Time to Transplant?

[Henry Lee]

Hi Mark, Hi All,

I have a Ph bambusoides and a Ph angusta in side front of my house, both 3 years old. The ph B only have three 10 feet tall middle finger size culms and the ph A have seven 3 feet tall pinky size culms. My wife wants me to move them to the backyard.
Anyone with experience doing this moving? Is this a good time or should I wait till the spring?
Also, is there any way to make the culms grow bigger in a shorter time period? Thanks.

Henry

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Henry,
Years ago I dug up many (nice chunks of) Phyllostachys nuda and P. aureosulcata in autumn in NE PA into October >>> which were successfully transplanted near Philadelphia.
However winter temperatures didn't go below 0 F there during this time.

If you need to dig them out before winter comes it should be done soon
The transplant needs time to adapt to it's new home and hopefully actively growing roots and rhizomes will have time to grow into the soil and become anchored.

Good success will depend on digging up a good rootball of rhizomes and roots in proportion to the tops, applying mulch around the planting and hoping that winter isn't too severe.

Generally in colder climates where the ground freezes solid during winter, it is safer to dig up and transplant bamboo in early spring.
This gives the plant a full growing season to become well established.

It's best to dug up and transplant the bamboo well before the commencement of new growth.
New leaves emerge before the shoots.
If a bamboo is dug up during shoot emergence, there is a higher likelihood that some shoots may abort or have stunted growth.

Are your bamboos still growing in a cluster or have they expanded from their original planting?
Feel free to post pics.

Mark

[Henry Lee]

Mark,
Thanks for the advice.
They have somewhat spread out. The ph B (left pic ) spread about 3 feet and the ph A (right pic) spread out 5 feet but still small.