War on Bamboo

[stevelau1911]

My bamboos are finally starting to show some growth. I noticed some 2 rhizomes coming out of my 1 gallon moso plant under the mulch, and 4 shoots of varying sizes from 1 inch to 13 inches. The only drawback is that they are skinny shoots.

My P vivax seedling is finally putting up 1 shoot that I noticed about 2 days ago which is about 2 inches by almost 1/2 inch in thickness which I hope gets higher than 6ft. Theres also now growth on the original plant which is like 1 cm thick.

Once I buy my camera, I will start sharing my results on this forum.

[waterman1971]

Hey guys, wanted to bump this and let everyone know that I have successfully eradicated any trace of bamboo on my property!! Thanks to all that helped me out. Merry Christmas!

[sydney123]

Acid should do the trick, hahah.. You can use petrol/gas, but that will spoil the soil for years, so unless you plan on planting there, petrol is your best bet

[mitimnow]

Originally Posted by waterman1971

Hey guys, wanted to bump this and let everyone know that I have successfully eradicated any trace of bamboo on my property!! Thanks to all that helped me out. Merry Christmas!

Sorry about the incomplete entries... New Computer ! How were you able to eliminate the bamboo? Where I live they passed a law against bamboo planting and the owner could be heavily fined. I need to rid my yard of bamboo but not all. I have about 5 or more different varieties and would love it if it was contained...but it is not. So before the town fines me I need to get rid of a lot of bamboo.

[ShmuBamboo]

A law against planting bamboo?

I presume that it is some local ordinance like in a condoplex or something? I have read that some other states have some restrictions on bamboo, and that bamboo is listed as an invasive species in some states. Which it can be, but only on a local level, and it does not flower/seed and invade massive areas like most invasive plant species do. Also there are plants that are called 'bamboo' that are not really bamboos, like Bamboo Palm in Florida, or sacred bamboo in Georgia (Nandina, commonly called 'Heavenly bamboo').

Location has a lot to do with invasiveness. In Delaware, for example, Norway maples are listed as highly invasive. I have them growing here on my property, and they are hardly invasive at all. The deer eat all the seedlings, and there are no other Norway maples growing here other than the three that I have that are 50 feet tall. They have not produced any dense stands, as they say they do in Delaware. In Connecticut, you can be fined for growing sycamore trees, whereas here in the west they are commonly planted as street trees.

Several species of bamboo are listed on the Delaware invasive species list as well, but they are not restricted. Delaware law actually requires you to control bamboo from running into your neighbor's property, or you can be held liable. They specifically list Phyllostachys aurea, nigra, bambusoides, heterocycla, aureosulcata, and Pleoblastus pygmea and variegatus. In Florida and Georgia, Phyllostachys aurea (Golden bamboo) is a catagory II invasive. In Virginia and North Carolina, Phyllostachys aurea is listed as mildly invasive. NY state has no invasive listings of any Bamboos that I am aware of.

Compared to the invasives such as hydrilla, Japanese knotweed, Scotch brooms, mile-a-minute, morning glory, Canada and Bull thistles, English ivy, blackberry? The bamboos are downright tame. Of course, I do not live in the South where bamboo stands are far more common than around here. Also golden bamboo gets a bad wrap for whatever reason. That stuff is gold in my book, and I have sold more of that species than any other bamboo. For the reasons that it is a great screening plant, it grows fast, it is deer proof, it is drought tolerant, it is rather frost tolerant, and it looks good. In the end, all species of bamboos will flower and die, and in all likelyhood they will become extinct if they are not replanted or tended to by humans. Not so with the vast majority of invasive plant species on the critical lists of many states. They spread like mad.

[stevelau1911]

I'm in upstate NY, and I find that bamboos (phyllostachys varieties) are first off not very invasive since it seems like it requires very warm soil temperatures to activate rhizome growth, and without regular watering, rhizomes don't spread very far.

If you already have a few boos out of control they can simply be put under control by lopping the extra canes, digging a trench around an area that can be contained, lopping a few canes in the grove to the point where there's enough room for new shoots to rise and so it doesn't get way too crowded with root mass, and you can have well maintained groves.

Here's a link that shows some of my in ground bamboos. Another thing that may keep them in check is to take frequent divisions, or keep the # of culms limited so they don't overproduce in energy and send rhizomes out super far.

http://stevesbamboogarden.blogspot.c...-now.html#more

[femurat]

nice blog steve

[Mary07]

I, too have been trying to stop the invasion of bamboo--by digging the rhyzones. Even posted "Free Bamboo" on Craig's list. Now I've decided to use it in crafts or fencing. I'm interested in any suggestions (keep it clean, please and no, I don't want to make a bong!). Anybody know how to weave the slender boo into baskets?