Split bamboo easily

Split bamboo easily

The right time and the ideal weather

March or late summer is the ideal time to transplant or divide a bamboo. Do not disturb the roots between April and June because new stalks will grow!

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Don't just consider the right time, but also the ideal weather. A cloudy, damp day is recommended for the professional delimitation or sharing of your bamboo. Ideally after a rain shower when the soil is moist and loose.

Share bamboo in a bucket - but how?

After 2 to 3 years at the latest, when the bamboo blows up the bucket or the stalks overgrow the edge of the bucket, it is time to divide or remove it. Before you reach for an ax, spade or saw, let the bale soak in a water tub. Then continue working in the following steps:

  • Tie the plant together
  • Loosen the root ball from the edge and remove it
  • Place bamboo on a lawn or tarpaulin
  • Divide the root ball several times with a sharp ax, spade, hacksaw or fine tooth saw

The larger the root ball, the better the bamboo can cope with the intervention.

Separate freely growing bamboo

If you want to dig up or cut off a freely growing bamboo, you should first water and soak the soil thoroughly. Especially on dry and hard ground. Depending on the size of the plant, the bamboo can be completely undermined and excavated or it has to be removed piece by piece.

The radical alternative when things have to be done quickly

Shorten lignified stalks with a chainsaw. This creates space to be able to use the spade better afterwards. But beware! The hard bamboo fibers sometimes get stuck in the chain and block the saw. This is particularly dangerous if the chain comes off even though it is tight!

Important: Wear safety clothing and face protection so that the sawn off bamboo stalks do not fly into your eyes when you bend down.

Tips & Tricks

Immediately cover the severed root pieces with moist potting soil so that they do not dry out. Then you plant them in large mortar buckets. These are inexpensive, mobile planters that can also be buried and prevent the roots from spreading. Or there are grateful bamboo customers among friends.