Bamboo Care

Bamboo Care Basics

Watering Bamboo:
Your bamboo although it does not like constantly wet feet, it likes deep watering. As with the palms the first two weeks you should water everyday. Over the next two months you can back off watering to twice a week watching your bamboo for any sign of leaf curling. Curling leaves is a tell tale sign that it is beginning to dry out and would like to be watered. Once established your bamboo should get a good soaking making sure that the water gets to the lower roots for better growth.

Fertilizing Bamboo:
Your bamboo is a member of the grass family and therefore responds to fertilization.  Bamboo will begin to throw out new rhizomes in April and an application of 16-4-8 would be advisable. An application of 10-10-10 during the summer would be helpful too. Bamboo likes silica so an application of silica spray would be advisable. After established the bamboo will produce silica in its leaves and eventually the liquid silica will no longer be necessary. If you decide to thin or trim your bamboo the leaves should be distributed under the bamboo to allow the silica to be utilized by the bamboo.