On 19/02/2020 11:28, john west wrote:
We want to put some bamboo plants and also some Conifers in large
buckets (holes drilled for drainage).

Would wood chip (or anything else) be useful to add to the bottom of the
buckets to provide future nutrition when it has rotted down?

That's a bad idea. Wood takes up nitrogen as it rots. A bit of slow
release fertiliser will do no harm though. You may lose bamboo in
containers in hard winters if the roots freeze or in summer become too
dry. Perlag to add bulk but less weight might not be a bad idea. Tall
things in pots tend to fall over a lot when it gets windy.

Mine in containers all expired one particularly cold -12C peak winter.

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Regards,
Martin Brown