Planting bamboo plants
Apart from periods of heavy frost, bamboos in containers can be planted in all seasons. The best period is at the end of Summer and in Autumn, when the ground is warm enough to allow the underground system to develop rapidly (the rhizomes grow during that period). This allows the plant to establish itself in a short time.
Bamboo plants can also be planted in Spring. The ground at the end of Winter is still cold and does not allow for rapid development of the roots. On the other hand, most spears are being developed during this period, so are liable to be damaged by transporting and handling. Another factor to take into account, essentially aesthetic, is that it is also the period at which bamboo leaves are being renewed so the plant is not so decorative at this time.
Bamboo prefers light, moist, well drained
soil. Avoid marshy areas. Although it seems to prefer acid (pH < 7) or neutral (pH = 7) soil, most bamboo plants flourish in slightly alkaline soil and can tolerate limestone as long as it is not dominant. The distance between plants varies depending on the type and the desired ffect (groups, hedge or border). Obviously, the closer together they are planted, the quicker the desired effect will be obtained.
If a creeping bamboo is to be planted near a group of shrubs, perennial plants or loose soil that is not to be colonised by rhizomes, you will have to : either dig a small 25- to 30 cm-deep ditch and clear it each autumn, being careful to cut off in the bottom of the trench any rhizomes that have tried to cross it, or install a buried screen as an obstacle at the limit of the bamboo plantation.
The screen should be at an angle of approximately 15° off the vertical so that any rhizome meeting the obstacle will start growing upwards and will be easy to cut if it tries to get round the obstacle in the open air. But in most case you don’t have to worry, because as soon as it emerges into the open air it turns into culm and loses interest in the neighbouring land.
Bamboo plants can also be planted in Spring. The ground at the end of Winter is still cold and does not allow for rapid development of the roots. On the other hand, most spears are being developed during this period, so are liable to be damaged by transporting and handling. Another factor to take into account, essentially aesthetic, is that it is also the period at which bamboo leaves are being renewed so the plant is not so decorative at this time.
Bamboo prefers light, moist, well drained
soil. Avoid marshy areas. Although it seems to prefer acid (pH < 7) or neutral (pH = 7) soil, most bamboo plants flourish in slightly alkaline soil and can tolerate limestone as long as it is not dominant. The distance between plants varies depending on the type and the desired ffect (groups, hedge or border). Obviously, the closer together they are planted, the quicker the desired effect will be obtained.
If a creeping bamboo is to be planted near a group of shrubs, perennial plants or loose soil that is not to be colonised by rhizomes, you will have to : either dig a small 25- to 30 cm-deep ditch and clear it each autumn, being careful to cut off in the bottom of the trench any rhizomes that have tried to cross it, or install a buried screen as an obstacle at the limit of the bamboo plantation.
The screen should be at an angle of approximately 15° off the vertical so that any rhizome meeting the obstacle will start growing upwards and will be easy to cut if it tries to get round the obstacle in the open air. But in most case you don’t have to worry, because as soon as it emerges into the open air it turns into culm and loses interest in the neighbouring land.