- The right time and the ideal weather
- Divide bamboo in the bucket - but how?
- Cut off free-growing bamboo
- The radical alternative when things need to go fast
- tips and tricks
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. Whether clumped bamboo species that shoot up high or the root-forming varieties that spread limitlessly - at some point every bamboo becomes too big. Divide bamboo - the best tips for soil and container plants.

The right time and the ideal weather
March or late summer is the ideal time to transplant or divide a bamboo. Between April and June do not disturb the roots because new culms will grow!
Consider not only the right time, but also the ideal weather. A cloudy, humid day is recommended for professionally isolating or dividing your bamboo. Ideally after a rain shower when the soil is moist and loose.
Divide bamboo in the bucket - but how?
After 2 to 3 years at the latest, when the bamboo bursts out of the bucket or the stalks overgrow the edge of the bucket, it is time to divide or remove it. Before you reach for an axe, spade or saw, let the bale swell in a tub of water. Then continue with the following steps:
- tie the plant together
- Loosen the root ball from the edge and remove
- Place bamboo on lawn or tarpaulin
- Divide the root ball several times with a sharp axe, spade, hacksaw or fine-toothed saw
The larger the root ball, the better the bamboo can withstand the intervention.
Cut off free-growing bamboo
If you want to dig up or cut off a freely growing bamboo, you should first water and soak the soil extensively. Especially when the ground is dry and hard. Depending on the size of the plant, you can undermine and dig out the bamboo completely or you have to remove it piece by piece.
The radical alternative when things need to go fast
Shorten lignified stalks with a chainsaw. This creates space so that the spade can then be used more easily. But beware! The hard bamboo fibers sometimes get stuck in the chain and block the saw. This is particularly dangerous if the chain jumps off even though it is tight!
Important: Wear protective clothing and a face mask so that the bamboo stalks you cut off do not fly into your eyes when you bend down.
tips and tricks
Immediately cover separated root pieces with moist potting soil so that they do not dry out. Then you plant them in large mortar buckets. These are inexpensive, mobile planters that can also be buried and prevent roots from spreading. Or in the circle of friends there are grateful bamboo buyers.