Transfer running bamboo indoors

[Sard]

Hi all,

I have a large and healthy set of running bamboo and would like to transfer some indoors into a small plant pot to improve decor of the house. At first we were looking at getting artificial plants but then I realised that I've got all this beautiful bamboo and wondered how difficult or easy it would be to replant some indoors. Unfortunately most resources online relate to 'lucky' bamboo that is growth from very small stems. I was thinking whether cutting a few canes to the height that I desire and transferring them to a plant pot indoors would still allow for new roots to propagate or should I try to find some younger shorter canes and replant them with the roots intact?

 

[Mike13]

Usually the problem with bamboo is getting it NOT to grow, just almost any piece of root or stem that incorporated a joining section when kept in soil will grow. try a piece or two in a pot, keep it moist but not saturated. It took me 3 years to finally get rid of the bamboo we had in the garden, I needed to use a 5' wrecking bar to keep levering up any roots that kept appearing even after I finished digging out the main visible bits. It used to bolt underground across the lawn and shoot would pop up 10-20 feet away from the bamboo grove that we got with the house.

 

[Sard]

Usually the problem with bamboo is getting it NOT to grow, just almost any piece of root or stem that incorporated a joining section when kept in soil will grow. try a piece or two in a pot, keep it moist but not saturated. It took me 3 years to finally get rid of the bamboo we had in the garden, I needed to use a 5' wrecking bar to keep levering up any roots that kept appearing even after I finished digging out the main visible bits. It used to bolt underground across the lawn and shoot would pop up 10-20 feet away from the bamboo grove that we got with the house.

Thanks Mike. Just so I understand properly, if I cut a few canes mid-length and replanted them indoors, would they survive and grow new roots? Eventually we will get rid of our outdoor bamboo too. We inherited with the house purchase and the previous owners didn't put down any root barriers and it's spread just like yours has. I plan to cut it down to stems eventually and inject with glyphosate using a knotweed herbicide injector and once the glyphosate has down it's job, I will dig up and pull up the roots.

 

[Mike13]

The quickest growing bit are near the roots where the section joins have small roots popping out already. A couple of those hacked out from the edge of the bush will get your indoor growth started nicely. The bit that has the new shoots is the section where the hollow segments join one another. I have seen a fragment that fell into the ground start new growth more than once, but the ready rooting bits near ground level will take off faster.

I suggest you use a demolition bar to break up and lift out as much of the roots as you can even before you start on the glyphosate. I used the double/triple strength sackets that are meant for diluting and poured a little bit into the open ends of the bamboo when cut down, it still took a long time to die. Our clump was about 8' by 4' and the root bundle that dissappeared below the pond liner beside it was about 10" across!
This is about the bar I used, the one I have is about 1800mm long and about 15lbs, but the pointy end will eventually get through the roots after quite a few blows.
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Carbon-Steel-Demolition-Crowbar---1-5m/p/167422

 

[Sard]

Quick update. I ended up cutting a long stem of bamboo just below a culm and transferred it indoors into a plant pot filled with potting mix and the leaves have all curled lengthways. It happened pretty much the same day. I have watered it but I can't see any change. Is there any remedy to this? I feel like I've killed the poor thing!

 

[EddieM]

Just plant up some runners, they should sprout in no time. As said most folk have a struggle trying to stop bamboo taking over. Personally I'd always plant it in a pot, both inside and outside.

 

[Mike13]

It should bounce back after a bit, it does take a lot to kill it, personally I would have taken an underground bit out and planted that. My builders were careless and buried some root fragments about 12-18" down, they came up the next year.