The only sure (?) way of eradication seems to be pulling it up by the roots (easier to do when the ground is saturated) and, considering that some varieties have rhizomes/roots a couple feet deep, even that may not work. In smaller areas, you can smother them (eventually) with a barrier (plastic, steel, or similar nonpermeable material) topped with about 15" of soil or mulch - but they sometimes will creep underground until they get past the smothering area and *then* send up shoots.

Lookingglassgarden,if your DH is determined to plant bamboo, Please have him thoroughly check out the how-to's. VA & MD are sufficiently sub-tropical that weather alone does not deter or limit spread of most varieties. If he wants a spreading type, please surround the growing bed with an impermeable steel or concrete barrier at least 30" deep to prevent unwanted shoots - and I've heard of some varieties going through concrete. I love bamboo, but I don't grow it because of the high potential for problems. 10 years ago my neighbor planted a clumping slow-grower "contained" by a deep concrete pipe about 4' wide (one of those road drainage pipes). She is presently trying to get rid of the bamboo which has spread (in deep shade) across her back yard and is working it's way uphill to her house.

I was able to find it and have linked it below.

The running bamboo, is nearly impossible to get rid of after many, many yrs. I have a neighbor that has near a quarter acre "thicket" of the stuff in the backyard of her 200 yr old home. It's so thick that you can't see the ground and you can't walk through it. Much of it is a good 3" thick at the base. It's also growing on a hillside and it's now encroaching on a wonderful old barn. It kind of reminds me of kudzu in a strange sort of way.

On the up side, I can have all the bamboo I want, if I wanna cut it.

The link below is a picture of my back yard taken about a month ago. There was an area probably 200 square feet inside the fence that was covered with bamboo as well. My wife and I cleared that area with LOTS of work digging out the bamboo roots in our hard Virginia clay soil.

- Brent

The link below is a picture of my backyard after my clearing session on Saturday. I probably spent 12 hours clearing this area over the last few weekends. I now have a bunch of bamboo shoots to get rid of.

BTW, I cannot advise anybody to plant a running form of bamboo. I admit the stuff looks cool (at least the shoots that have not fallen over because of wind or rain), but it is the most invasive plant that I have ever seen.

- Brent

Also, I tired renting a commercial chipper/shredder to get rid of all the bamboo shoots. They were too stringy and a couple shoots would clog up the machine. I ended up renting a trailer and hauling the shoots out to the Loudoun County Landfill where they can turn the stuff into mulch. BTW, I planned on returning with loads of the free mulch, but the huge piles that are usually there were all gone. :-(

This bamboo is fighting me to the end.

- Brent

The area that was treated with Round Up has significantly less new shoots and the new shoots do not look very healthy. My guess is that the Round Up did a better job or killing the root system. The full strength Round Up is pretty pricey, but I think I will purchases some more and give that a try.

- Brent

Brent- this site might give you some info re strength of solution and best time to use it. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-648.html

I strongly urge you to read the info on the link below. It summarizes the concerns many of us have regarding the use of RoundUp and similar herbicides.

- Brent

I've done some digging of bamboo and have a few barriered patches. I think if I were dealing with out of control bamboo I'd decide where to contain it. Rent a mini-excavator (more fun than an amusement park), install barrier to keep it contained and wage war against any bamboo outside of the barrier. Mini-excavator is probably useful for digging up some of that as well.

Stay vigilant. If the plant has no way to gain energy (leaves, green stalks) eventually it runs out and dies. If you really want it dead, cut off all it's energy and keep it deprived. Don't ever let it have a leaf and it's years are numbered. Combine that with some digging and some chemical warfare......

Another strategy that works is post in your local swap sheet - Bamboo for free you dig. Post on the garden web bamboo forum and many people will come decent distances to get some. Bamboo is expensive if you buy mature plants. The garden web bamboo forum can also help you figure out what species you have (via pictures and descriptions) so your free bamboo add can be even more descriptive/attractive.

