Weed killer....Thad

Aloha Thad,

I don't know if weed killer would slow down bamboo much. The root would probably keep going. Plus the only weed killer that would probably slow it down is really expensive.

Folks like to come cut the shoots of the non-running bamboo and cook them up for dinner. Unfortunately, the running bamboo isn't as tasty or something since folks seem to prefer the shoots of the other bamboo.

Is there much bamboo in Texas? I've heard that many varieties of bamboo do well over there.

A hui hou,
Cathy

In Portland, Oregon area, there are arborist suppliers and bamboo specialty nurseries that each sell root barriers that work.

You must have much more bamboo that we have. Try a bamboo supplier and ask about the root barrier. Basically a plastic sheet buried on edge in a trench to about 18" or more, then the trench is backfilled with soil.

If your search runs dry, try an email or website contact for..

TREE TOOLS in Lake Oswego, Oregon

www.treetools.com

They may ship it. They will ship chainsaws to other countries, so maybe root barrier to another state.

You need a barrier about 2' deep or a trench 2' deep with grass cuttings or mulch, simply sifting through it occasionally and cutting the roots. I love tropical clumping bamboo, and plant those, the runners, learned the hard way many years ago!
-Donn Redondo Beach

Aloha MD Vaden & LA Palms,

A barrier trenched down into the ground would be difficult to install because of the sloped ground. I don't really want to dig too far into the earth because it would then just slide down the slope and I'm trying to stabilize it, which is why the bamboo is being left there. There is some clumping bamboo on the other side of the yard holding the top of a forty foot vertical hillside in place. I have several banyans that will be planted further up that side to hold the slope since they will send roots down the hillface to help hold it. I'd prefer not to have them on the side with the running bamboo since the bamboo will stay shorter than the banyans and full grown banyans would block the view.

The slope with the running bamboo on it is about fifteen to twenty feet tall at about a fifty degree or possibly greater slope. I can access it from the top and bottom, but it is too steep and crumbly to be climbed up - or down, for that matter. The bamboo provides a wind break as well as a screen between our back yard and the neighbors house, so it is a useful plant for that area, I just want it to stay in that area.

Does anyone know if a concrete walkway about three feet wide at the top of the hill would keep the bamboo contained on the slope? Most of the containment methods I've heard about involve setting a barrier into the ground by a foot and a half to several feet deep. Does anyone know how far the roots will go in a horizontal direction?

A hui hou,
Cathy

The walkway would not help, as I've had them sprout a new stalk 10' away. They just go underneath. This is an interesting delemma. What about coarse sand/gravel in a trench or run along with shovel, heck, you got me.
They will not grow in dry soil. Perhaps theres an idea in there?
Believe it or not, I used old plexiglas filing/paper office desk shelves. I buried them around the monster. How about old LP's :) If there is one critical side of the planting you can get to you can at least start that project.
"Red Apple" is an excellent ground cover to hold soil, fast growing and is quite pretty.

LAPalms is right. I kept my bamboo in check in Seattle by digging a trench the length of the planting, about 2' away from the clump...every October. The roots would be running at that time and I was able to cut them. The new shoots on the running roots don't form until the next season...so if you can cut off the food supply, you will be safe. I only hd to dig a 10" trench...without a barrier, the roots don't go too deep but I am told they can climb out of a pot and under a 2'deep barrier.

The easiest way - keep the area around the bamboo mowed religiously. A runner can travel over 12' before putting up bamboo shoots, but if the area surrounding it is a yard, consistant mowing is usually the way to go.

Barring that - a 1' deep x 1' wide trench dug around the bamboo grove. Twice a year - spring and fall, walk the trench and cut the runners that try to cross. The advantage of this over barriers - a trench doesn't alter a runner's path - ie - it won't go down and under the trench. When you cut it, the offshoots will most often run along the trench. Low maintenance and less worry.

Have fun,
Mike

The cheapest way to control the spread is to do as mikevanecek stated in Jan. Mow. The concrete walk will not stop it. Running bamboos can send rhizomes out as far as the stand is tall if they need to do so. If you can't mow, then walk the area you want kept free and kick off all of the sprouts as they shoot. Won't kill the plant, but that shoot cannot grow again. The voice of experience!

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions!

Well, mowing may be the answer. I've started building a shed up there so I'll be there more often. The guinea and reznor grass back there were just about as tall as the bamboo, all that got scythed down and now I can run a mower over it that will hopefully keep it from taking over.

I will also put in a vegetable garden alongside the bamboo stand and that will get tilled once a year or so and might discourage running roots. Gotta run a waterline back there first before planting a vegetable garden, although a couple of hoses might reach. Plus all that is uphill from the house, no wonder the bamboo hasn't had much competition from me for that space.