Growing Bamboo Plants: How to create a bamboo garden in your backyard

Bamboo is a giant grass. The best part of growing a Bamboo plant is that it grows very fast and in every spring you should expect to see a number of branches keep emerging. In this article we will share some information about growing Bamboo plants.

Though they are happiest in slightly acidic and loamy soil, Bamboo is one of the plants which will grow in almost any soil type. Just make sure that it has a good drainage capacity and you will have a lashing bamboo garden in a very short time.  To increase the drainage capacity you can add some soil less media with your soil.

While planting, it is important to protect the bamboo plant from very hot sun especially if your plant is very small in size. Best time to plant them is in the springs. Newly planted bamboos required frequent watering. Use organic mulch to cover the area. Mulching will help in water retention, weed protection and being of organic materials it will enrich the soil. Space them not less than 5 feet if you plan to form it dense. For some species you may require to give much more space. In case you are planning to plant a taller one, use some support to hold the plant. Sometimes strong wind can damage or even uproot the plant; so be careful.

Though in most of the cases bamboo plants take nutrients from the soil itself it is better to provide some fertilizers. Use compost for fertilization but focus on the ingredients which are more enriched with nitrogen (N). If you want to know more about the composting ingredients check out our earlier article.

It generally takes 5 to 6 years for a bamboo plant to mature. You can really give your desired shape by little bit of pruning. Cut just above the node. Depending on the size of the branch you want to prune use a chainsaw or a simple knife. There is very little chance that you can damage the plant by pruning. So don’t be hesitant.

Some times people feel very concerned about yellowing or loss of leaves of their bamboo plant; but it is a common phenomena and the degree varies from species to species. They are evergreen plant and generally shed their leaves to acquire new ones.

A Bamboo plant can also be grown in containers. We will discuss that in some other article.


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