Decorative pots, tubs, mobile containers or inexpensive mortar tubs with bamboo plants create green oases. Even if the bamboo in the pot neither reaches the height nor the diameter of the stem of freely planted specimens, it can grow up to five meters. Like all potted plants, it requires a little more care and nutrient supply.
also read
- Pour bamboo - know how
- Split bamboo easily
- Growing bamboo made easy
Bamboo in a pot - what should be considered?
The ideal location should be sheltered from the wind, sunny to partially shaded. It is important that the container is at least 60 liters in size, transportable and frost-proof. It does not matter whether the bamboo plant forms runners or not. The roots do not come out of the pot. How to prepare the pot for planting the bamboo:
- Drill openings of 3 to 5 millimeters for the water drain to avoid waterlogging
- Place potsherds on the openings to prevent them from clogging
- Fill in a drainage layer made of expanded clay (€ 17.50 on Amazon *) or gravel about 5 centimeters high
- Fill up to 2/3 with humus-rich soil
- Water the root ball well before planting
Place the moist root ball in the middle of the prepared pot. The top edge of the root ball should be about 5 centimeters below the edge of the pot. Then fill up to 1 centimeter above the root ball with special bamboo soil. Water abundantly after planting. So that the earth can settle around the root ball.
If the bamboo in the pot should stay outside over the winter, it makes sense to plant hardy varieties such as
- Phyllostachys bissetii
- Phyllostachys aureosulcata Aureocaulis
- Phyllostachys aureosulcata Spectabilis
- Fargesia rufa
What care does the bamboo need in the pot?
Bamboos are one of the most heavily consuming plants. This is why you need a slow-acting complete fertilizer with a high nitrogen content in the pot. The first application of fertilizer can be made after planting or at the end of March. Do not fertilize by the end of June at the latest, so that the bamboo plants mature and increase their resistance to wintering.
A bamboo is always thirsty. Especially in summer. At the latest when its leaves are rolling, watering is necessary immediately. Better not let it get that far. Because that means unnecessary stress for you and your bamboo. Make sure that there is no waterlogging in the pot or saucer. The bamboo reacts to this with yellow leaves!
When to transplant the bamboo in the pot?
The bamboo is only vital and healthy if there is enough soil and nutrients on its feet. Depending on the growth, a matted root ball must therefore be transplanted every 2 - 4 years in early spring. To do this, break open the root ball, divide it several times or shorten long rhizomes.
Tips & Tricks
Remove older stalks and thin, weak shoots regularly. So that the beautiful decorative straws come into their own, cut off the side branches a little bit from below.
