Growing Bamboo from Seed

Place the bamboo seeds in a strainer and rinse them with cool water to remove any dust or debris that may be clinging to the seeds.

Pour the seeds into a bowl. Make a 10 percent salt solution and pour it over the seeds. Let the seeds soak in this solution for five minutes.

Pour the seeds back into the strainer and rinse off the salt solution. Soak the seeds in clear water for 15 minutes, and drain them to dry.

Make a half-and-half mixture of perlite and peat moss. Moisten the mixture until you can grab a handful and just barely squeeze out a drop. Place the soil mixture in a flat planter box with a lid. A plastic sweater box with holes poked in the bottom is the ideal size and shape for this project.

Draw rows in the soil mix about 1 inch deep and plant a sprinkling of seeds along each row. Alternately, dig a round hole 2 inches across and 1 inch deep. Sprinkle about 10 seeds in the bottom of the hole. Cover the surface of the mix with these holes. Cover the seeds with very fine soil mix. Place the lid on the box and move the box to a spot where it won't be disturbed.

Remove the lid every three days to give the plants fresh air. Moisten the soil mix during this time if it has begun to dry out. Replace the lid after you have watered the mix.

Remove the lid permanently after the seedlings reach the lid inside. The first seedlings will sprout after two to three weeks, and the seeds will continue to sprout until they have all emerged.

Mix an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer according to the package directions. Pour the fertilizer into a clean spray bottle and mist the plants once they are four weeks old.

Transplant the seedlings into individual pots after they have been growing for a month. Use

the same soilless mix for growing the seedlings indoors.