Are you interested in transplanting bamboo? The bamboo plant is the waving foliage and tall stalks, otherwise known as culms. The bamboo plant adds a tropical ambiance to your outdoor garden. Bamboo species are widely grown in the U.S Department of agriculture and tested to succeed in a different locations. In this article, we will learn some tips on transplanting bamboo and planting them in a new location where it can thrive.
You can transplant or propagate bamboo plants by digging up the bamboo roots or separating the rhizomes from the parent plant and replanting them in a new location.
What Types Of Bamboo Do You Have?
Two known types of bamboo have two roots, and the type will dictate how you will transplant the bamboo plant. Running bamboo is easier to replant since the roots go everywhere and replant themselves as they grow.
Lucky bamboo grows in clumps as the root balls get thicker ad hard. Both the types of bamboo are unique and are replanted best during late fall or early spring before the new shoots appear.
Likewise, you can transplant them during autumn before the first frost after all growth has stopped for the season. While transplanting bamboo, you can either move them to a new sunny location or put them into a new pot.
It would help if you had your tools in hand. You will need an ax, a sharp spade, an ax, and a saw to cut the tough bamboo into manageable sections. If you aim to thin your bamboo, you can cut the clumps selectively using a sharp shovel and leave the whole plant to grow.
Where To Plant Bamboo
Bamboo grows well in a brightly lit area and loamy, well-drained soil. However, many factors promote the healthy growth of a bamboo plant. The bamboo plant will grow anywhere where it gets proper nutrients, water or even a little sunlight. If you grow bamboo, you will get the benefits of windbreaking and great privacy.
If you have a section of bamboo that needs thinning, you can choose to plant what you dig up in another location in your garden or put t into a potting mix. Bamboo thrives in pots and adds some decor to your indoors and outdoors.
You need to know how to transplant bamboo so that the plant does not become invasive in the garden and spread to unwanted areas. In some climates planting bamboo is kept outdoors, and boundaries are put by sinking metal plates into the ground to prevent roots from spreading. In most cases, the species known as clumping bamboo or lucky bamboo are easier to tame than the running bamboo.
Preparation For Transplanting Bamboo
Before transplanting bamboo, you need to prepare the new transplanting site, preferably in the late or early spring. First, you need to remove grass, weeds and other vegetation from the garden spot.
You will also need to do a soil test before transplanting your bamboo; this stage is important to know if your bamboo cuttings will flourish in the soil you transplant them into. Generally, most bamboo thrives in soil with a PH of 6.0 to 6.5. Getting a soil test before transplanting will enable you to get recommendations of the best fertilizers, lime or sulfur that will help you adjust the PH balance of the soil.
If you are going to replant the bamboo running species, you will have to take your time installing a root barrier around your garden. You can use a 36-inch deep barrier of fiberglass, 40 ml polypropylene sheeting and aluminum flashing. If you don't have the above, you can opt for a concrete hardscape that extends 2 inches or more above the soil's surface to contain the bamboo running rhizomes.
If you are going to plant bamboo into containers, ensure your ports are well-drained, and you should mix the potting with tomatoes or any other vegetables using your equal compost. Since bamboo is normally top-heavy due to its shallow roots, it is best to use wide ceramic or concrete planters or add some bricks or large rocks to the bottom of the container to increase stability.
It would be best to put the containers in place before adding the potting mix. Make the loamy soil moist before you add in the whole bamboo plant.
Digging And Replanting The Bamboo
You can use twine or a rope to tie the culm together before digging around the bamboo clump perimeter. Generally, if you dig up a small clump, you should allow a 2 to 2 1/2 foot wide and 12 to 18-inch root ball. If your clump is larger, you can divide it into smaller sections or remove the sections on the perimeter of the parent plant. Next, divide the bamboo into rhizomes with a growing point and a few roots.
You should keep the root ball moist and avoid letting the roots dry out. Wrap the root in wet burlap and plastic covering to transport them to other locations. You can also use a dolly or a helper to shift the clump to its new home. You can then place the planting hole with the root ball slightly above the ground level and backfill.
Frequently water your newly planted bamboo weekly, applying 1 to 2 inches of water. Do not use fertilizer in your first year of growth, but afterward, you can scatter a slow-release balanced fertilizer over the soil and water evenly. It would be best if you either used a slow-release fertilizer or a water-soluble fertilizer if you grow your bamboo in pots.
Transplanting The Lucky Bamboo
Lucky bamboo is often grown in stones and water but can thrive in soil too. Lucky bamboo is not considered real bamboo, but rather bamboo cuttings of dracaena called ribbon plant. It is a densely leaved tropical shrub that has a bamboo-like appearance.
Its leaves are often pulled out to reveal its stem, which has numerous nodes that resemble bamboo. It can grow in an aquatic environment, although that is not its natural habitat, and it might grow slowly. The more reason to transplant it to the soil since the aquatic environment gives it a slow or stunted growth.
If you have been growing your lucky bamboo in water and stones and wish to transplant it to the soil, here's how to go about it. Growing bamboo is quite easy; you can transplant the whole bamboo plant into the soil or start a new plant from healthy culms cuttings.
Before translating lucky bamboo, you should know that you may lose several more leaves as the plant transitions to the soi. It is due to the plant's adaptation to aquatic life, and its roots have spent a lot of time in the water, Thus making it hard to convert to terrestrial roots again. But the condition is temporary.
Choose a well-drained pot a little bit bigger than the original pot. Prepare a few cups of the potting mix by pouring it into a bowl and adding tepid water. Stir well to make the mix moist and reach a consistency of a wrung sponge.
Place a newspaper at the bottom to prevent soil from flowing out as you water. Fill the pot with soil about half its height and remove the plant from its original pot. You can remove yellow or dead stems and intertwine the roots by spreading them apart.
Center the plant in the new pot and fill around the roots with potting soil tamping down lightly. After the plant, gently settle t in and drain the excess water. Please place it in direct sunlight and watch your plant grow.
