Anyone know how to get rid of bamboo?

[mcdeyess]

Yeah I have heaps of the stuff down one side of my IP.

I believe to get rid of bamboo permanently you basically have to dig it out... well I don't have the money for that ATM and it does provide some great shade and a good barrier on that side as their is a really shoddy half fence.

So I wanted to try and mantain it a bit, I read that you could cut it above the knot and spray roundup on it..... that would stop it growing back in that spot.

We tried this with some success, some have grown back (insanely quickly due to the recent rain) ... others look to have died off.

Suggestions ???

Cheers,
McDeyess

 

[Simon]

It is a 2 person job. One cuts it close to the ground while the other paints it with Roundup within 15 seconds. This is vital as the sap will stop flowing by then and you want the sap to carry the poison back to the rhizome. You need to mix the Roundup (or any glysophate based poison) at a strong dose. I would even mix it about 50/50 but then I tend to overdo these things ....

This must be an invasive type of bamboo. Perhaps planted in the 70's when they were trendy.

If anyone wants to plant Bamboo in the ground be sure to buy a clumping variety. They will stay within a set boundary and look fantastic.

But if you want a potted bamboo then an invasive one will fill the pot best. They can look really terrific as a feature.

I am keen on a bamboo hedge in our new PPOR but I will be very careful to select the correct variety.

 

[BoatBoy]

This'll sort it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Qn_LkOhGg

This'll sort anything

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvAI7-Qa2Io

Dave

 

[phil]

My mother had it along one side of her property a few years ago. From memory, she cut the bamboo and instead of applying Round-up, she used diesel fuel. Perhaps not very environmentally friendly, but it seemed to work. Perhaps as a last resort ?

Phil.

 

[mcdeyess]

Yeah tried the roundup method with mixed results. Had two of us doing it, one cutting and the other applying roundup straight away.

checked out a few gardening sites apparently you have to keep cutting it, until the cluster you are working on is out of "energy" so to speak. Then it won't sprout any more and dies off. If I keep the barrier I will need to dig a trench 2-3 feet deep and install an angled plastic barrier to prevent the roots growing horizontally. ..... this is going to be fun isn't it

 

[Simon]

Anyone buying bamboo for the ground would be nuts to choose the invasive type. Many councils have banned it.

Clumping bamboo doesn't have runners and keeps to a circle usually around a metre in diameter.

I think is is a beautiful architectural plant used correctly.

 

[The Y-man]

My mother had it along one side of her property a few years ago. From memory, she cut the bamboo and instead of applying Round-up, she used diesel fuel. Perhaps not very environmentally friendly, but it seemed to work. Perhaps as a last resort ?

Phil.

Did she light it?

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Darren1968]

killing bamboo

There is a product designed for killing blackberry bushes which are notoriously hard to kill.

Aparently it is much better at this sort of job than roundup.

Any decent gardening or hardware store will have it.

As above, you need to apply within 15-30 seconds after cutting otherwise the plant will seal up to protect itself.

 

[phil]

Did she light it?

Cheers,

The Y-man

I'm just glad she didn't inhale it. I had images in my mind of me bringing her a cup of tea, only to see her passed out somewhere in the "bamboo forest" . The diesel idea came from her 80 year old friend. Reminds me a bit of Bill Brysons book "The Thunderbolt Kid", where everything in the 50's and 60's was good for you; cigarettes, pesticides, alcohol etc. Very funny book.

Phil.

 

[Dis]

Anyone know how to get rid of bamboo?

Pandas....

 

[wish-ga]

Might be a bit low tech but maybe the technique for weeds will work (benefit is it will not harm the soil)... boil the kettle and pour it on the roots. When the bamboo is dead you can pull/dig out roots.

 

[mcdeyess]

Yes Panda's was actually an idea we considered

Hard to get a Panda in Australia though, I did read of another option though... PIGS. Apparently they are great as they eat not only the bamboo sticks but the roots as well. You just have to make sure they don't destroy any of your other plants.

Cheers,
McDeyess

 

[Pushka]

One of the 3 'rules' we have in this household is:

Find yourself a good woman (a family of boys and meant to be taken as humerous)
Hit the ball along the ground (a cricketing family) AND
Dont plant bamboo.

We found a cure though, we moved!

Pandas are coming to Adelaide later next year...for 10 years.

 

[Glenn]

Pleasure and Pain....

I have heard that cutting bamboo back very short and then FERTILIZING the hell out of it will actually poison it.

The theory is that once cut down, the plant does not have the leaf area large enough to process the amount fertilizer that it is sucking into it's roots.

I guess the use of snake anti-venom and snake bite is a similar theory...a little bit is good, but too much can be a problem.

The fertilizer that I would use would either be fresh chicken or sheep manure or something like thrive applied directly to the roots and lightly watered in.

Good luck

Glenn