A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum When to repot bamboo

Hello, a long time ago my mother got a bamboo as a gift. It is now in a pot of soil. But, now there is a large amount of roots coming out of the bottom. I've removed the bamboo from the pot and it has a big mass of roots at the bottom and up to almost the top. Does my bamboo need repotting and some fresh soil? It hasn't grown much since a few months.

Thanks in advance.

Anyone?

It sounds like your bamboo is rootbound. Just purchasing a larger pot and plopping it in with new soil may not work well. You need to untangle those roots a bit to encourage them to branch out and not continue to grow in circles.
If they are so tightly wound that you cannot loosen them then some cutting will be needed. I cut about an inch deep from top to bottom about 3 or 5 times and loosen as much as I can. Then the larger pot with fresh soil. Keep it at the same level as it was before. And the pot should be at least one inch larger than the old one. Discard any roots that fall off after cutting/loosening.

Thanks Tina. I am working at the greenhouse tomorrow so I will get soil and a pot.

In October last year I repoted a peace lilly. But, I never untangled the roots. Will this be bad? It is growing a lot and flowering a lot. So, I guess it is unharmed.

Thanks for your help!!!

Sometimes they work, bur sometimes they don't. It is best to untangle when they have begun growing around themselves in circles.

Yes, well this peace lilly had grown roots in a circle and I don't know how many times. I mean when I took it out of it's pot there was no soil!!! Just roots. Now it seems fine. Do you think the peace lilly will be fine? I really like it and it is old. Nothing seems to be wrong with it.