It occurs to me that you could pit kudzu against bamboo and make a horror movie of the Godzilla vs. Megatron variety.

- Brent

Bamboo is really an amazing beast. I would have loved to do some time elapsed photography. New shoot would emerge and be 4' tall in a few days. The problem with the stuff that I had was that the roots were almost as vigorous, it is extremely hard work to dig up, and it is very tough to kill.

- Brent

Also, I thought that I would have a lot of bamboo stakes to use. I have found that all the stakes from my bamboo become very brittle within a year if exposed to weather. I don't know if most bamboo stakes come from another type of bamboo or if I needed to treat them somehow.

Mowing? An interesting thing about bamboo is that a large stand of bamboo may just be one plant. Even if you mow or cut down one area the large root mass underground is still being nourished by the standing bamboo and it will continue to send out runners and throw up shoots.

- Brent

Actually a lot of the bamboo that I have been working to remove is on common area. There was no way I was going to dig a two foot trench in an area that is hard clay with a bunch of tree roots. From what I understand, a small patch was planted in one of my neighbors' yard and it spread to take over a big chunk of my backyard and another neighbor's backyard. I figure I am doing myself and the HOA a favor by removing it.

- Brent

I realize that merely cutting it down doesn't remove the problem, but it would help control it a little bit.

Folks offer plants on our local freecycle all the time. You set the terms, after all--it's your property.

jocelyn

thanks so much! i hadn't heard of freecycle before, but i just joined a bunch in my area.

sharon

I really want to plant a few evergreens this fall, so my wife and I have started attacking the bamboo by digging. It seemed like we would just have to dig up the few spots where there was above ground growth. Unfortunately once we started digging we turned up a lot of underground roots with green color. The bamboo roots and stumps are so thick and intertwined that digging is an extremely tough job.

- Brent

after thought: it has been my experience that simply pruning back some varieties to excercise control is not effective, the plants love it and only grow back stronger and heartier.

Thanks

Royal

Actually I cannot imagine anybody coming over, seeing how aggressively my bamboo has spread and seeing how difficult it is to dig up just a small portion walking away wanting to plant the stuff in their yard.

This past fall I felt that my bamboo was beat back enough to allow me to plant 3 Thuja 'Green Giant' trees. That seems like a much better idea than planting running bamboo.

- Brent

Step Two. I know that the truly hard part starts now. I plan on digging up as much of the root system as I can. Then doing the bamboo walk (2 times a week cutting down all the shoots) until the entire plant is KILLED! I realize this is a big project, but I will persevere like I have never done before. My neighbors are all on board and say they will help to kill it, but I am pretty sure that I will be the one doing all the work. Wish me luck.

To everyone out there interested in how to treat bamboo so it doesn't crack here is a great website:
http://www.webspirit.com/fluteman/book/preface.htm
Look under the section talking about how to cure bamboo. Basically you take a propane torch and burn the oils and water out. I did make a bunch of bamboo sake cups and pitchers to give to friends and family that have been very well received.

Even though I like the use of bamboo for cups, floors and cutting boards doesn't mean I want ANY of it in my yard.

Eric In DC

ps. I'm actually in MD.
pps. I have gotten rid of all the English Ivy in the yard.

Thanks,
andy pratt

Another question. If I use the RoundUp and it kills the grass as well as the bamboo, how thick do I need to put new topsoil in order to establish a regular lawn? Thanks for any help on this matter.

I last posted on March 8th. Since then I have dug up about 1/3 of the roots using a mattock. This is hard work, but I have made good progress with the time I have had to work with. I am also continuing to cut down any shoots that come up to make sure that no leaves are supplying the roots with sugar. I hope to be done with this project by fall so I can replace the soil and plant a real garden!

Here is a link to the Greenman Show and website. He has a great publication on Bamboo - See the publication called "Don't Get Bamboozled" The Greenman Show

Also check out his blog and post a comment there as well on bamboo.

