"Rosemary" wrote in message
k...
Hello
Can you 'prune' a bamboo to shorten it and will the leaves grow from the
top again the next year? Or is it better to 'thin it out by cutting a few
canes back each year so that they grow up in stages over the years (The
canes provide something of a screen so dont want to cut them all down in
one go)

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for any advice

Rosemary

Each individual cane (culm) grows to it's full height in a season and does
not increase height in subsequent years. New leaves do grow from the old
culms. Cut out the old small culms. The new canes that grow each year will
be taller . You can limit the height by taking out the tops but it does
spoil the overall effect.