I wanted to include a link to our care instructions and give a few tips and suggestions with regards to planting and care of your new bamboo. I want to give all the information you need to quickly grow and keep beautiful clumps of bamboo. These plants are easy to grow and will usually make it with very little supplementary care. In my customers landscapes, the idea is to get it to do more than just make it. We want our bamboo to establish, thrive and reach maturity as soon as possible, and begin shooting out copious amounts of shoots and new culms. I use the products below to make my 3 gallon size bamboo turn into a 20 gallon size plant in 24 weeks (even through winter) and I will give you all the information for you to do the same. It is not difficult at all to grow ultra high quality, bamboo. Here are some things to remember:
When planting I recommend:
o Digging the hole 2 times the size of the plants root ball to break up the hard compacted soil for easy root expansion.
o Fortify the backfill with organic material and mix in some slow release fertilizer. The organic material will assist in holding moisture and nutrients around the root area. Compost is great here, some Black Cow manure is a good, inexpensive solution, the more the better.
o Throw a rusty nail or anything else rusty in the bottom of the hole, don’t ask why, just accept this as the cheapest soil amendment you can make and just do it!
o Give the plants lots of water for the first week or two after planting.
If the soil is sandy and porous, watering a few times a day may be helpful, just until the plant re-establishes itself.
Bamboo will fold its leaves to tell you it is thirsty.
Once established your bamboo will require minimal supplemental watering.
The small leaf bamboo varieties are more drought tolerant than the large leaf varieties.
Products I recommend and why:
o Essential Plus Companion Combo Forces Explosive Root Growth and Natural Disease Resistance!!! Organic Natural rooting compounds condition the soil to hold more water and nutrients. Humic acid bonds to sand particles and creates a larger surface area for better water holding and nutrient storage. Beneficial bacteria, microbes & fungi colonize within plant roots and greatly increase the root’s ability to take up nutrients and water. In addition, these unique microbes secrete antibiotics to keep plants healthy and vigorous. A plant treated with Essential Plus Companion is able to survive with less fertilizer and water than a non treated plant. Especially recommended for Florida Sandy Soils.
Polyon 12 month Slow Controlled Release Fertilizer- Controlled release fertilizers are dollar for dollar the best investment you can make for your bamboo. Ours lasts 2 times longer than Home Depot Products like Osmicote or Dynamite. They are double the price and last 1/2 as long as 12 month Polyon). I buy the best, most advanced fertilizer money can buy. My fertilizer is custom mixed for me in large quantities and is specially designed for bamboo (with chelated minors & silica). I love it because of its ease of use and reliable, consistent delivery of nutrients to the plant for 1 year. Unlike most fertilizers, ours won’t expel all its nutrients just because it rains for a week straight. Consistent nutrient delivery is also the responsible way to feed your plants without environmental runoff into the watershed.
- Coron 28-0-0 (BURN PROOF/ GOOF PROOF LIQUID SPRAY FERTILIZER FOR ULTRA GREEN LEAVES)- You can not go wrong with Coron 28-0-0. It is an advanced Nitrogen that will Keep your bamboo LUSH & GREEN!!! Coron is so safe for plants, it can be sprayed directly from the bottle. Coron is environmentally friendly and is a Slow Controlled Release Product that does not runoff to pollute the watershed.
- Asset RTU (GREAT VALUE ROOT STIMULATOR)- a proprietary rooting technology from Helena, a plant chemistry industry leader. Asset RTU is a staple in commercial agriculture, as it is a no frills 1 part solution that creates strong, thick, white, roots, fast. It also promotes the growth of microbes, beneficial bacteria and Mycorrhizal fungi. 1.6 ounces makes 10 gallons of solution. A GREAT VALUE!
- Hydra-Hume (GREAT VALUE SOIL CONDITIONER) is humic acid- it is a long chain molecule that persists in the root zone and gives more body to poor soils. It attaches to shear particles, like a grain of sand, and gives it more surface area and holding capacity. It is an inexpensive way to condition poor soils, and is a safe, natural product suitable for organic gardening.
- Mycor Tree Saver Packs (EASY TO USE/ NO MIXING) These are little 3 ounce packets Complete with Mycorrhizal Fungi, beneficial bacteria, and moisture holding granules perfectly mixed and ready to use. 1 packet will treat up to 15 gallons of soil. These are an excellent product and a no fuss way to get all the good stuff into your soil with no measuring or liquids.
- Imidacloroprid- is a systemic insecticide that is made from a variation of nicotine. It is a long lasting systemic that can be applied every 4 to 8 weeks and comes in liquid and granules. It can be sprinkled on the ground or root drenched or foliar sprayed. You can find it under a variety of labels and makes, just look for Imidacloroprid as the active ingredient. Merit is a popular brand name available. The granules are the easiest to apply in my opinion. The idea is to keep the bugs off the bamboo, and keep it looking beautiful, most bugs won’t hurt the bamboos health, just the appearance, most importantly scale. Scale is a bug that can make your bamboo look less than showroom perfect and can be controlled systemically through Imidacloroprid. I DO NOT SELL IMIDACLOROPRID THROUGH THE WEBSITE BECAUSE OF SHIPPING REGULATIONS.
- An old bamboo grower uses coffee grounds to keep the bugs away. I have never tried this myself, but you can give it a try and let me know.
These are the environmentally friendly products I use to grow my plants healthy and fast. I offer them as a service to my customers because it is good business for me when my bamboo, thrives and grows into the showpiece of your landscape. All of the recommended products can and will improve performance in most plants. Please don’t just use them on the bamboo. Palms especially respond to beneficial bacteria, fungi and soil microbes. You will find them to be highly concentrated, and a much better value than homeowner marketed products.
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