Quickest way to get an established division

[David]

Here in the hot South I take single culm divisions most of the time. Too much leaf surface just sucks the life out of the root ball, and then you must cut the culm back to balance the insufficient root system. So here where it is hot and dry much of the summer single culm divisions work as well or better than multiple culms. It seems to me that when, where, and how you take the division are the important things. A division taken in Feb.- March, from 2year old rhizome, from the edge of the grove, with lots of rhizome, and dug carefully without breaking as many roots as possible would be my idea of the perfect division digging scenario. I suspect the difference in our division taking preferences is at least in some ways dictated by the region we inhabit.

[David]

This is for you Stevelau1911.

These parvifolia were planted at the same time, from the same stock, and have been fed the same diet. Guess which one I have taken 10-12 divisions from.

A


B


You will affect the growth of your bamboo if you continue to take divisions from juvenile plants. The best thing you can do for your bamboo is leave it alone and let it grow. The folks here on this forum have been a wealth of information for me, and they can be for you if you will listen.

Best Regards,

David

[stevelau1911]

Wow!!! that is very impressive upsize and I'm guessing your parvifolias are going on their 3rd year 1 year ahead of mine right?
Perhaps I might have to leave mine alone, but that's quite a big difference in upsize rate.

This must mean that the plant still stays as 1 rhizome system for at least the first few years. I was under the impression that older rhizomes eventually die off and it wouldn't matter too much if a few divisions were taken.

I guess 1 division would still hurt the size pretty significantly so I might have to abort my propagation attempt and try it on a less rewarding bamboo. I'll change the experiment onto Rubromarginata since it produces many rhizomes & culms and won't get big in a hurry anyways.