How to kill a spreading bamboo

Tom2006
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How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Tom2006 »

I have a bamboo in my garden (for the last 6 years) that until this year has done very little. However this year it has gone crazy and is a meter taller than before and is pushing out very invasive runners. I unfortunately don't know what it is (as a friend gave it to me in a pot when the garden was just soil, so I just bunged it in) but I have never been a big fan, but it has filled a hole and gave some evergreen colour.

Basically I now want it gone as its badly crowding out other plants, mainly due to its height and therefore shade. Is there anything that I can put on the main clump of culms that will kill all the runners by systemic action?....OR do I just need to try to dig it all up?
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jacko

Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by jacko »

raze it to the ground,dose it with glyphosate repeatedly,any new growth immediately cut it to the ground when it is a foot long dont let the new growth leaf up as this is what supplies the underground rhizomes its energy.keep cutting off all new topgrowth and it will eventually starve the rhizomes of energy and die.you could speed the process up by physically removing as much as possible first (above and below ground).
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The Codfather
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by The Codfather »

I have got a similar problem......sasa planted in by previous owners....runners are in the lawn and next door. I have tried every weed killer avaialble.....I have now been digging it out for the last 3 weeks....an hour a night after work.....

Just dig it out.....thats the best way.
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Trudytropics

Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Trudytropics »

I've a feeling this problem is going to be encountered by a number of people on here. Bamboo seems to take a while to establish, then whoosh its off, this years wet seems to have speeded up growth. I'll get my machete sharpened :roll: :lol:
Tom2006
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Tom2006 »

Thanks guys. Is Roundup worth using? Going to hit it a few times with chemicals then dig out.

I think your right Trudy, it looks great but when it takes over its fellow plants aren't happy.
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Dave Brown
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Dave Brown »

I kept saying I fell out of love with Bamboo when it ran amok, and loads of people seemed to think it was a problem with living in warm area. :roll:

Only last week I discovered that Sasa plamata that I thought I had got rid off, was lurking underground and is now pushing concrete out of the way. Real thugs here are Sasa palmata, Phyllostachys nigra, and Pseudosasa japonica :roll: A poor 4th here is bell bind and Ivy.

Best of luck as I have not managed to get rid of any of the above, they keep coming back :ahhh!:
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Mick

Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Mick »

Years ago I foolishly planted one in the ground, within 12 months it was coming up everywhere and it even crossed under a path and started pushing through the lawn.

This might not be the best solution for everyone but I've had some success injecting glyphosate directly into the plant.

If I ever plant bamboo again I'll sink a dustbin in the ground and plant it in that.
Tom2006
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Tom2006 »

Sounds like I have fun times ahead! Can I buy glycophospate neat or is it in an over the counter brand?
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kracker

Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by kracker »

Question about planting i bought a 17inch bucket the other day for planting a boo would this be considerd deep enough !
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karl66
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by karl66 »

Kracker i would say thats just about ok, although some say 2ft?, i have about 25 large boo's of different varietys planted directly into the ground :ahhh!: , some have root barriers others not. I think as long as you stay away from ones like puesudo japonica with the big leaves or similar they can be contained, when i start to seperate mine to bridge more gaps in the fence i think i may bury in a 70 litre pot or similar to avoid grief in the future. From my experience of digging out spreading boo's the surrounding soil area & about 10 inches down becomes as solid as concrete & is impossible to get a spade through. Does anyone use a specific cutting tool to seperate groves that cuts through with ease?, i was thinking of a sharp bolster & a lump hammer. karl.
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karl66
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by karl66 »

Talking of spreading, forgot to mention the varietys i keep, please excuse the spellings!!, phyllosachys castallonis & castallonis inversa, aurea, vivax autacalis, autaculis sulcata, nigra. puesudo japonica although this is in a deep barrier. Yashadakei kimmie pink bamboo, fargesia super jumbo & campbell. karl.
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karl66
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by karl66 »

Also before i turn in for the night!!, i have a large spreading phyllos spectabilis that despite being in a barrier for less than 1 year is going mental in this weather, my experience with most bamboo suppliers is indifferent as some say certain ones will def not spread & others say the opposite, i think its more down to soil type & lots of hard clay is probably the best barrier in the long term :lol: . karl.
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

They stop spreading when they meet the sea. :lol:
Palmer

Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Palmer »

Tom2006 wrote:Sounds like I have fun times ahead! Can I buy glycophospate neat or is it in an over the counter brand?

Tom, I used glyphosate to kill Sasa sakhalinensis a horrible bamboo that sends runners out several feet… bought the glyphosate from Wilkos.
Be very careful when using it though because it will kill any other plant near it, and you can’t plant anything in the treated area for about a year.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/weedkiller ... t/0223726/
Tom2006
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Re: How to kill a spreading bamboo

Post by Tom2006 »

Palmer wrote:
Tom2006 wrote:Sounds like I have fun times ahead! Can I buy glycophospate neat or is it in an over the counter brand?

Tom, I used glyphosate to kill Sasa sakhalinensis a horrible bamboo that sends runners out several feet… bought the glyphosate from Wilkos.
Be very careful when using it though because it will kill any other plant near it, and you can’t plant anything in the treated area for about a year.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/weedkiller ... t/0223726/
Thanks for the help!....OUCH regarding not being able to plant anything else. I have read up and it says to cut the stems to 6" above the ground and then apply the chemical within 15 seconds. If I use the Glyphosphate in direct application and it goes down into the roots/rhizomes, will it leach out into the surrounding soil? Would something like Roundup be better?
Most wanted list - Any Young Trachycarpus and/or fern.
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