How to Grow New Bamboo From a Stalk

Preparations for Growing

• 1

  Drill several holes in the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket. Line the bucket with old newspaper. The holes let water drain out while the newspaper locks moisture into the soil.

• 2

  Prepare an even mixture of potting soil and compost. Mix in one shovel full of manure. Fill the bucket with this mixture.

• 3

  Locate a stalk of bamboo with a branch growing between two nodes. Nodes are the striated sections on the stalk.

• 4

  Cut the bamboo stalk at the node below the branch with a sharp knife or saw. A clean cut helps your bamboo stalk take root properly.

• 5

  Cut the stalk at the node above the branch. Discard the leafy portion of the plant. Keep only the stalk section with the attached branch.

Growing New Bamboo

• 6

  Push half the bamboo stalk into the soil mixture diagonally until half of the stalk is buried in the soil.

• 7

  Fill the hollow stalk with water. Let the water sink into the soil.

• 8

  Place the bucket containing your bamboo cutting in a sunny area. If you are keeping the plant indoors, sit the bucket near a window.

• 9

  Water the bamboo whenever the soil feels dry. Water more frequently in the summer months when the plant loses the most moisture. Your bamboo stalk will grow new shoots within six to eight months.

• 10

  Fertilize your bamboo plant after one year. The American Bamboo Society recommends using a fertilizer high in nitrogen and low in potash. Fertilize the plant twice annually.