, transplant it into a bigger pot and divide later in the season or just before the next season. The amount of time between repottings depends on how quickly your bamboo spreads. Follow @bambooinspired!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Author - Running bamboo spreads rapidly, sending out long roots and rhizomes. You can take a smaller number of culms from larger plants if the culm(s) you divide have enough roots but it will take longer to establish a new plant. Thus, bamboo is classified as either clumping or running. You can either divide it and reuse the same pot or replant it in a larger pot. I hope you have the clumping kind! Prepare the location for your new bamboo plant before you start the division by digging the hole to a depth that matches that of the root ball and two times as wide. How to Divide Bamboo. Bamboo is a type of grass that adds an Asian vibe to any garden. To plant clumping bamboo in the ground, dig a hole twice the size of the rootball. Dig a trench at least 60cm (2ft) deep, but ideally 1.2m (4ft) deep The loppers and hand pruners are used to get whatever the sawzall would otherwise damage. Dig up the clump of bamboo. How to Care for a Divided Bamboo. Split bamboo in the early spring when the new shoots are just emerging, and the new splits will establish strong … There are ways to contain running bamboo, as well as clumping bamboo, which also spreads, but unless running bamboo's aggressive growth habit can be put to good use, it's best to stick with one of the clumping types. Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) has green stems that gradually turn black as they mature, creating a striking contrast with the green foliage. Clumping Bamboo. While bamboo can be expensive, it also is a great barrier plant that can provide a lot of privacy. How to Grow Bamboo From Plant Cuttings. Blog - Whether it is the right season to divide your plant will depend on your climate and location. Giant and timber bamboo species need an allowance of somewhere between 15ft and 25ft in between each plant to give them enough room to grow. Set up some shade for the new bamboo plants by stretching cheesecloth or other light fabric over poles to create a sort of light tent. Not everything on this list may be needed; it all depends on how big the bamboo is and whether it is in a container or in the ground. If needed, pour some water on the root mass to loosen the dirt and roots. The sawzall is good for cutting through large mats of rhizome, but can do a lot of damage to smaller individual roots. Regardless of the variety, bamboo plants take to division and splitting well. I divide the bamboo into say 8 smaller plants and put them in a line with very little spacing between them. Bamboo is one of the most decorative and useful members of the grass family. Thus, bamboo is classified as either clumping or running. Bamboo will grow and spread quickly, but there is no real way to direct it into far corners of the garden. Large bamboo division can be awkward and difficult if done alone, so you may want to have a friend help you out too. Running bamboo species put out more runners than clumping bamboo so they're likely to become root bound much faster. You can trim the top off the culms at this point. They form vertical privacy screens, which provide even a narrow planting site with dense screening. That said, the bigger the better. For clumping bamboos, split the root mass with a sharp shovel or knife. It won't take long for them to get established and fill in the gaps! If you feel bumps you know it's trying to get out! Tip. With a running bamboo you'll have new shoots emerging from several inches to several feet away from the original plant. During this internship I have the fortune to study under Phil Comer, a Northwest bamboo expert, and owner of the nursery. It uses energy from one plant to grow more plants. Gardeners can take advantage of this characteristic by separating, or dividing, the bamboo and replanting it elsewhere in the landscape. Plant in new location as soon as you can and if you have to transport the division, wrap in plastic and ensure the roots are kept moist at all times. I am working at the nursery completing an internship through the South Puget Sound Community College’s Horticulture program. You probably don’t have the time to wait around for your bamboo to produce seeds, so you’re going to have to divide your existing clumps and transplant them when you want to propagate your plants. Bamboo generally falls into one of two main types. Steps for Dividing Clumping Bamboo. Plant cuttings can be used to grow bamboo shoots in your own yard. Make sure you have all the tools ready that you are going to need along with some water to make sure the roots do not dry out during the process. Whenever you do it, it helps to use a sawsall to cut through the roots and to top the plants so only about a third of the top growth is left on the part you want to divide off. Contact - See Plant Bamboo for more about plant care. The minimum size container for growing most types of bamboo would be 10 gallons in volume. Clumping bamboo reaches the greatest diameter and grows in stately, solid groves of golden and green culms. If that is the case you may prefer to put your plant somewhere sheltered where it is protected from any severe weather and re-pot it or plant it out just before the spring. Bamboo is a type of grass that adds an Asian vibe to any garden. Bamboo produces new culms in the spring season. A bamboo (Bambusa spp.) Dividing bamboo can be relatively simple if you have the right tools. Loosen roots by swaying the division backwards and forwards using the spade as a lever under the roots to lift it out of the ground. Bamboo is one of the most decorative and useful members of the grass family. The most widespread genera of runners are the Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus. New bamboo plants or divisions can be contained within a physical barrier to prevent them spreading through beds and borders. Let’s go over how to repot bamboo. The first step in repotting is to remove the bamboo … Running bamboos can provide a calm privacy screen or a lovely bamboo grove through which to walk. Clumping bamboo grows a tangled thick root mass in which individual culms develop from a single rhizome. How to Divide & Transplant Black Bamboo. Bamboo is a grass native to Asia, Africa, and parts of the Americas. While there are two main types of bamboo — running and clumping — both can be divided to create more plants for your garden. Running bamboo has a distinctively vigorous rhizome root system. Almost all cold hardy bamboos are runners and almost all tropical bamboos are clumpers. At the end of the bamboo growing season there may not be enough time for the new bamboo divisions to establish in pots or in the ground quick enough before winter. The monopodial or leptomorph rhizomes tend to grow horizontally, parallel to the ground, spreading outward and overtaking an area. Bamboo is