wild bamboo

Discussion in 'HortForum' started by toutant, May 10, 2005.

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  1. toutant

    toutant New Member

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    Duncan, B.C.
    I have wild bamboo growing and it is taking over, does anyone have sugeestions to get rid of it. I have poured bleach on the roots with no success. It has a deep root system., I tryed cutting roots with an axe and still did not kil it, Thanks, Diana
     
  2. Carol Ja

    Carol Ja Active Member 10 Years

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    Bamboo is hard to get rid of if it isn't a clumping variety.
    First I would call someone who knows about bamboo, my nieghbor is called the bamboo guy, his number is 250-537-1808, as your in Duncan, and I on Saltspring, it isn't that far away.
    You can try several thing depending on the size of the plant.
    The first thing you need to do is cut down all the stuff that is growing upwards, as it will continue to grow vigorously if it can nurse off the bigger stems, sending out more shoots. Then think about how to remove the roots. Do this after you call bamboo guy.
    Find the center of the clump and get to the roots see them spreading? cut them.
    You can try poison, but I highly doubt it will work.
    Cut and remove as much as possible. Most bamboo has a really hard time growing with just roots, (unless your in the tropics) It takes years for a big plant to gain momentum, and then it is a bit scary, but not impossible to deal with.

    (A back hoe if it is really big and you can get to it.) seriously!


    Good luck

    Carol Ja
     
  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    By wild bamboo do you mean Japanese knotweed? I have also heard scouring rush called bamboo.
     
  4. NiftyNiall

    NiftyNiall Active Member 10 Years

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    If you mean Japanese Knotweed, AKA Polygonum cuspidatum. then you have a problem, cutting the aboveground parts three times during it's growing season will deplete some of it's resources. But the only proven way to remove the plant it to cut in the fall, when the leaves are translocating into the large rhizome, then apply ACK; Roundup 25% solution into the cavities, you will have to do this for up to three years. Please not near watercourses. Doing this in combination with a large heavy duty tarp that covers the entire area, will eventually hopefully remove them. They have roots that spread out up to 60 feet away, and a few that penetrate deep into the ground, Removing the root mass will only make them mad, and they will sprout plants all over the place. GOOD luck,
     
  5. Weekend Gardener

    Weekend Gardener Active Member 10 Years

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    I have the impression that Duncan is in too cold a zone to support a bamboo, even a hardy one, to the extent that it is totally out of control. Not even the ubiquitous Phyllostachys aurea or Golden bamboo, which is one the of most aggressive of running bamboos. And even then, it won't be wild but introduced in someone's garden. After all people pay good money to get their hands on one. I suspect that the culprit is something other than a bamboo.

    If it is a well established running bamboo, it would be futile to try and dig the roots up by hand. Only a bobcat could do the job well enough that you have gotten rid of the whole thing. But then, you would have to dig every bit of rhizome up. The recommended method to deal with an out of control running bamboo is to starve it of nutrients - which means removing every bit of green photosynthesing part. This means cutting all the culms (i.e., the "canes") right to the ground. However, the bamboo will continue to send new shoots up and continue to do this for several years. You will need to be vigilant during this time and cut any new shoots off as soon as they appear. This is a slow process, as the rhizome and root mass is usually large, and there is an amazing store of nutrients underground that it can draw on. The process may take several years.

    When employing the above method, it is important to make sure that all the culms are cut down. When a bamboo spreads, it does so with underground rhizomes. These rhizomes can travel 10 to 15 feet, even more, so that you will start to see "satellite" clumps around the parent plant. You will need to treat every single one of those clumps as belonging to the one and same plant. If you cut down only the culms on your property but leave those outside your property line untouched, the latter will feed the "satellites" that you have cut down in your property. It is important to "isolate" the clumps that you want to eradicate by finding and severing any rhizomes that interconnect to other clumps.

    The American Bamboo Society has good articles and link to other useful websites on bamboo cultures. There is a chapter on how to control and get rid of bamboo.
     
  6. raceyladie

    raceyladie Member

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    Weekend Gardener:
    I live in Ontario and I have a major problem with Japanese Bamboo. I have tried diggging it out and I made it really mad I have so much Japanese bambooo that my yard is not even usable. So as far as it not surviving in the colder climate mine is thriving. I will try the solution posted and maybe in 3 years I will have my yard back.
    raceyladie
     
  7. raceyladie

    raceyladie Member

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    Thank You niftynail. This is the best solution I have been given.
    raceyladie
     
  8. dekart

    dekart Member

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    Hi Weekend Gardener! Hope all is great with your backyard. If you would like, I may take a look at your problem, and possibly fix it. Leave me a message please.
    Best regards.
     
  9. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    >So as far as it not surviving in the colder climate mine is thriving.<

    Almost certainly another instance of Japanese knotweed (or another knotweed) and not an actual bamboo.
     
  10. dekart

    dekart Member

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    It might be some sort of bamboo. There are few of them that are very well adopted for our climate.
     
  11. hortfreak

    hortfreak Active Member Maple Society

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    Ron B is almost certainly correct. I have never heard anyone refer to "wild" bamboo that was not referring to Japanese knotweed. Dekart, I have never heard of bamboo becoming invasive even in southern Ontario. In fact, most people struggle to keep them alive. You must be in the banana belt. The cold cutting them back in the winter pretty much takes care of any invasive tendencies. Would you like to share which species? As a lover of bamboo, I would be most interested in knowing what might possibly survive here.
     
  12. dekart

    dekart Member

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  13. hortfreak

    hortfreak Active Member Maple Society

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    Dekart---sorry, I guess I wasn't clear in what I was asking you. I am well aware of what is supposed to be hardy here, most of which aren't or will survive but barely. What I was asking you was, of your own personal experience/knowledge, what will do well consistently in southern Ontario---non-banana belt that is. Obviously I would not want runners, just clumpers.

    I had a Fargesia in my former garden that did not badly, but it did finally decide one very cold winter that it had had enough. Of course, the question of snow cover is an issue. It would help if we could rely on snow every winter, particularly before we get hit with the inevitable frigid period. Last winter I had no more than 2" of snow on the ground, and that was only for a short period of time.
     
  14. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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