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Separating bamboo root for repotting

KF13KF13 Posts: 10
in Plants

Hi - I have 2 x 7 foot bamboo plants that I recently purchased and need to repot into proper containers. 

I have been "googling" and now feeling a bit overwhelmed, so can someone please advise on the best way to separate the roots. They are tightly wound as they have been in small pots before being delivered to me. I would like to space them out in the planters a bit - they are 60cm wide and deep.

I have one Phyllostachys aurea and one Phyllostachys nigra.

Thanks!

PS I should add that I am a novice gardener - enthusiastic but very limited in knowledge and skill !

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Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 36,831

    Hi KF. I have both those bamboos. My Pn I can now see from my first storey bedroom window and the Pa is a little shorter in the back garden. I never worried about untangling the roots when I put them in the garden, I just let them do their own thing and neither seems to have suffered.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    Ah thanks @Ladybird4, I was thinking I needed to do this so they spread out a bit in the planters width-wise, as well as growing upwards - do they spread naturally? They are clumped quite close together at the moment, as the pot they're in is too small. Thanks! :)

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    KF use a spade to chop them to shape. Bamboo is really tough and you don't need to be gentle with them.

  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    Thanks Dave - any further advice on spacing and how close to the edge of the pot ? :)

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 36,831

    Thes two are quite well behaved and do not run all over the garden like some do. I cut some of the canes when I want to keep them in check and use them as plant supports.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Depends on how long you you want to keep them in the pot. They'll grow quite quickly to fit the pot. Although they're clump forming they'll clump to the available space. So as large as you want them to go.

  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    Thank you both @ladybird4 and @dave morgan

  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    Thanks Aym280 - is there a best part to cut them on the roots? Can you also let me know what you mean by "sunning" ? Thanks ! 

  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    I have got mature plants, that are 6 foot already (using as a screen of sorts). They were delivered last week and are being repotted into large 60cm cubed pots this weekend. This is a picture of them in the current pots - as you can see, the canes are clumped quite close together, so I wanted to separate them out a bit when I repotted them into the bigger pots, so they fill the width. Does that make sense ? Is that viable?

    image 

  • KF13KF13 Posts: 10

    PS although I was told it may not be worth separating them as they will just fill out the whole container naturally ! As I say, am a novice, so learning all about things at the moment :) 

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