New Golden Goddess

Other things that involve bamboo

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JDSTRAHAN
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New Golden Goddess

Post by JDSTRAHAN »

I would like to know how long after planting can you prune and fertilize your bamboo?
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Glen
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Location: Southeast Texas, Zone 9a

Re: New Golden Goddess

Post by Glen »

If you are planting during warm weather, you can fertilize that day. If the weather is cold, it will not be an efficient use of fertilizer, but it will not harm the plant. All this is assuming that you are fertilizing with reasonable amounts and following the fertilizer label instructions.

I normally do most of my pruning in late winter, before new growth starts, but you can prune at any time, if it is very minor. If you remove significant amounts of foliage from a tropical bamboo right now, you will lessen its ability to produce and grow shoots, as tropicals tend to shoot from mid summer into fall.

It is often said that you should never remove more than 1/3 of the foliage from a bamboo plant at any one time. I have found this to be reasonable, but I have rarely removed even that much.

I should say that I normally do no pruning on a new plant for several years, as I want to maximize its early growth, but if your plant is in a visible spot, and it looks terrible, it is fine to do a little aesthetic pruning.
Vortexblue
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Re: New Golden Goddess

Post by Vortexblue »

Hi Glenn,
These are good tips for someone starting out like me.

Re fertilizer:
About what temp is cold/ warm for you? I'm in CA, in 9a as well.
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Glen
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Re: New Golden Goddess

Post by Glen »

Around here, I try to start fertilizing the tropicals around early April. At this time, my temperatures would typically be warmer than yours, but I think this timing would be acceptable for you as well. I like to see some leaf growth before I fertilize these plants.

In either case, I would want to see a soil temperature of around 65 degrees F. At this temperature, growth should be starting underground.
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