Propagating bamboo from runners?

9 years ago

I got some bamboo from my neighbor. It was pieces of the runners from her neighbors plant. They had roots and leaves, so took them and plants them in my yard, and they both died, or seemed to be dead so I pulled them out, they had a little bit of give, and tons of roots, so they obviously weren't dead, maybe just stressed? :( Lesson learned. Be more patient lol.
Anyway I got some more from her today, but this time they were the runners out of the ground, with leaves, no roots. I planted them in pots for now, to see how they do. Will they automatically grow roots, or should I have put rooting hormone on them? Or will they just die. How long will they take to get strong. Should I just leave them alone and keep them in the pots until next spring?

Comment (1)

kudzu9
9 years ago
When you talk about "runners out of the ground, with leaves, no roots," are you meaning the culms (the stalks)? Bamboo runners refer to the roots in the ground so I am not sure what you are talking about. You can't propagate bamboo with only aboveground growth (unless it is tropical bamboo, which you obviously don't have). You can propagate with a healthy chunk of rhizome (root), although when I have done this in the past my success rate ranged from 0-50%, depending on the species. Also, this is the wrong time of year to be trying to do this. You should wait until late spring and get a good-sized chunk of rhizomes with several nodes and lots of little roots.

This post was edited by kudzu9 on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 2:47
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