Three Essential Tips In Caring For Bamboo

Caring for bamboo is not a tough experience once the plant has become established. It's in the initial stages that some well worn rules need to be followed to ensure your plant survives.

Caring For Bamboo Plants

In recent years, many people have transformed their gardens into lush havens simply by planting bamboo. It prefers the full sun so make sure your plant will receive adequate sunlight. The clump variety is prefered over the running type but this is a preference that may depend on your skill and experience with this hardy plant.

Running bamboo could cause problems in time, especially with neighbors but also can affect building structure. When planting the running variety, a barrier down to about 2 1/2 feet is essential. Packing down the soil next to the barrier wall is highly recommended.

Three Elements Of Caring For Bamboo Early

In the early stages, it comes down to three basic things;

- water liberally...
- apply the appropriate fertilizer...
- make sure the young plant doesn't get invaded by weeds.

Watering Bamboo

When watering your plant, make sure there is a good drainage level as it can be particularly fussy about having to sit in water for extended periods of time. For new plants, watering up to three times a week should be sufficient but this could be increased to daily if you live in a hot climate. If you need to water daily, don't water for more than just a few minutes.

At the other end of the scale, be careful not to water too often or for too long. The bamboo plant may react such as overshedding it's leaves. It's just applying some simple common sense and striking up a good balance. This will depend upon which season you plant and whether you live in a hot or cold climate.

Fertilizing Bamboo

Fertilizing is an intricate part of caring for bamboo during the establishment phase. You run the risk of producing an unhealthy plant or at worst, your bamboo may not survive so fertilizer is highly recommended. What type of fertilizer should you use? Certainly one which is high in nitrogen.

Once maturity has been reached, caring for bamboo becomes a lot less rigid. It's like caring for a new born baby; getting it through the initial stages requires patience and care but once into maturity, bamboo is a beautiful addition to any garden.