Bamboo in January

ladybirdbaby1

Hi! I inherited a bamboo plant that was taken from the ground. Can I/should I plant in the ground now (jan)? Is it better for it to wait?

lottpaul

Generally its a bit cold to plant anything on these frosty days. It would be better to wait until the soil begins to warm up a little.

But --- there should be a health warning with some bamboos - do you know what type of bamboo it is? Some can become very invasive and take over whole sections of a garden - and they are difficult to remove afterwards. Others are well behaved and can be planted with an easy conscience but it would be ideal if you can find out what variety you have and what its growing habits are.

Andy-Pandy

As lottpaul has said be careful. There are two types of bamboo, clumping and spreading. It's the clumping type you want, I wouldn't put a spreading bamboo anywhere in my garden, and wouldn't risk it if I didn't know before hand. Ask the person who you got it off if the bamboo was putting up shoots in their garden, it's this type you need to avoid. Clumping bamboo just gets bigger and thicker without sending out new shoots.

bazbrady

As the guys have previously said make sure its clumping and you will have no issues but be prepared to water it plenty in the growing season,even needs water in dry winter months.i have several golden bamboo and they are a lovely screening plant .Also they are fairly hardy and have seen people hack them in half once there established to make two plants no problem.id advise planting in a sheltered area ,they can dry out with a lot of sun and wind but otherwise easy .

ladybirdbaby1

Thanks everyone! I actually have some bamboo already from nurserys and some of it was bought off adverts, I had to identify it myself, if it was running or not. Was a bit of a risk, but it's definitely clumping! This one however, come from someone who I don't really know, so have no way of finding out from them. I've been inspecting it, I think it's also clumping... Still a bit of a risk.. Think I'll plant it but keep a close eye on it!
I was mostly wondering if I should plant it now or leave it in the chunk it came out of the ground in. I think I'll plant it now... Probably warmer than sitting out

lk67

Regarding the above information. No problem planting this time of year. Much better than leaving plants in containers or sitting on the ground. There's better insulation in the earth than the other options! The only time it's not suitable to plant hardy plants is when you physically can't dig the soil to plant them.

Also, ALL bamboo send up shoots and although some spread more than others, all can run or get out of hand depending on a number of factors, or a lack of Pandas.

ladybirdbaby1

Thanks! Yeah I'll do it today! The kids would love a resident panda, will have to work on that next..

looksee

I bought what was supposed to be a dwarf black bamboo years ago, and it sat in a pot and didn't do anything for years till I planted it in the garden. Now it is still dwarf, but there is not much sign of black stems and the foliage is just a plain green small leaved bamboo. It has made a fairly massive clump, I would not say it was invasive, but in my small garden the clump has got too big for the place it is in. It will have to come out pretty soon I think.

Andy-Pandy

Looksee, have you cut out all the old bamboo and trimmed off all the lower leaves and side shoots? It's amazing how much bamboo I come across that has had no tlc, makes a massive difference though can be time consuming.

looksee

It was cut down to the ground about 2 seasons ago, I am going to have to do some sort of operation on it as it is wildly healthy but not really looking like much at the moment. I'll have a look at it and see how a bit of thinning would improve it. Cheers.

ladybirdbaby1

Yeah I didn't realise you had to thin it out and also trim up the stems for that clean look, I thought it was just a type of bamboo that I didn't have! That's my next job, after I find my secaturs...

Niall_daaS

It's Fargesia you should make sure it is if you don't want to dig your whole garden in a few years. Phyllostachys I tell you is the enemy. Removing the roots from Phyllostachys is not a job you are looking for. Roots get as hard as stone and spread for hundreds of meters if you don't stop them. It's absolutly essential to show them where their terrain ends.