Bamboo

Hi All,

I am looking to buy a phyllostachys nigra (black bamboo) but I would like to know if I buy a large plant can I cut it in half with 2 spades to make two smaller plants or will this harm the roots and cause it problems? Any help would be great please.

 

You can certainly divide bamboo, any grasses and virtually any clump-forming perennial, including tuber or bulb perennials, like Crocosmia. You need to use two border forks back to back, and plenty of force, or a large knife or saw - not a delicate operation, LCH!

Main thing is to get it into the soil as soon as possible, and not keep the roots exposed for too long.

 

That is great, thanks very much for the advice dendrobium. It sounds like I could be in for a battle! Is it OK to buy and plant bamboo now or should I wait for warmer weather?

 

So long as the ground isn't either frozen or water-logged you should be fine. If it's very windy, though, don't do the dividing at that point, as that dries out the root hairs faster than anything else.

What I usually do when dividing anything is to have big bin bags around, so I can shove bits in there to avoid the roots drying out, whatever the weather. It's scary how quickly that can be a problem. Plenty of people might say this is rubbish, but I always err on the safe side.... :rolleyes:

Oh, yes, the other thing is, if you get frost in the few months after planting, which is quite likely, go out and re-firm in anything you've planted, to avoid getting airpockets in at the roots.

 

Make sure its a big plant you are splitting as phyllostachys nigra is a slow starter and for the most part the bigger/older the root ball/plant the bigger the culmns it produces. If you split a plant which is already small you will potentially put yourself bag years in growth. This has not been the case when I have split phyllostachys aurea as I have had good results splitting this into the smallest pieces, but phyllostachys nigra seems far more delicate in this respect. Personally I wouldn't be splitting this variety until late february early march, before potential new shoots are emerging.

I bought a good sized specimen in 2005 and it is still settling in and has not produced any significant new shoots. Aurea on the other hand, right next to it is well away.

BM

 

Bananaman is quite right about all of that - and it does depend on what effect you're after. If you want big clumps, then you'd be better not to split it at all for a few years, but if you're prepared to wait a few years to get the effect, then you don't have a problem. the weather has been so mild this winter that you can do things this year that you couldn't normally - but if you hang off until spring to do this, the plant will get growing more quickly.

One thing I see I forgot to mention, and I don't think BM did either - when you divide anything, do make sure there are roots on each clump!!