Jaime Pabilonia of Youngstown grows bamboo, which can be invasive. He said the sidewalk helps keep it from spreading too much.
From time to time, we post a question and ask for input from our readers. If you have an idea on how to help, please leave a comment.
I hope you can help with a gardening concern I have. My neighbor has bamboo growing in their front yard. Right now it’s sending shoots out into just their yard. However, I’m terrified it will creep into my yard. I’ve read some scary things online about bamboo. Can you tell me how damaging this can really be and if there is anything I can’t do to protect my house from this stuff? It’s an old Buffalo neighborhood where the houses are quite close and the foundations are over 90 years old! Scary thought.
Thanks,
Alissa
Readers, can you help Alissa? Does her neighbor’s bamboo pose a threat to Alissa’s foundation? How should she handle this problem? Please leave a comment below.
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First thing that I would do is to talk to the neighbor since running bamboo spreads by rhizomes even a tiny piece leaft behind will start growing and spreading. If talking to the neighbor about your concerns doesn’t work, I have heard that using salt water or rock salt on the emerging bamboo will work. Be aware it will also kill any surrounding vegetation too
I agree with Penny. Running Bamboo is hard to contain, even if planted in restricting containers. It will eventually find your yard.
Those are great suggestions. If the neighbor isn’t trying to control the bamboo, it sounds like the neighbor will have a problem soon, too. I had thought of trying to slow down the bamboo by planting it in a pot and placing the pot in the ground, but judging from these comments, that might not be as effective as we’d like. Can bamboo be destructive to the foundation of a house?
yes it can be destructive to the foundation. As those rbizomes spread and reach the foundation it it like so many tree and shrub roots and cause crazing or fissures in the foundation and possible water seepage into the basement or crawl space but bamboo is even more aggressive. Because of its extra fast growth and spread it does make a good and environmentally friendly building material but that is probably its only redeeming grace.
The first thing I would do is find out WHAT KIND OF BAMBOO it is. There is a house on LeBrun in Amherst which has bamboo that is in thick clumps but does not spread the way running bamboo does. Also check to see that it isn’t Japanese knotweed…it looks like bamboo and is highly invasive….it will have white flowers in August/September. I would definitely talk to your neighbor first to find out the kind of bamboo, and then discuss options.
Hopefully your neighbor is open to solutions.
I found two websites that may be of some help.
1. The first is from a site that sells bamboo and discusses running vs. clumping. That’s why I mentioned checking which kind you have. Clumpers do spread too, but are not invasive. You need to scroll down a bit to find the section on the two types.
http://bamboo.home.texas.net/control.html
2. The second webpage gives suggestions for how to deal with running bamboo. Timing of removal of new shoots and mowing apparently are important.
http://bamboo.home.texas.net/control.html
Hope that helps.
Kirsten
Kirsten,
Thanks for all that information. I talked to someone who had Japanese knotweed in his yard, and it sounds horribly invasive. He had to use a backhoe to get it out.
http://www.buffalo-niagaragardening.com/2011/07/12/country-boy-and-city-girl-get-best-of-both-worlds-in-lockport/
Alissa did mention that it is already sending out runners. Clumping bamboo to my knowledge will not send out runners. So that does suggest running bamboo as opposed to clumping bamboo.
This can cause a lot of problems if it isn’t dealt with quickly. The roots can grow over into your property, even if the stalks themselves don’t.
Trenching metal flashing will deter for a short while. Bamboo will eventually overcome the barrier. Trenching& then extreme salting have been my best defenses. It leaves the bamboo in a natural clump, while giving definition to the garden. The salt is contained in the trench& also accessible to runners so no salt burns to any other plants.
Thanks for this new idea. How do you keep the salt in the trench?
I water the trench then salt. The salt sticks to the muddy walls.
I think I’m understanding now. You dig a trench around the bamboo plant. You coat the inner wall, the one closest to the bamboo plant, with salt. Then you add the metal flashing and fill any gaps with soil. The salt may leech downward, but it won’t leech outward because of the metal blocking it from the rest of your landscape. Do I have that right?
Yes that is how I do it. The metal degrades after a while but I’m usually ready to change things by that time.
Thanks so much for taking the time to explain it. I couldn’t quite picture it.
Thanks for all the information. It sounds like I may have to go on defense.
Bamboo growing from your neighbors yard into yours is a criminal trespass. It is also a legal nuisance. It is their financial responsibility to remove the bamboo from your yard, to make sure the bamboo does not trespass in the future, and to return your yard to the condition is was in prior to the invasion. I would start by contacting your city attorney. If she can’t be of assistance then you need a real estate attorney.
I hadn’t thought of the bamboo situation that way. It’s another option she can consider. Thanks for writing.
I almost bought a house in Virginia where the bamboo had grown through the sidewalk. It had grown up through the expansion joints where the concrete broke and cracked from its own weight leaving room for more bamboo to grow. I am so glad that we never bought that house. At the time I didn’t know what this plant could do. I thought we could just dig it out like any other plant.
Carol, that is amazing! Until a couple years ago, I didn’t even know that bamboo would grow in our area, much less that it was so invasive. Thanks for sharing that.
Connie:
Bamboo seems to grow anywhere. It is as far north as Canada. I have seen it covered with snow and I have seen it growing in sand in a drought. I am sure that it has qualities that some people find valuable, but I think it does not have a place as a landscaping plant in a residential neighborhood. There needs to be laws.
Here is a website that will explain all. https://www.facebook.com/InstituteOfInvasiveBambooResearch
Caryn has been doing research for many years now and has spoken with many authorities on the subject as well as having to deal with the plant on a personal level. The U.S.D.A. is sending people with questions to Caryn. If you need help please call Caryn at 203 734-6344.
Carol, that’s very helpful information. I see that there are towns in New York State that have banned the growing of this bamboo. The link you listed is for the Facebook page. The website has even more information: https://sites.google.com/site/invasivebambooresearch/
I think Alissa will find it helpful.
There are towns in New York State, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey that have already passed ordinances. North Carolina Beach towns are looking to have ordinances passed as well as Connecticut and Massachusettes. This (Phyllostachys) invasive bamboo is really a problem. I have a neighbor who planted it on the property line, and I am hoping our county looks into the situation soon as it has already cost us 3,000 dollars to keep it off of our property. I live in Florida, and I just got back from a trip to Georgia where I saw it growing wild on the side of the road. You are right, Caryn’s website if full of great information. The sellers of this bamboo are trying to discredit her. Do not be fooled!