Mr. Mills: I think you will only be able to control the bamboo. Just keep cutting down any bamboo that grows in your yard. Don't let it get big and cut early and cut often. You will continue to have this problem until all parties involved want to get rid of it, and it doesn't sound like he wants to get rid of it. I don't know if there are county ordinances against growing it and if you have a case. I do know that even here in Montgomery County, MD, which is supposedly an environmentally friendly county, that the county uses running bamboo for erosion control. I don't get why anybody would ever plant this stuff. Another option is to sell the house. Most people don't realize that bamboo is bad until they have had to deal with it firsthand.

Good luck.

I drive by that house on ocassion and see that the current owners have attempted to remove the bamboo by continously cutting it to the ground.

- Brent

How far will shoots grow underground until they can find a place to pop out of the soil again? The reason I ask is I wonder if I could cover the area with old carpets -- after digging up roots and applying salt or something. I was thinking of making this part of the yard a rock garden because it is so shaded. So, I could put down the carpet, then landscaping vinyl, then the rocks. But, I wouldn't want the bamboo to creep to the edge and end up shooting up in the middle of my yard.

Any thoughts?

He has shoots coming up at THE OTHER END of his pool. They go under for a good 30 feet!!! Also, hard to do anything with chemicals becasue we have 2 beautiful japanese cherry trees in the area and do not want to harm them.

As for sodium Chlorate: is is Sodium Chloride? The stuff that is used to melt snow?

If so it is easy to find but again, this kills all plant life in the area. AAAARGGHH waht to do?

I am going to try this - wonder if it will work?

Take round up and mix. (Or the Sodium Chl. mix)
Dig up bamboo root strands.
Fill empty soda bottles with the Round up solution.
stick the root end in there and tie them to the fence.

Does it sound like the herbicide will go back to "THE SOURCE" roots?

It should be illegal to plant these pestes, since now we are forced to consider harsh chemical use. The chemicals will eventually pollute the environment. One way or the other.

SAD.....

I have a border of bamboo that is about 30 feet long and 3 feet wide. I try to go around the border every year and cut off the runners but I missed a year and it went racing away up to 8 feet from the main bed! :( I'm thinking of killing it because it casts afternoon shade on an area that is now my vegetable garden which could use extra sun. But it is also such a nice screen...SIGH...it's hard to have it all sometimes...

- Steve

I can't get a bobcat in here without busting an opening in a hundred year old stone garden wall. The bamboo is growing along the wall (of course). Surely there's something that will posion this monster ... will I get there eventually with years of round-up or is there a faster way?

Jeezzz, what a nightmare.

We also have large running bamboos and we're fighting with one of them to finish encircling and (hopefully) controlling it. Other places we've planted running bamboo it's growing down into the wild forest and ravine so it's not a big threat to our landscaping efforts and water gardens.

I'm crazy and admit to loving bamboo so am hoping that a peaceful coexistence can be achieved. It does have great screening properties and the beauty is undeniable.

The one clumping bamboo (Bambusa multiplex 'Alphonse Kerr') we have is lovely but only hardy to z8, so it gets a lot of leaf burn below 12 degrees (which we probably get one or two winter nights of here). It looks ratty until mid-summer, then it shoots and sends out new leaves and is great looking with yellow and green striped culms.

Despite my own irrational preferences, I really wouldn't recommend running bamboo to anyone unless they have a huge property and the time and equipment to contain it adequately.

had i not done this now it would have become a bigger and bigger job! i dug down about 1.5 feet and removed the rhizome. i followed any roots that escaped the barrier. there werent too many and took them out as much as i could without digging my yard up. i got the main web of the plant out and raked out as many of the rhizomes as i could.

so now i'll just keep a look out for shoots and take care of them as i see them.

thankfully my bamboo problem was taken care of sooner than later! i could totally see how this plant could take over the whole garden then i'd have to dig it all up which would be time consuming and expensive.

where once i thought it was a cool plant, now i think of it as toxic waste.

I just found this site, and have been reading up...

