How Do You Grow Bamboo Shoots?

Growing Bamboo Shoots: A Gardener's Guide

Bamboo shoots are nature’s fast food—quick to grow, abundant, and packed with flavor. But getting them to thrive takes more than sticking a few rhizomes in the ground and hoping for the best.

Picking the Right Bamboo

First, decide between clumping and running bamboo. Clumpers stay in one place, behaving politely. Runners, on the other hand, spread like a wildfire with a grudge.

If you're after edible shoots, go with Phyllostachys edulis (Moso bamboo) or Bambusa oldhamii. They grow fast, taste great, and won’t make your neighbors hate you—unless you pick a runner and forget to contain it.

Planting for Success

Pick a spot with full sun and well-draining soil. Bamboo loves moisture but hates wet feet. If your soil holds water like a flooded rice paddy, amend it with sand or compost.

Dig a hole twice as wide as the rhizome and just as deep. Place the rhizome horizontally, cover it with soil, and water thoroughly. If planting runners, install a barrier at least 30 inches deep unless you want bamboo in your basement.

Feeding and Watering

These plants drink like they just stumbled out of the desert. Keep the soil consistently moist, especially in the first year.

A nitrogen-rich fertilizer in spring jumpstarts growth, while a balanced fertilizer mid-season keeps them producing. If the leaves curl, it’s screaming for water. If they yellow, it’s overwatered or starved.

Harvesting Bamboo Shoots

The real trick to flavorful bamboo shoots? Pick them young. Once they break the surface and hit 6 inches, dig them up.

For the best texture and flavor, harvest within four days of emergence. After that, they turn fibrous and bitter.

Use a sharp spade to slice cleanly through the base. Peel and boil to remove bitterness before cooking.

Containing Runners

Running bamboo spreads underground like a conspiracy. If you skip containment, expect it to pop up where you least expect—under fences, through sidewalks, inside your neighbor’s rose garden.

• Install a 30-inch deep barrier made of metal or HDPE plastic.
• Check the perimeter every few months and cut escaping rhizomes.
• Harvest aggressively to weaken the plant’s energy reserves.

Final Thoughts

Bamboo grows fast, feeds well, and—if managed properly—behaves. Keep it hydrated, fertilized, and harvested, and you’ll have an endless supply of tender shoots for your kitchen.

Neglect it, and you might find yourself in a bamboo jungle with no way out.

Bamboo is a durable, long-lasting plant that can be grown both indoors and out. It’s easy to grow, requires very little maintenance, and can be used as a building material, organic material, and even medication for elephants. If you’re interested in growing bamboo, you should know a few things about them. Grow your shoots in pots or containers, and use a soil-less growing medium. Plant your shoots in the ground in border or food plots. Use a variety of lights to keep your plants evenly illuminated. Water your plants once a week if you’re growing in the ground. And remember, when growing bamboo, you can’t miss step one: The soil.