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Gardening Tips Pesky Pest Control Bamboo is Blue
| Bamboo is Blue |
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| Written by Janine Warner | ||||||||
| Monday, 04 May 2009 01:03 | ||||||||
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Not long after we planted them, they developed a black fungus, which we were able to cure, but they've just never taken off, and a year later, I'm wondering what else we can do. They're not too sickly looking, they're just not growing very fast. We planted them in wine barrels, which are huge, but we got concerned at one point that they weren't draining properly. So we flipped over the barrels, gently laying our distressed bamboo on its site, drilled holes in the bottom of the wine barrels and tried to break up the soil a little. There isn't much room in the barrels for their roots to expand further, but they don't seem rootbound yet. A friend suggested grass fertilizer, which we added, and we water them pretty regularly. But, alas, our bamboo is growing slowly and with spring blossoming all over the rest of the yard, you'd think they'd be happy. What are we doing wrong?
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Comments (2)
Bamboo Guru
said:
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After all the warnings that Bamboo will take over your yard if you let it, you'd think we'd have no trouble growing it, but despite buying large bamboo plants, they just don't seem to be adjusting well to our garden.
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Bamboo blues I feel your pain...Bamboo gets such a bad rap for invasiveness, but anyone who has grown senor bambusa quickly learns the hardest part is finding a particular variety's sweet spot for sun, water, amount of fertilizer etc. I've been growing bamboo for around five years with some 15-25 footers to show for it, vouching for some level of success. there are so many variables involved, but here are a few items to add to your bamboo-growing arsenal that will serve you well: - organic lawn fertilizer (like Dr. Earth): Being the world's largest species of grass, bamboo love their nitrogen, but dont overdo it, or you will burn culms and roots. - Bat sh&*t ok, guano: great source of natural nitrogen, plus it's fun to say... - Gypsum: soils in So. Cal tend to be full of clay and clumpy; great if you're a Chumash throwing a pot, bad for bamboo, cuz clumping soils mean valuable nutrients aren't available to roots. Gypsum mixed into soil keeps soil from clumping and nutrients flowing. It's also dirt cheap. - Water: As you noted, although bamboo loves being moist, they dont like standing water so good drainage important. - Chant: "grow baby grow" to your bamboo every morning (optional) |
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Janine Warner
said:
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Thank you! That's such great advice about how to grow bamboo. I see why they call you the Bamboo Guru! |
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