Bamboo: Buying and Caring for Bamboo Indoors or Out

Known as a tropical grass with evergreen leaves, bamboo is widely used for food, and is a useful material for building structures such as room dividers and screens. It can grow inches tall to over 100 feet, growing over a foot per day. Within 6 weeks after the new shoots come up, they will grow to their desired height. As long as the bamboo has room to grow, each year it will grow taller. This lively plant can be a great addition to your indoors or outdoors.

Planting Bamboo Inside:

The more indirect sunlight it gets, the better your bamboo will be. Make sure that you select a bamboo that has mature, hard "canes" or stalks, which grow upward from their underground root structure. Bamboo grows well in shallow containers, 18-24 inches deep. They are fast growing plants, so make sure that you buy a big enough pot with room to grow. The first step is to add new soil to your chosen pot. These plants are tough and can grow in almost any soil, but they prefer a slightly acid soil. Compost soil, such as cedar grove compost soil, is a good choice and adding washed sand with the soil is also helpful in promoting appropriate drainage. After the bamboo has been placed inside the pot, tap new soil around the root ball and fill the pot to the same level as the bamboo clump. Maintaining this equal level will encourage oxygen needed to survive. Once stalks have reached the sides of the pot, it will need to be transplanted or pruned.

Planting Bamboo Outside:

Bamboo does grow better outside than it does inside. When adding bamboo to your landscape, first dig a hole a little bigger than the root ball of the bamboo. Look at the soil surface of the bamboo in the container and match the soil level when planting in the ground. Pat the soil down firmly, making the bamboo as sturdy as possible. Taller bamboo plants (15 feet or more) will need to be supported by stakes. You may add bark mulch (there is also leaf and hay mulch), rocks, or sand on top of the soil, which also allows more oxygen to the bamboo roots and helps retain moisture. These items can be a nice addition to your bamboo and are also a benefit in keeping the weeds down. Bamboo does not like to be in competition with weeds.

Placement Outside:

If possible, your bamboo will be the happiest next to water. This does not mean in a wet area as roots may end up rotting. They do prefer partial sun, but most will survive in shady areas. Morning sun is great, with shade in the afternoon. It is best to pick an area with plenty of sun, near water, where their feet can't get wet!

Watering:

Water your bamboo as soon as it is planted and then watering once a week should be enough. Lack of water can be the biggest problem in growing bamboo. Providing plenty of water will speed up the growth, as long as the bamboo has good drainage. If your bamboo is planted in a pot, make sure that excess water in the saucer underneath evaporates within 24-48 hours. Keeping in mind that bamboo is a grass; roots are likely to rot in standing water. Indoors, bamboo does need to be watered more often than bamboo planted outside. More water is needed during summer months, especially when temperatures are 75 degrees or higher. Misting the leaves regularly is encouraged to keep an adequate amount of humidity needed.

Fertilizer:

Full strength fertilizer, such as Miracle Grow, may be used monthly during the warmer months. During the winter, fertilizing can be cut back to half strength. Any fertilizer for lawns will work for bamboo.

Buying Bamboo:

If you are interested in purchasing bamboo, we suggest going to Beauty and the Bamboo located in Seattle, 4 miles north of the Space Needle. They have over 100 different varieties of bamboo and all are ready to be planted inside or outside at anytime. They are open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm. Give Stan Andreasen a call at 206-781-9790 or e-mail him at bambu501@aol.com.