Well, fall is here and we get a lot of emails on how to prepare bamboo beds for the winter. The answer usually depends on where you live. Mulching your beds in winter is the most important thing you can do to protect your bamboo rhizomes, regardless of what part of the country you live in. In extremely cold areas or for newly planted bamboo one needs to mulch heavily to protect the rhizomes. In mild winter areas bamboo would benefit from a layer of an organic fertilizer such as a manure. In the Pacific North West fall is the best time to mulch. Here at the nursery we mulch heavily with oak leaves that are donated to us every year from a neighborhood school.
We haul in yards of leaf material that we use to cover our beds. Not only does this help to keep roots warmer during the winter, it also helps to suppress winter and early spring weeds. The leaves usually last into late spring or early summer and help us reduce the amount of herbicides that we have to use. The leaves also help us reduce the amount of irrigation that we need to apply during spring and early summer. If possible, re-apply mulching in the late spring to reduce the need for herbicide and irrigation in the summer. In the hot South and South West, applying mulch year round will keep the roots and rhizomes cool. Bamboo does not like to have its roots over heated by direct sun. Young plants will benefit from mulching. As your plants mature, they will naturally shade their roots and produce their own mulch, eliminating some need to mulch. Here are two great articles on mulching from the Oregon State University Extension Service:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=1005&storyType=garden
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=981&storyType=garden
