Pruning Bamboo

Hi all - very amateur gardener here and looking for some help please.

I have a black bamboo in my garden - well established having been in the garden for some 15 years plus.

It has grown extremely tall -albeit stayed in place without being too invasive - and I'm wondering if I might cut it to the ground and clear/tidy the centre - will it grow new shoots from the Base? Don't want to kill it off .

Any advice would be appreciated Thankyou.

 

Hi, and welcome to the forum

If the bamboo is doing well, and you are happy with it, leave it as it is.

Rather look at the grove, and thin/cut out the culms (will prob be the older ones) that are starting to look tired - losing colour and with poor leaf production.
Chop off at ground level.

Afterward give the bamboo a thick mulch of well rotted horse manure.

 

Well if I said I was entirely happy with it then I'd be lying I suppose. The 'outside' of the plant stands at around 12 foot but the inner canes must have grown to in excess of 20 feet. It's fairly healthy looking - without too many 'grey' canes and the foliage is looking pretty good. I just wonder - when is it going to stop growing!!

 

Wow! Impressive! Is there a 'good' time to do it - or can I head outside tomorrow with the loppers

 

I've just finished thinning out my black bamboo. I remove the thin or damaged ones and then thin out so there is a couple of inches between the canes. I also cut the lower leaves off to give a clear cane of 4 to 5ft so you can see the black colouration. The canes I remove get used around the garden for sweet peas, peas, beans etc

 

Agree with this approach. Rather remove the thinner culms to give some space for the new ones than just chop off the whole lot.

On some forms of nigra it takes two seasons or more for the culms to mature and develop the nice dark colour

 

If the plant is too big for what @DoubleMM wants, then she is right to cut it down. Plants don`t control the gardener, the gardener controls the plant.

 

Thankyou all - very helpful advice. I'll ponder another week or so - but am sorely annoyed by the height of the clump at its' centre.