Large Grove Removal With Photos
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:26 pm
Here are some before photos and current photos.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HpaNq2QBa2eKP7jZ7
Hi, I'm looking forward to any feedback from anyone with insight into the best path forward. I have had a large grove on my property for the last 15 years, and due to the amount of time required to maintain it, I have taken steps to start removing it. The kicker was a local guy who told me the bamboo was sick with a fungus or bacteria growing on the leaves.
The grove has been here since the mid-'60s and was great to be around. I don't have any neighbors to worry about, so I had no barrier around it. Because it was not contained, I had to work hard every spring for 4-6 weeks to maintain the circumference as best as possible.
Last week a landscaper came with a skid steer and a brush hog attachment to cut it down and mulch it. No poles were left above ground, and all the mulch was removed. I'm now left with undisturbed rhizomes and uneven ground.
I've been here for 15 years with this bamboo, so I’m familiar with its growth pattern. I know a lot of energy is stored in the rhizomes. I know that if I leave them undisturbed, they will continue to grow new chutes every spring until that energy is expensed. The question is, how long could that be? With such a large grove and the age, it could be three or four years, possibly longer.
I plan to reclaim the area, plant grass, and prevent the growth of new chutes in the growing season by mowing them over daily. The growing season is usually 4-6 weeks. I have talked to a few excavation guys about the next phase of remediation and have a few options.
Option 1: Since the property is uneven and there’s a small valley running through the area where the grove was, I’ll need to level the area and backfill with a lot of fill dirt. The first thought was to bring in 12-15 tri-axle dump trucks full of fill dirt and cover up the existing rhizomes. The goal would be to bury them by a minimum of 12” in some areas, with the center possibly up to 24”. Everything would be graded to flatten out the site. After that, I would get some topsoil and plant grass seeds. I hope this will slow down some of the growth in the spring. I'm ok with maintaining it to a certain degree. I know it's challenging to get rid of completely.
Option 2: Use a backhoe and loader to dig up as much of the rhizomes as possible. The material would be taken away. New fill dirt would be brought in to backfill the area and allow for proper grading. Then I’d bring in topsoil and plant grass seed. It’s pretty much the same as option 1, but I’m adding the step of digging up the rhizomes and removing the material. This adds about 25% of the total cost of the job. I also understand that this is running bamboo, and eliminating all rhizomes will be difficult.
Is it worth digging up the rhizomes, or will burying them under 12-24” of fill dirt be enough to slow the growth?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HpaNq2QBa2eKP7jZ7
Hi, I'm looking forward to any feedback from anyone with insight into the best path forward. I have had a large grove on my property for the last 15 years, and due to the amount of time required to maintain it, I have taken steps to start removing it. The kicker was a local guy who told me the bamboo was sick with a fungus or bacteria growing on the leaves.
The grove has been here since the mid-'60s and was great to be around. I don't have any neighbors to worry about, so I had no barrier around it. Because it was not contained, I had to work hard every spring for 4-6 weeks to maintain the circumference as best as possible.
Last week a landscaper came with a skid steer and a brush hog attachment to cut it down and mulch it. No poles were left above ground, and all the mulch was removed. I'm now left with undisturbed rhizomes and uneven ground.
I've been here for 15 years with this bamboo, so I’m familiar with its growth pattern. I know a lot of energy is stored in the rhizomes. I know that if I leave them undisturbed, they will continue to grow new chutes every spring until that energy is expensed. The question is, how long could that be? With such a large grove and the age, it could be three or four years, possibly longer.
I plan to reclaim the area, plant grass, and prevent the growth of new chutes in the growing season by mowing them over daily. The growing season is usually 4-6 weeks. I have talked to a few excavation guys about the next phase of remediation and have a few options.
Option 1: Since the property is uneven and there’s a small valley running through the area where the grove was, I’ll need to level the area and backfill with a lot of fill dirt. The first thought was to bring in 12-15 tri-axle dump trucks full of fill dirt and cover up the existing rhizomes. The goal would be to bury them by a minimum of 12” in some areas, with the center possibly up to 24”. Everything would be graded to flatten out the site. After that, I would get some topsoil and plant grass seeds. I hope this will slow down some of the growth in the spring. I'm ok with maintaining it to a certain degree. I know it's challenging to get rid of completely.
Option 2: Use a backhoe and loader to dig up as much of the rhizomes as possible. The material would be taken away. New fill dirt would be brought in to backfill the area and allow for proper grading. Then I’d bring in topsoil and plant grass seed. It’s pretty much the same as option 1, but I’m adding the step of digging up the rhizomes and removing the material. This adds about 25% of the total cost of the job. I also understand that this is running bamboo, and eliminating all rhizomes will be difficult.
Is it worth digging up the rhizomes, or will burying them under 12-24” of fill dirt be enough to slow the growth?