How to Trim Bamboo Plants
Bamboo plants will need regular trimming in order to keep them healthy. These plants should be trimmed once per year. Bamboo plants generally live between 10-15 years. Regular trimming helps to ensure that your bamboo plant will live a long life; it also encourages new growth.
What you will need to trim bamboo:
- Pruning shears- it is a good idea to have them sharpened before beginning.
- Hacksaw- this is optional and depends on if you want to trim the tops and if they are too thick for your shears.
Directions for trimming bamboo plants:
- Look at the plant to see if there are any yellowing leaves or stems. Prune these with your sharp pruning shears.
- Cut off any new shoots growing from the plant. Be sure to make clean cuts to avoid a messy looking plant.
- Prune any stalks that are dried out. Cut them down at the soil line. Be careful when doing this so you do not hurt any other parts of the plant.
- Cut the tops of your bamboo plant. If you want to keep your plant from growing too tall, you can cut the tops off. You may need to use a hacksaw for this. Make your cut just about a node. A node is where the leave would grow from the plants stem. Do not cut more than 1/3 off of the top.
- Shape your bamboo with your shears. Shape any areas that you feel are unruly and not pleasant to look at.
- Separate the rhizomes from your plant. If your plants are becoming too crowded, it is a good idea to separate them at this time. You can dig up the plant and separate the rhizomes that are just under the surface. You can them put them in new pots or add them to your compost.
- Dropped leaves can be left at the bottom of plant to decompose and fertilize the plant.