How to Dig Bamboo

We dig and transplant our cold hardy bamboo anytime the ground is not frozen or the bamboo is not in its shooting period (new growth during Spring and early Summer). Try and get at least 10-18" of rhizome on each side of the culm (cane) depending upon cane size and numbers. The rhizome or root is generally located within a 45 degree angle on each side of the culm where the limbs branch off (this is typical in the Phyllostachys species). On our rare and expensive species we carefully dig down and find the mother rhizome. After locating it you can use a spade to cut it. It will be best to cut it clean with one blow. This prevents the plant from shocking and later dying. You can plant the bamboo a couple inches deeper that is was originally growing in the ground, this will not hurt the plant and will give it more stability until next root formation can be established. Water well the first week or when the leaves roll up. On most plants you will need to cut the top one third of the plant off right above a limb formation to take some of the strain off the plant and prevent shock of being transplanted. New divisions should be placed in a shaded area out of the wind for a few days. While in this pre-planting area, mulch the plant and keep watered. The best transplants are generally two to three year old plants, depending on the species, a 4-5 foot high plant with a 3/4 inch cane (culm)or larger will do best. The most important part is to water heavily for the first few weeks to help stabilize the plants. Planting instructions can be found here: http://www.lewisbamboo.com/plantingbamboo.html Bamboo can be tricky to dig. If you don’t have the best of luck just let us know and we can help you with some of our healthy stabilized divisions.

Good luck and I am happy you are getting into bamboo. Be careful though, this is how we started!