Can you trim a bamboo plant (a real bamboo plant, not “lucky bamboo”)? I have a very tall bamboo (square bamboo) that is almost dead, but there are fresh leaves coming out about half way down the stalk. But I’m not sure if trimming the plant down a couple feet is going to kill it.
Here’s a hint: even if you cut it off at the base, the plant will still probably come back. Bamboo is a marvelous weed that’s very hard to kill or contain.
I’ll second toadspittle. In my experience (which is far greater than I’d prefer regarding bamboo), the only way to kill it is to excavate the roots or use serious chemicals. Trimming it will likely make it ugly because it won’t regrow from the cut stalk but the leaves below the cut will continue to grow.
Bamboo is a member of the grass family. Trimming bamboo is like mowing the lawn.
Related question: if I wanted to have my bamboo plants turn into twice as many bamboo plants, can I just cut them down halfway and plant the trimmings? Shoudl I cut the stalk or the leafy offshoot?
You need to dig down and cut out a section of the rhizome (the root), then plant that in a new location.
If you have more than one stalk (i.e., it’s not potted lucky bamboo), then be sure that your cutting also has a leafy stalk (as the rhizome will only have so much energy in reserve–the leaves will feed it better as it tries to get started).
Well, I heard back from a seller of bamboo and they say that the “you can trim it but it won’t grow back at that end,” is the right answer. So it’s not really like grass. At least, the individual stalk that I have isn’t. I do wish they had sent three stalks to a plant.
Actually grass (even turf grass) doesn’t grow back from the same end when you cut it, either. Trimming your bamboo should encourage secondary stalks to emerge.
How old is this plant? It could be getting ready to flower, which is a very rare occurence. Once that happens, unfortunately, the plant often dies. You may want to check the website of American Bamboo Society.
I have quite a bit of lucky bamboo and some dracanea (?) proper. I’d probably try to make the lucky bamboo grow. I just need to yank off part of the roots? It’s been awhile since I transplanted it and actually looked at the roots, but IIRC, the bottom of the stalk just had the orangish roots coming off. I don’t need to take part of the stalk with it? Just the entire length of root (one individual “strand”)?
Wrong, no, don’t do it. “Lucky Bamboo” is NOT a bamboo at all, it’s a Dracaena (D. sanderiana), not even related to the grasses at all. If you tried “growing” you can’t grow it from the roots. You need a stem cutting.
Very few bamboos will actually root from cuttings. Bambusa arundinacea will grow from culm cuttings. Other bamboos will just rot if this is tried. The usual way is with breaking up the clump.
Toadspittle: it is not true that all bamboos are weedy and hard to contain. The clumping species never run out of bounds, as they expand along the edges slowly. Running bamboos can be hard to contain, but a barrier such as a three foot wide heavy plastic bamboo barrier, or even a contrete “wall” can keep them in check. Many nurseries will sell bamboo containing barriers along with bamboo.
You can do that or you can just wait. If you wait long enough, you will have all the bamboo you could ever want.
Bamboo groves tend to spread at about one to two feet per year here in Central Texas. For what it’s worth, I eliminated a grove in my backyard by cutting it down and tilling the area, cleaning the runners out of the tiller blades after every pass. Bamboo still grows there, as it does in most of the remaining backyard.
Well, I think some of us are talking about indoor bamboo in pots, not outdoors. Not sure if that makes a difference. I have square bamboo. One stalk (culm?) and would like it to become three, at least. It’s in a 12-15 gallon pot, I’d estimate.
Sorry, I was winding down after a night’s work and didn’t notice that.
I had a bamboo windbreak that grew along (this side of) a 4ft cement block fence. I never had any of the problems I’ve always heard of. It was about 2ft deep and 10-12ft tall. I mowed right up next to it, and once in a while I’d yank the little guys which tried to come up into the yard. I really liked it, and the way it rattled in the wind. My wife and I made cool stuff out of the older stalks after we harvested them. We made this 4ft x 3in bong, but that’s illegal. We were gonna grow hemp to tie furniture, but we chickened out. 
Go to Terminus Est’s site and follow their advice, and ignore this old hippy “farmer”. 
Peace,
mangeorge
BTW; cool critters like to live in bamboo. Not pandas, of course, but snakes and such.
It doesn’t matter if its in pots or outdoors. Propagation of bamboo is generally the same.
Bamboos grow from the continuously growing, underground rhizome if running, or from dormant buds on the underground portion of each short rhizome if clumping. The above ground culms will not grow further if cut, no (and this is why they make good hedges), but you won’t stop the spread of the plant if you trim the tops. Very few bamboos will grow from culm cuttings (the above ground stems). More will grow from basal cuttings. Square bamboo, Chimonobambusa quadrangularis will grow from basal stem cuttings, but this isn’t too surprising as they tend to form roots at the basal (lower) stem region anyway. Your bamboo will add on new culms each year. It’s not like a tree that once you get just one stem you only get one stem.
Give the plant time. You will get more than one stem, but you’re going to have to be patient. You could try doing stem cuttings, but unless you get the basal portion I doubt you’ll have success. And you’ll probably end up ruining your plant. Generally, when clumps are separated to get new plants, at least three stems are taken. This ensures the plant has enough stems and rhizomes to continue growing strongly. I’m betting your plant will take a while to established and get going.