Digger Jones
   a blog by a dog

Remember our bamboo plants that suffered  from a very cold winter and late frost?  We attempted to care for the bamboo with organic methods and fertilizer and kept our fingers (claws) crossed.

Fertilizer - Care: Bamboo Growth

Well, I'm happy to report that, although we did loose some of them, we're enjoying some pretty good results:



Here's what we did:

• Pulled back the mulch
• Circled with some vermicompost
• Top dressed with about 1 pound Pure Black Castings®
• Drenched with a 20:1 VermaPlex® /water mixture.
• Added more mulch
• Kept it watered until the Summer rains started
• Prayed to the Bamboo Growth god

We've been told that with our sandy soil, bamboo never does very well around here.  Never say never.  There's some good information out there on taking care of bamboo.

Comments on Care For Bamboo

If anyone has any suggestion on how to protect bamboo from freezing until it can get established, please let me know in the comments.  One lady we talked to in Tampa is keeping a tropical tree going there by putting halogen lights at the base during hard freezes.  It keeps the sap from freezing and has saved the tree that is meant for zones much further south. 

We're in zone 8, and the above bamboo transplanted from a pot we got from a grower, is meant for zone 9.  That's not too big of a difference, so maybe we can save it.

Lesson learned, we transplanted a species that grows around here into our bamboo garden, and they are doing very well.  I'm looking forward to the shade. 

Next...Vermicomposting Tip

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