How to Prune Mexican Weeping Bamboo

Inspect the overall shape of the plant, looking how the leaves near the top of the plant correspond to the culms near the bottom of the plant. Mexican bamboo can get up to about 12 feet tall, so you may need to stand way back to view the overall shape of the plant. Based on your inspection, decide how thick you want the plant to be, or look for areas where culms are overly clumped and may need some more space. If parts of the plant have grown higher than other parts, you may decide to trim the longer side to give the plant a more uniform look; you may also simply want to make the plant smaller so that it's not taking over your yard or garden.

Move aside the top leaves to expose the culms that are growing out of the ground. Tie the leaves back with a rope or rubber tie-down, or have someone hold them as you move onto the next step.

Cut the culms you want to remove at the soil level, using a hedge trimmer or hand saw. Cut the culms all the way to the ground, stepping back from time to time to see how much thinning you've done and how much more you want to do. If you want to save the bamboo and use it for garden projects or other uses, cut at a 45-degree angle to keep the bamboo from cracking or splitting.