dividing new bamboo

[gunner]

i have several new bamboo plants p. mostly that have put up new shoots but have remained 3' shrubs ... can i divide and expand my groves yet or should i wait till they run ? thanks randy p.s. remember ...beer and bamboo both make you happy

[needmore]

My personal rule is to leave them alone for the first 4 years - no divisions until then.

[ShmuBamboo]

4 years is a long time. Many types of bamboos will go into adult form by then, and most are more easilly propagated when they are in juvenile form. I take 1-2 year old clumps of culms and rhizomes for my divisions. But that's me... I am impatient, and I plant and dig and divide and replant and dig...

[needmore]

No doubt that they can be divided before then but my primary goal is grove development and that is why I leave them alone for 4 years. If you are container growing for divisions that is a different story.

[gunner]

im just trying to spread out my groves now as aposed to later when i need a backhoe to dig them ! will it hurt the little guys to divide them then leave them alone to do their thing?

[needmore]

If you are dividing small plants it will add time to their development - I think that it really sets back both pieces and you'd be better off waiting and then slicing off larger pieces down the road.

[stevelau1911]

Yes it does hurt them a lot by separating them too early. You will end up with downsized growth next year, and might need the year after that to return to 3 foot tall culms. If you leave the bamboo alone, it will double or triple in height and produce a bigger quantity of culms. I ended up downsizing my P vivax by propogating only 1/4 of its rhizome mass. I would say at least 3-4 years when you get a decent sized grove is when you should start dividing.

One way that I think won't hurt the plant as much is to direct whip shoots into their pots above or below surface and let them run in the pots. The rhizome can be cut from the mother plant once the shoots from the following spring have leafed out. This form of propagation should yield a high success rate without draining too much of the energy from the mother plant.

[gunner]

thats a great idea! i guess i'll have to be patient! thanks for the advice !!!

[Alan]

imho the soonest you should divide them is in the fall when most of the activity is over. in general i have had good regrowth in zone7 dividing in the fall rather than early spring or winter ymmv. ones that i have had to dig during late spring and summer seem to be set back a year. even a 20gal aureosulcata divided this time last year has no shoots at all. i am wondering where the shoots are-or maybe they are across the street!
-alan

[stevelau1911]

I think the best time to divide would be in the spring right before the plant starts shooting. I took this yellow grove division in the middle of May this year right before it started shooting and it has rewarded me with 4 new shoots from 3 existing culms because the rhizomes are charged with energy. I think it would probably be set back an entire year if I took the division now.

[ShmuBamboo]

If you split it now the shoots would abort. You have to wait until the culms leaf out and harden up before dividing. Fall divisions work fine. Spring works as well, but you have to get to them before they shoot, or its too late. Spring works better if you want rhizome cutting for propagating. I would not split a boo more than once a year though.

[gunner]

a few years ago my father inlaw gave me 2 boos,which i believe are p. aurea. last fall i divided them with a hatchet and saw! dig and divide is a work out ! as most of you know! anyway my intention was to create a quick stand of p.a., my efforts prevailed and im quickly getting buryed in shoots!!! thats why im eager to divide the newer stuff! there are a few other mature plants i can divide but since last year they have turned into monsters! so im trying to find the fine line??? i'll try to post some pics before to long. ive welded a 1/8" thick steel handle to my made in USA shovel witch helps but guess i'll be getting my exercise! anyway have a good weekend all! beer& boo

[ShmuBamboo]

I think what you want to do depends on the species and type to determine at what size you can split them. For example, vivax, aureosulcatas, and Arrow can be split fairly often and they split well, even into small one gallon pots. Whereas the blacks are tempramental as a group do not respond well to splitting, and Moso does not like being split into small clumps, and does not like being in pots.

[stevelau1911]

Moso does not like being split into small clumps, and does not like being in pots.

I hope you're not talking about seedlings because all my moso seedlings are planted in pots and I have close to 100 of them. I don't think they really mind unless they get rootbound or over-watered, although if your theory is right, I might try putting one of these potted mosos straight into the ground to see what happens.

[ShmuBamboo]

Of course not. Growing seedlings is completely different. Similar to growing from tissue culture. I do not have the patience for growing boos from seed or tissue culture. They take forever to get good size boos from them. Those seem like really tiny baby Moso. What are you going to do with them all when they get bigger?

Get 'em up to 3'-4' culms and they are not very happy in pots. I am going to plant my largest Moso in the ground here this fall. Its in a 10 gallon tub. I have 3 others in 3-4 gallon tubs. Not happy in pots, not happy at all.