Pruning Bamboo

Winter is the best time to prune your bamboo.  Be careful, however, not to prune your bamboo until it has become more established. It generally takes about 3 to 5 growing seasons for it to become established.  The time it takes for your bamboo to become established will depend on several factors: planted area, species, climate, water or moisture, sunlight, soil and nutrients.

Pruning your bamboo will help its overall health. The health of your plant will be improved by preventing overpopulation of canes and the removal of older canes that have reached the end of their life cycle. Canes can last for about 8 years so removing the older canes will create more room for new growth. 

Bamboo can be sculptured or hedged to any height.  Once the plant has reached the desired height then prune the tops off.  This can be achieved by either carefully pulling the canes down or by using a tool like a brush-cutter.

Preaching bamboo is a technique of lining up your plants and then removing the bottom leaves. This gives a bare look at the bottom of the plant with a full bushy look at the top.   This looks stunning as an ornamental feature to your garden. You can remove the leaves to any height to give whatever look you desire.

Pruning can be achieved using Pruning Shears, Hand/Garden saw or Reciprocating Saw.