Repotted Bamboo Dying

Transplant Shock

• Plants can go into a state of transplant shock after being repotted. Symptoms include wilting of foliage and loss of leaves. This decline does not mean the plant will die, just that it is suffering. Give your bamboo the right care to nurture it back to health. Expose the bamboo to the right levels of light, which vary by cultivar. Give the plant protection from drafts, and water it regularly but do not overwater.

Overwatering

• If you accidentally watered your bamboo too much during the transplant process, this could have damaged the plant roots. You need to water the soil to compact if after a transplant, but too much water leaves the soil boggy days later and can cause bamboo roots to rot. If your plant loses leaves, wilts or develops brown discoloration, and the soil feels boggy, overwatering is the cause. Allow the soil to dry out thoroughly to give the plant a chance at recovery.

Other Root Damage

• Bamboo roots are generally tough, but dawdling during repotting can damage them. If the plant roots dry out, the plant can appear to die. The best solution is prevention: prepare the new container first and work quickly to get the bamboo back into the soil. Breaking the roots or damaging them in other ways during the process will harm your plant. If you suspect you damaged plant roots, you can dig the bamboo up and trim back the roots to healthy, white tissue, then replant. The plant may perk up.

Other Problems

• If your bamboo turns yellow or brown, develops sticky trails on stems or has webbing on the leaves or stems, it could be suffering from a pest problem. Failure to treat pest problems will lead to the death of the plant. While not caused by repotting, the stress of transplanting could make the plant sicker. Look for pests and treat your bamboo with insecticidal soap to kill the insects and get your plant back to health.