Planting Silver Stripe Bamboo


July, 2006


August, 2006

Well, here it is December 26, 2006 .  It's nice outside and what to do, what to do.
One thing we can do is transplant some bamboo.  It is growing a little too close
to the fence  and growing in towards the Tamarisks.  



These sections need to be relocated where Jingle Dog is standing and then head east
about ten feet or so.

The books generally recommend bamboo be transplanted around April but I prefer
a nice warm day in the winter months when the ground has not yet frozen.  
56 degrees on the 26th of December seems like a pretty good day.

Bamboo Roots are called Culms and they are kind of strange looking.   Use a shovel to dig down against the culms and then lever them up out of the ground. I don't use any special care with them other than getting them back in the ground in short order.   They have proven themselves out as a hardy addition to my Stuff that Grows in Nevada list.   Books say this variety of bamboo  is hardy down to 15 degrees.  I think that is a little off.   The bamboo in my yard has seen temperatures down in the sub-zero range. Water is the only thing that really seems to determine the growth rate.  Funny,  seems I've heard that before..

When you dig a trench out, dig it out just a bit deeper than where the culms were before.  I have found that it is better to err on a little too deep than too shallow.

I fill the trench back in with a mixture of 1/3 Gardner's Gold potting soil and 2/3 sand (native dirt) to about 2 " below surface.  I then put 1" layer of  Gardner's Gold on top of that and then cover everything with about  2" of   Nevada dirt. Water everything down well.  I don't use a foot to tamp the dirt down.  The culms are kind of brittle and it is better to use water and the back end of a shovel. Since it has been a dry winter, I also pressure up the sprinkler systems and give everything else a drink at the same time. A cautionary word about this type of bamboo:  It can easily spread into areas where you don't want it so give a little forethought before planting. Some people have taken 50 gallon plastic drums, cut them in half and sunk them in the ground to contain bamboo clumping.  That is not a bad idea.  It also helps with water consumption by confining water to a much smaller area. Me, I didn't really consider any of that because nothing would grow in the area the bamboo currently is so if it actually survived, it could invade all it wanted. A little extra water this last year and it  quite well invading into areas I didn't want to see it growing. It will be interesting to see what transpires next spring.