I've been thinking about trying a running black bamboo, but am a bit afraid of it getting out of hand.

Has anyone tried large abs drain pipe to contain it? There's a bunch of construction going on in my town, and I noticed the huge black abs drain pipes they were installing. They are probably 4' around, and could be cut to any length to control the rhizomes.



The commercially available barriers are very expensive, and I was thinking that this might be something that could be used in place of. Of course, you're limited to a circle.

Scrap pieces, or old pieces in good condition might be free?

Like I said, just an idea.

So those are 4' diameter? I suspect it would work, but it's a fairly small area so you'll still end up with rhizome congestion. I'd certainly give it a try!

If used as a raised bed though -- even if it's 3' tall -- the rhizomes will still get down into the soil and escape. I've learned from experience. Three feet below ground level is not the same as three feet below the surface of a raised bed.

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

I must admit I've been eyeing the ones used in construction here.

Any idea who you would talk to about scap pieces?

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Southern Indiana. Theoretically the same climate as 'needmore' & 'Eastlandia'.
My Bamboo List.

Wooooo!!!! I have 16 foot tall Moso in Southern Indiana!

I have no idea who I would ask. Probably the nearest construction person working near it would be my first choice, and hopefully they would be able to say yes or no, or point me in the right direction. Maybe even a landfill, or farm, or......?????? Not really sure how hard it is to come by.

I don't have any running bamboo yet, and so I don't really want to ask them for any just yet.

It's just a giant planter with no bottom? I've heard of tree roots penetrating sewer and drainage lines, but I think that when they do, it's at a seam? This would have the benefit of being seamless. I hadn't thought of the overcrowding that would eventually happen, but isn't that going to happen with any size or shape of barrier anyway? I guess it would make it grow more like a clumping type?

The picture is just a generic one I pulled off the internet. I have no idea what size they are in the picture. The ones I saw were huge. Possibly even large enough to walk through, but it was hard to tell.

I've considered using them cut in half length-wise like a 'U' for a long narrow planting. The ends could be dealt with easily I think by pruning. You get 2 sections from each one.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

When I first saw this post, I thought about what Brad just said. But I failed to post because what do I know?

Brilliant! That seems like it would work even better since the rhizomes would have a more natural smooth channel to follow up, rather than the corrugated bumps that are straight up and down if it were left uncut.

If I do get some running bamboo, I will definitely try this.

Thanks.

Given that you are in a semi-arid climate where you have hot and dry summers, bamboo might not spread at all in the first place, and might require constant watering just to be able to make it through you summers if there are long periods of drought.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure how much water they will take, but there are a half a dozen other people within a half mile or so of me that are growing copious amounts of it in their yards or fields, the clumping type, that is.

I'm going with B. multiplex for now. It's a clumper, and I'll see how it grows before trying any of the running type.

Actually, here is the other thread I just started that has absolutely nothing to do with this one. It's got pics of the other bamboo growing in my area. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5706

I know nothing about bamboo, but am learning a bit more by the day.

Thanks.