Is My Bamboo Colony Dying? – Can I Move It Safely?

Question

I planted Phyllostachus Aurea and Nigra 20 years ago, in an area 1.5m x 6m with a root barrier and three sides and a fence on the other.

The colony has grown to the full extent of the root barrier with the newest canes reaching the height of 5-6m . In the last three years there have been no new large shoots and there is significant die-back of the older, smaller canes within the colony. It is clearly ‘pot-bound’

It clearly also has a root system drawing nourishment from my neighbour’s garden on the other side of the fence (under a concrete path, so no canes in neighbour’s garden, just roots) , but this system is about to be destroyed by an excavation there.

Will my already largely ‘pot-bound’ colony survive the sudden loss of its root system in the neighbour’s garden and thus becoming pot-bound on all four sides overnight?

Is it feasible to move the entire colony in clumps to another part of the garden where I can give the clumps a lot more space to grow again?

If so, then presumably, now, when the plant is dormant is a good time?

Your advice greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Moving your bamboo plot would be a good idea as it sounds like it is dying out. And the loss of the root system next door will no doubt have an impact.

Here is an article about moving bamboo, and it is best done in early spring before new shoots start. Good luck!

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/bamboo/transplanting-bamboo.htm