Do bamboo plants like wet conditions?

We would like to plant some bamboo plants but our gaden can be quite wet especially in the winter. At the moment we have bamboo in pots but would like to transplant it so that it will grow taller/wider.

Do bamboo plants like wet conditions?
Bamboo require deep rich loamy soil kept fertile, during their early years of development by anual mulches of rotted manure, and leaves. It usualy takes two or three years for a clump to become established, so regular feeding, watering ,and protection are essential at first.


Propogation is by root division in spring, retaining a ball of soil around each section. They can also be increased by stem and root cuttings. In some cases some may grow from seed, although few bamboos flower, or if they do they so, may die afterwards.


The common hardy bamboo Arundinaria japonica, makes a dense evergreen screen of surprising grace and elegance, nowhere more suprisingly beside water. Its roots run about with abandon unless checked, but very similar bamboos stay demurely in clumps. There are even dwarf bamboos for miniture plantings. Bamboo roots enjoy moisture, but not actually standing in water.


Many of them have the failing of running roots. Rather than exclude them for that reason, it is worth forming barriers that the roots cannot pass , 18inches deep would be sufficent. Or simply mow around them. A mower will destroy new shoots comming up out of the bounds.


Unfortunatly bamboos are a botanists paradise. The faintest difference of stem colouring provides an excuse for a new name. Perhaps as a result few nurseries grow them.Metake which unfortunatly a spreader, is the only true common one, although the similar A.nitida can be trusted to sty in a clump. The shorter broaadleafed Sasa palmata makes an admirable contrast- but this one is rampant.


I have drawn up a rough guide to help you with how wet your bamboo will stand.


w = very shallow water


m = moist soil


Acorus calamus variegata, w


Arundinara murielae, m


A. varieagata ,m


Athyrium filix-femina, m


Butomus umbellatus, w


Cyperus longus, w


Matteuccia struthiopteris, m


Miscanthus sacchariflorus,, m


Osmunda regalis, m


Sagittaria sagittifolia ,w


Typha latifolia ,w


There are many more bamboos for your choice.I have only given you a few to start with.


Happy gardening.


Professional Gardner for 30 odd yrs.
Reply:Yep, they love it.


Would advise against growing bamboo in the ground because of its invasive nature. Unless it it of the non invasive varieties.
Reply:Some do, just ask where you get it from about its habitat
Reply:Make sure the type of Bamboo you plant.It spreads like a fire with gasoline and can pop up anywhere.It is impossible to kill.It can travel under concrete and end up in your neighbors yard.Its a nightmare.
Reply:Bamboo loves wet conditions. It is a weed though in a lot of parts of the world. Very hard to control. You should keep it in the pots and look at what native species are available in your area. It is much better to plant native species.
Reply:I guess it depends on the type of bamboo you want to plant, and how wet.





They like regular water, but not boggy conditions. Actually, the roots don't grow into standing water, and some people use moats/rivers etc as part of their root barrier. I wouldn't plant a running bamboo in the ground without containment. Clumping bamboo will not spread like running bamboo, and wonderfully easy to care for.





How wet? I have natural springs in my yard during parts of the year, and the clumping bamboo I planted to grow in that area died. The water necessary is about the same as a lawn.
Reply:yes bamboo is found around swamps, lakes, and rivers in china and japan.