Need advice on containment of bamboo

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lhamilton1807
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Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by lhamilton1807 »

I've cut it back from the fence (which will soon be replaced) about a foot and hope to keep the bamboo at least that far back permanently.

I'm considering a 30" 60mil barrier completely surrounding the bamboo to keep it out of the neighbor's yard and our other landscaping areas. The bamboo was established when we bought the house a year ago and is sending runners into undesired areas. We're replacing the fence soon, so it's a perfect time to try to contain the bamboo.

Will the full containment work? The area of containment is about 3' x 16', minus 1' from the fence, so actually 2' x 16' between the fence and the concrete patio.

Below are some pics of the space & the bamboo. Stalks are about the size of a pencil at the smallest and 1-1.5" in diameter at the largest. Tallest stalks are about 15-20' high.

First time owning bamboo. Any advice is welcome. The wife really wants to keep it as an evergreen screen that's going to be taller than the 6' fence we will install shortly.
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jd.
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by jd. »

lhamilton1807 wrote: I'm considering a 30" 60mil barrier completely surrounding the bamboo to keep it out of the neighbor's yard and our other landscaping areas. [...]

Will the full containment work? The area of containment is about 3' x 16', minus 1' from the fence, so actually 2' x 16' between the fence and the concrete patio.
Go with an 80 mil (2 mm) HDPE barrier if you want full containment to last more than 5 years. A 60 mil barrier may be unable to hold a bamboo inside a confined area indefinitely.
alee77777
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by alee77777 »

You may be able to contain it between your neighbor and yourself. However, the bamboo will grow between and under the concrete slabs towards your house.

Not being able to contain my small bamboo area, I ended up cutting down the bamboo. I was able to get rid of most of it, this is second year in the eradication process, using Steve Lau's method of starving the roots by cutting the bamboo before the leaves open up so that no photosynthesis can take place. I have also partially covered it with tarp so that the roots cannot get any energy and pulled out the roots.
ShmuBamboo
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by ShmuBamboo »

One thing to note is that you have a serious bamboo mite problem there. It is obvious in your photos. It would be virtually impossible to eradicate them with an infestation in a stand like that, but it can be done. Personally I would spray with Avid and soap in several cycles in winter, and then cut all the culms to the ground and burn them in late winter, then dig up all the rhizome outside of the barrier area (there will be a lot of it) and dig a trench and put in the rhizome barrier. Then they will shoot in the spring and I would spray again with miticide and soap/oil sprays. You will also have to dig up and remove any rhizomes that was missed that shoot outside the barrier for a few years as well.

As for rhizome containment, a thick plastic perimeter bamboo barrier should work. You have to watch for rhizomes penetrating through holes that voles may chew through though (if you have voles there), as well as rhizomes that go above soil level and then descend again.
Happy trails...
Alan_L
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by Alan_L »

alee77777 wrote:...using Steve Lau's method of starving the roots by cutting the bamboo before the leaves open up so that no photosynthesis can take place...
Steve didn't come up with that -- it's common knowledge. Cut it down, make it shoot, cut the shoots down again, repeat until it stops shooting.

I'm curious about how you were not able to contain it. What method did you use?
Leo S
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by Leo S »

When you dig into your soil, what depth do you hit a layer of heavy clay or rock? IF at 30 inches you still have easily workable loam, the barrier will need to be deeper. If you hit hardpan, rock or dense clay, before 36 inches, that is the depth your barrier needs to be. I have bought the barrier from Bamboo Garden Center (formerly Bamboo Plantation), service is good and it worked well. http://www.bamboogardencenter.com/

At the Kew Gardens, London UK for their bamboo plantings in one area they use 50 foot wide expanses of lawn that is mowed regularly to contain their bamboo. The "mow it before it produces leaves" method is one they showed me back in 1988. They also had Indocalmus dive below a 9 foot deep steel barrier. Indocalmus in their climate is particularly vigorous. I'm not saying your bamboo will dive below a 36 inch barrier, but do accept that this is possible. A barrier will stop 98% or more of the wandering rhizomes, but accept the fact that every now and then one will get away on you. Chasing down one out of bounds rhizome is easier than digging out dozens.

At Kew, at least in 1988 they had species beds that were about 30 feet in diameter. Once a bed was fully colonized, about every 5 to 10 years, a bed would be scheduled for rejuvenation. They would chop down half the bed, use a rototiller to chop up and remove old rhizomes, amend the soil then let the other half of the clump recolonize the rototiller treated half of the bed. Then 3 years later, the older half of the bed would receive the same treatment.

This way their planting would not get too dense.

I do something similar with my 30+ year old planting of Phyllo aureosulcata. Only I take out only 1/3 at a time.
zxylene
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Re: Need advice on containment of bamboo

Post by zxylene »

Leo S wrote:Once a bed was fully colonized, about every 5 to 10 years, a bed would be scheduled for rejuvenation. They would chop down half the bed, use a rototiller to chop up and remove old rhizomes, amend the soil then let the other half of the clump recolonize the rototiller treated half of the bed. Then 3 years later, the older half of the bed would receive the same treatment.
I like that Idea seems like a great way to control and keep healthy as well as get many properly aged culms.
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