Growing Bamboo
Planting and Care Instructions

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Contact us: 205-686-5728 Cell: 205-292-0536
E-mail roger@lewisbamboo.com
Visits to select and pick up bamboo are scheduled Monday through Saturday.

How to plant your new bamboo

Your bamboo should still have a moist root ball and the leaves should be green (during the Spring leaf exchange will occur so some brown leaves will be present the weeks prior to new leaves forming). Handle your bamboo by the root ball only. Remove all packing material (tape and paper) from around the plant, being careful not to damage the root ball or any new shoots. If new shoots, limbs or foliage is broken the bamboo will replace these. Please plant or pot the bamboo as soon as possible. Do not let the plant dry out before planting. Do not divide your new bamboo divisions, this will void your 30 day warranty and will not accelerate the bamboo growth. It will actually set your growth rate back. You may place the root ball in a few inches of water (do not cover the entire root ball) for a few hours before planting. If you cannot plant the bamboo within a day or two, just open the wrapping on the top of each root ball. Add 1 cup of water every two days until you can plant them. Provide plenty of light, but keep out of the direct sun so the root ball will not dry out completely until planted.

With bamboo, dig the hole at least three times the size of the root ball. Dig each planting site 4 to 6 inches deeper than the root ball size you have selected. A mail order 3 gallon bamboo root mass will be around 8 to 10 inches wide and 5+ inches deep. A mail order size 2 gallon will usually measure 6 to 8 wide and 4 to 6 inches deep.
The larger the area of soil you loosen up, the faster the bamboo will spread. Back fill your holes with good topsoil mixed with some composted material such as composted manure that any gardening center sells. In our area this sells for around $1.50 for a 40 lb. bag. This will help the rhizomes (roots) get off to a good start no matter what soil conditions you may have.

Make a doughnut depression to help keep the water around the plant. Always mulch to help retain the moisture between watering. Also, this will help protect the rhizomes in colder regions. We prefer leaves or grass clippings as most bark mulch attracts termites and voles ( mice like rodents which can damage new canes). Once again, mulch, mulch, you have to mulch to hold the water in and prevent evaporation. Here in warm climate zone 7, we mulch 6 to 8 inches. In colder zones mulch more than 8 inches for the up coming winter.

Watering

Most bamboo have many tiny thin leaves. Because of this, bamboo tends to lose a lot of moisture by transpiration. Watering is critical during the first month. Daily watering is recommend for best results. It is uncommon for your site to be the same as the bamboo native site, so it will need extra water to acclimate to the new conditions. Rain water and humid air are the natural conditions of most of our bamboo. Watering between normal rainfall and even between frost will help the bamboo even after the initial establishment period of three years. Over the next couple of weeks, water the plant regularly. If your plant does begin to loose leaves, it may be just adjusting to its new home and sunlight conditions. Even under most all conditions, the bamboo will retain 70% of its leaves. After a period of time, it should put on new leaves to replace the ones it dropped during the transition. During the hot summer time even established bamboo will roll their leaves to prevent transpiration. This is a neat characteristic of bamboo so do not be alarmed to see your bamboo roll up its leaves. If you water it during very hot times that is great and will assist the bamboo during its growth. Once established, bamboo needs little care and normal rainfall is generally all that is needed. Watering daily if you have well drained soil is great!

Remember the bamboo canes on your existing division are through growing. Most all the growth now will be underground . Each Spring new canes will emerge taller and larger in diameter each year until mature size for your species and climate zone are reached.

Fertilizers

Please do not fertilize with chemical fertilizers such as 13-13-13 etc. for the first year. Please allow the bamboo root system time to establish. Hot chemical fertilizers can burn up the feeder roots, damaging or killing new bamboo divisions. After a lot of trials, we have come back to natural fertilizing by adding leaves, hay, grass clipping and compost to our bamboo groves. You can simply use general lawn fertilizer such as 8-8-8 as directed after one full year in the ground. The three numbers are important factors. The first number represents nitrogen. Nitrogen is the element for growth. the second number is phosphorus and it has to do with the transfer of carbohydrates. Carbs are essential for the bamboo to store nourishment in the rhizomes. The last number represents potassium and is necessary for photosynthesis. This is very important for the plant's metabolism. Extra amounts of this element helps the bamboo to withstand drought, heat and cold.

Sun

The larger the bamboo the more direct sun light it should have is the general rule. The large temperate species of bamboo such as the ones we grow are woodland under story plants. They are found in their natural habitat at the edge of forest. They will grow into the shaded areas and outward into full sun light. Smaller shrub bamboo under 16 feet in height require less direct sunlight conditions and will be more likely to thrive in partly shaded planting sites. Ground cover bamboo 6 feet and under love shaded sites and will do best out of the direct sunlight.

Shade

This term is confusing to many and hopefully we can shed some light on the subject (sorry). There are basically three categories of shaded sites. The first type of shaded site will be deep shade. These sites never receive direct sunlight during any season of the year. These sites are not in the forest, but within the city where buildings, overhangs and other man made structures completely block sun light year around. Sites under most trees will receive filtered sun during Fall and Winter months unless the trees are evergreen. Evergreen trees can provide deep shade if the branches and foliage are dense enough. Ground cover and shrub bamboo do fair in these planting sites.

The second type of shade are sites where the sunlight gets through during different times of the day. This type of shade changes with the time of year and day. It is provided by natural obstructions such as trees and bushes. Ground cover and shrub bamboo do well in these planting sites. Timber bamboo are slower to establish their root system (rhizomes) in these planting sites. Once established, timber bamboo can do quite well with the grove having a tall canopy of foliage due to the reduced lighting. Lower limbs on the canes are usually absent in these shaded sites. The bamboo compensates by producing more canes and taller canes.

The third type of shade is caused by man made structures such as buildings or walls. These structures allow full or direct sunlight through in the morning or afternoon only. So these sites while receiving direct or intense sunlight do so for only part of the day. Timber bamboo can grow is this type of shade with no problem and is a common planting site for many bamboo.

Our Mail Order Warranty

Acceptance of the bamboo implies that the buyer agrees the bamboo is healthy. We accept no responsibility for damage resulting from unpacking, usage or care of the bamboo. If you are unhappy with the bamboo for any reason when it arrives, just ship the bamboo back within 30 days for a full refund of the bamboo price. Returned bamboo should be packaged as they were when shipped and sent UPS ground.
Click here to go to our 'Policy' page for more details.

We hope everything will be to your satisfaction.

Thanks,

Lewis Bamboo Inc.

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