Bamboos can grow on diverse types of soils but they prefer light soils, rich in organic matter, with a slightly acidic pH. Dense soils prevent growth of roots and rhizomes and impede growth. 

Bamboos are generally fast growing plants that need a lot of nutrition. Nutrients, rich mainly in nitrogen should be supplied during spring. In the years following planting, minimal care and maintenance, involves an annual check for rhizome development. The amount of work needed is of course very much dependent on the initial planning and planting. In older stands maintenance involves cutting older culms which are mainly found in the center of the clump. After winter dead leaves or culms can be removed to promote the development of new culms and leaves.

New shoots develop mainly in spring or early summer, sometimes with a second flush of growth in late summer. Chimonobambusa shoots develop typically in autumn, while in other species shoots develop during a prolonged period. To promote the hardening of the new shoots and culms, nitrogen is not used later than early summer. Applying a fertilizer with silicon results in extra strong culms.

Most temperate bamboos survive severe winters. Sometimes the foliage is damaged to some extent, and with more susceptible species from subtropical regions all culms above the soil level can die. These damaged culms and leaves can be removed after winter, especially with ground covering species. Because the growing season for new culms starts relatively late, the plants can look terrible after winter. Removing old and damaged parts is then necessary. 

In general bamboos can easily be trimmed, for hedges in smaller bamboos or for specific shapes in taller ones. In many of the lower bamboos a complete cutting back after winter promotes the outgrowth of new branches and green leaves.

Flowering of bamboos

Bamboos, like all grasses in the Plant Kingdom, are seed plants. Flowering and seeding are necessary for reproduction and new generations. The flowering of bamboos is sometimes - but by no means always ! - followed by the death of the plant. The physiological and genetic factors involved in the induction of flowering are still unknown. Flowering of some bamboos is cyclic (e.g. every 30 or 100 years), but for most bamboos flowering is unpredictable. Some special selections have been made in seedling populations some years ago, which will not flower for the next 60-80 years. In other bamboos, such as Pseudosasa japonica, as well as a number of Sasa, Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus species, vegetative growth simply continues after a period of flowering.