I love bamboo, but then I have 7 acres surrounded by woods, and horses that eat ALL my plantings, so that they would keep the bamboo to a dull roar...especially if I pay for it!!

I was wondering if anybody would consider sending me roots?? I will pay, at least for shipping... (: I guess you just dig a clump of the little stuff, wrap it in a bunch of wet newspaper, and ship.

My email addy is fatoldfarmwife@verizon.net

Thanks so much.

Beth (:

I have just cut 30 sq.ft of Bamboo to the ground and now plan to eradicate the roots.

Is it realistic to expect that if I douse the main area with the Round Up (or put bags of salt upon the roots) it will reach out to all the runners?

Shoud I attempt to cut as many of the roots as I can to allow for better absortion or is it adequate to just pour the Round Up over the roots?

Lastly, the roots are now running alongside my neighbor's basement, is it possible that bamboo could be so invasive that it may crack the concrete foundation?

I can't answer your questions with certainty but much has been written on the subject. However, I would not use salt becauce it can permanently damage your soil.

Also, I believe the roots of bamboo can damage your neighbors foundation. Good luck!

The rhyzone will die eventually if the clums are isolated. There is still existing bamboo on the neighbors property in that area it keeps coming up. I cut it close to below ground level.It's been a long battle but I got it under control, finally.

My neighbor tried the light in my window but I put a stop to that one. More later. Charlie

I'm currently in the process of destroying a 20 year+ stand of running bamboo. It was so bad; it was coming toward the house (foundation) very quickly, so something had to be done. I hired someone to cut down the bamboo to ground level and then to grind the stumps down to a depth of 1.5 feet. A big production!

Well, that'd be great except the previous owner had created a lovely oriental garden, complete with a "stream" of river rock that the bamboo was meant to nestle against. Ha! "Nestle" doesn't begin to describe the relationship between rock and bamboo! I was digging out bamboo stocks with stones and brick wrapped in their roots -- they were like primitive clubs. I could bang the cement patio with one of these clubs (howling like a ninja because the whole thing is so insane!) and nothing would budge.

I'm currently mid-process of removing the stones, one at a time, while at the same time poisoning the stalks with Cross Bow (very toxic stuff). I'm liking what I'm reading about just breaking off the stalks to eventually starve out the whole plant.

But that leaves the hubs. Someone earlier in the thread had said that dead bamboo is harder to remove than living (plus I got all those rocks clinging on for dear life). So I was thinking -- what'd the ancient Chinese do? Surely they didn't have Cross Bow (or Knock Out). So I'm thinking FIRE!

My plan now on the upcoming Memorial Day is to put barbecue briquets (that white hot "gray dust" stage) on the bamboo (dead) hubs to see if that will burn them and soften them enough to decompose.* Those hubs are horrible -- you can't plant anything around them because they're as hard as rock and deep.

What a mess! Ah, for the sweet serenity of a flat lawn with a perennial border!!

*The interesting thing about burning bamboo for anyone who's tried this -- it "pops" due to the air in the chambers between the nodes. I have this vision of Mem Day with a great popping yard, bursts of soils thrown to the heavens.

Chemical herbicides can’t kill the massive underground root systems of bamboo or thistle, but all-natural high-strength vinegars can! Cut down all the above ground growth and soak the area with a high strength vinegar (see below) when the soil is bone dry and no rain is predicted.

(Be careful—you must wear protective gear, especially safety glasses.) The high acidity of the vinegar will lower the soil pH down to around 3, and that region will become a dead zone.

Leave it like that for at least a month—longer if you can. Maybe even soak the ground again a week or two later for good luck. When you’re sure it’s really most sincerely dead, raise the pH back up with wood ashes or lime, and soil life will return and the ground will be fertile again—but those roots should stay daid.

"Greensense 20% acidity vinegar" is white vinegar that's four times more potent than the household variety.

That's the vinegar they are referring to.

if any of you have any bamboo left over and want to get rid of it, I am looking for some.

My email is fraserbest@gmail.com