I have a friend who would really like to put a bamboo barrier between his pond and some houses. Does anyone have ideas, thoughts, etc., on this? He needs to put in a LOT if this is the way he's going to go re fencing off the "attractive nuisance" of a body of water. What kinds are easier to control, but grow really fast? It doesn't need to get all that tall (though I don't think he'd object to tall) but he wants something impenetrable.
A cheap source for it would be good, too! We're talking about surrounding several acres.
Thanks for any input!
Bamboo? Help for a friend.
wow, I never imagined I'd see the words "cheap " and "bamboo" in the same paragraph, especially referring to foresting several acres... the 'runner ' kind will take an area...it will need some time though... yucca's are VERY prolific and you can take small chunks or even take a 'post' of them and lay it down and they will come up and make an impenetrable wall... Depending on what your perception of cheap is... I got my bamboo from bamboo buddy on ebay, its very far from cheap, I start my plants small coz they are cheaper, then they can get used to an area also... hope this helps
If you don't care what kind of bamboo you get though... i'd suggest getting in a truck and driving around til you find a field that noone has cared for in a while that has bamboo in it... bring a good shovel and make sure you get the roots, that is the important part of a new bamboo plant. May the force be with you.
Brig, there's a clumping Bamboo and a running Bamboo.....do NOT get the running one....make sure it is the clumping. From what I remember about it, each node has these sheaths around it.
http://www.bamboosourcery.com/catalog_sec.cfm?row=3
I would like to add that bamboo is a one shot deal - so do it right the first time.
If it is near anyone else's property, and it crawls there ... and you are asked to get rid of it, it is a commercial backhoe deal! Not easy AT ALL to dig up. It is like luggage. Once you have bought it, you can never get rid of it.
Having said that, I don't know of any "rapid" growing bamboo, and the clumping above seems to be the way to go, if it gets that thickness you are looking for.
:)
I have a some bamboo... it took 6 tries of free bamboo before I got one to take but it can be done. I would go to Freecycle and ask if you can get some bamboo starts, most people are thrilled to give you some. Along the fence line I am using giant cactus, big prickly pear. It grows fast and no one is ever ever ever going to cross ever. Bamboo is perfect for teenagers to hide in and do all types of things - that is why the place I got mine got rid of theirs.
LOL Mitch.
I saw an ad selling this stuff on CraigsList. They had tons but wanted $1000 for it. I thought this stuff grew fast like weeds and was surprised at the price. Perhaps this would be a great plant to grow and sell?
Has anyone seen this dark black colored bambo--quite pretty.
I agree - that is way too much.. I have a whole four stalks right now.. this stuff hates to be transplanted and it is bad for Texas. This ia a major bad plant for our natural areas. This is one of the plants I will totally take out and destroy if I went to sell this house. I only keep them here for a memory of my childhood...
Potted they would do well, no?
If you kept moist... moist I dont always have for my pots... so they tend to be cactus.
I've heard a couple of somewhat successful methods of controlling bamboo in the ground.
1. Dig a 6 foot deep trench around the bamboo area and bury a plastic barrier.
2. Pot the bamboo and then bury the pot
6 FEET DEEP?
I was exaggerating, but those bamboo roots can go down pretty far.
looks like the bamboo plastic barriers are 2-3 feet high, so 3 feet should do.
This message was edited Jul 13, 2007 7:02 AM
This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 4:44 PM
Take-away message.
Bamboo is bad!
:)
6 feet deep...oh lord.
Tir-Na-Nog~ black bamboo is beautiful, i have some that is very young....so does Wayne from zone 9 tropicals... Were you just admiring it or would you like some? What side of town are you on again?
HI I'm new here but I saw the post for bamboo and had to come in and read.
We just moved to the Tyler area and the place we bought has bamboo behind the house and plenty of it.
We would gladly let anyone wanting some to have at it.
I've been told you can't get rid of it as when you cut it the roots send out a signal to make more.
I have no idea we didn't have bamboo in Illinois.
So if anyone wanting some is in the Tyler area give me a holler and we can figure out a time for you to come and get some.
It is a grass...
Man.....Bamboo can be a real hassle. It can easily get out of hand and then you've got trouble.
It takes a chainsaw, a PHD, and a backhoe to finally kill the stuff off. The roots get absurdly deep. I don't know if I'd trust plastic to keep it at bay. Maybe several inches of concrete and a Koala Bear.
My Father-in-law had some that came over from his neighbor's house. It grew through the roof of my father-in-law's storage shed. There was no hole there before.
Take away message
Bamboo is BAD!
I know a few folks that like to eat the fresh new shoots. The tall bamboo canes also make excellent fishing poles. Bamboo is not totally bad but can get out of control...
Very useful plant, my wife and I are considering bamboo flooring.
We had beautiful bamboo at my house when we bought this place. By the next spring it was coming up everywhere! New shoots would be 3 feet tall in a matter of days, and coming up all over the yard. It was coming up all over the neighbors yard, too. Had to take it out, and keep cutting all the new shoots down. I can't get anything to grow there because there is a network of hard rhizomes? underground (I believe that is the name).
Anyway, be sure you want it. I think the clumping bamboo can spread, too-just not as bad.
We bought our house almost two years ago. The neighbor's bamboo had invaded our back yard to an extreme. I had a trench dug, 18 inches deep, and six inches wide, then filled in with concrete across the entire 65 feet length of our property border. I then spent over a year digging out an area for a pond, that was highly packed with roots. I had to use a pick axe on some of it!
That being said, I did leave a small 5' X 5' section enclosed all the way around with concrete. I harvest this area for bamboo stakes that I use for hollyhocks, brugmansias, tomatoes, etc. I have had some of these stakes actually sprout new leaves.
There is also one tiny spot in the very back corner of my yard that I allow a small sprig or two to grow, just for the sheer sadistic pleasure of cutting it down.
The picture here shows the bamboo growing on the other side of the fence, behind the pond. Actually, it is not bad to look at, and if contained within a concrete border, it can be very nice around a pond.
Sheral
Here is a picture of the area that I grow for harvesting bamboo stakes. Looking at it now, I guess that it is a bit larger than I thought. But, as you can see, it does make an excellent barrier, as suggested in the original post. This area has been contained very well with the trench filled with concrete. There must be a concrete barrier all around the bamboo, or the roots will get into everything, and will easily puncture the liner of a pond.
Sheral