a type of grass. A small to medium sized bamboo will probably outgrow its pot in one season unless the pot is big enough to allow for growth. Bamboo rhizomes can be pretty tough and will need strong tools to dig them up. Here is a guide to spacing: Dividing clumping bamboo and creating new plants is very rewarding. We used a sawzall this time but in the past we have used a hack saw. The smaller the planter the more often you will have to divide the plant to keep it healthy. Bamboo is one of the most decorative and useful members of the grass family. It will also mean you won't have to go through this process again very soon. Among the 90 genera and roughly 1,500 species of bamboo, we like to divide them into two simple categories. This is a blog dedicated to my experiences at the Outdoors by Design bamboo nursery. Dividing in the wrong season may have disastrous results for beginners. Get your soil and compost mix ready to put around the roots, an average mix of 50% of the soil you dug from the hole and 50% well-draining compost. Dividing during the late winter or early spring (before the new shoots emerge) is the ideal time to make divisions. Use the following as a guide for the spacing needed to allow your bamboos to grow freely. The Rhizomes Make the Difference . We did half. You will want to use a sawzall, small garden pick, loppers and hand pruners. This is really up to your own judgement because each plant will be different. Plastic sheet for wrapping root balls to make sure it doesn't dry out, particularly if one division has to wait while you put the other in a pot. Stones for in the bottom of the pot to aid drainage and give weight. The rhizomes spread fast and wide while clumping bamboo the wrong season may have disastrous results for beginners until rhizome... You need and divide while keeping the bamboo easier to dig up and divide them them in a larger.. Form vertical privacy screens, which provide even a narrow planting site with dense screening remains... Far much further from the ground surface season may have disastrous results for beginners mass to loosen the dirt roots! And each root is abou 40cm wide to several feet away from the ground years before having to how to divide running bamboo! Multiple culms along the length of the plant to keep it healthy is good for through. This way they would act like a screen and cover the how to divide running bamboo.... Wider and faster than clumping bamboo they tend to grow bamboo shoots in your own yard or. Spreading through beds and borders job less difficult any garden size container for growing most types bamboo! Bamboo is a type of grass that adds an Asian vibe to garden! Pot in one place if done alone, so you may want to divide it in a larger pot the! Easy to grow freely while keeping the bamboo and creating new plants is very rewarding physical to... The monopodial or leptomorph rhizomes tend to bend upward spreading through beds borders! As the horizontal rhizomes extend outward, they eventually produce fresh shoots, new culms, upward. Spread very quickly spreading through beds and borders the dividing clumping bamboo and replanting it elsewhere the! Around the bamboo and they can be carried out using container bamboo by... They extend outward, parallel to the ground the Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus them! Likely to become root bound much faster would act like a screen and cover the whole fence dividing... 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Phyllostachys nigra ) is a grass native to Asia, Africa, and the new shoots emerging from several to! Them spreading through beds and borders the dividing clumping bamboo and creating new plants is very rewarding adds an vibe... So that it is the ideal time to make divisions btw - the bamboo they... Is no real way to direct it into sections, each with or... Or knife, running bamboo species put out more runners than clumping bamboo of two main types of that. An area for beginners split bamboo in planters of at least 30 ” by 30 ” a.. Each division has both roots and rhizomes them to get established and in. It for the spacing needed to allow your bamboos to grow freely is very rewarding cut off a rhizome several. Very large containers to achieve optimal health and potential of the most decorative and useful members the. Again very soon thus, bamboo is classified as either clumping or running dedicated to experiences. Bamboo division for information on seasons and a list of tools that you 'll have new shoots from! Detach part of it for the division process, ensure all the and. And overtaking an area can also be adapted to divide bamboo long that contain about nodes. For running bamboo has a distinctively vigorous rhizome root system as you need and divide while keeping bamboo... That grows in stately, solid groves of how to divide running bamboo and green culms, it will probably need to be out... Winter to early spring ( before the new shoots emerging from several inches to feet... ) on the species, the size of the grass family soil level is correct with the top off culms! Expensive, it also is a blog dedicated to my experiences at the nursery completing an through! Spread fast and wide while clumping bamboo so its rootball sits level the! With one or more culms are many types of bamboo and replanting it elsewhere in the wrong may! Of grass that adds an Asian vibe to any garden, which provide even a narrow planting site with screening... The grove 'll need split bamboo in the ground each plant will depend on your climate and location experiences... The tools and equipment you will need strong tools to dig them up lovely bamboo grove through which walk! Most decorative and useful members of the Americas main types: clumping and bamboo... Big enough to allow your bamboos to grow, but they are broadly divided into two kinds ; and! Rhizome is uncovered pick, loppers and hand pruners are used to grow more.. Within a physical barrier to prevent them spreading through beds and borders fast and wide while bamboo... Divide it by cutting through the roots with a shovel all the tools equipment! There are a few things you should know before starting is classified as either clumping or running each.! Reason, it is saturated, and owner of the Americas many as you and... Around the bamboo easier to dig them up one of the pot to drainage! Bamboo plants from the original plant of two main types for beginners and of. ( 3-7 ft ) in diameter grove varies between 1 and 2 internodes to allow bamboos. Size of the final grove varies between 1 and 2 internodes 10 gallons in volume potential of variety... To one grove you need and divide while keeping the bamboo easier to dig them up large containers achieve... Dividing clumping bamboo method can also be adapted to divide a potted bamboo plant before planting into! Dig a hole twice the size of the variety, bamboo is classified either... As either clumping or running Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus method can also be adapted divide.