Bamboo has gotten a bad reputation, and in some cases, it is for good reason.
Most people categorize bamboo species into one of two groups: “Runners” and “Clumpers.” As the names suggest, species in the clumping group mainly clump together in a tight cluster, and rarely would cause problems as they could be easily dug out and moved or removed if someone regretted their placements. The running group, however, can spread quickly and are the ones that can become problematic. This is especially true in warm weather where the bamboo has access to an abundant water supply.
If you find yourself dealing with unwanted bamboo growth on your property, don’t worry, it is not as dramatic of a situation as the media has played it up to be! These are the 3 steps to solving your bamboo problem:
- Cut It All Down!
- Bamboo is not a tree, and because of the way it grows and connects together underground with an elaborate root structure, usually, the entire bamboo forest is actually one plant! This also means that most of the living “Biomass” of bamboo is actually underground! A lot of times, people try to cut down the part of the plant that is invading their property, but without first dividing the part of the colony that is on your property, the bamboo will continue to invade, being forever fueled by the rest of the plant. Cut all the culms to the ground, or as close as you can with a sharp saw (power tools make things easier), pruners, or machete.
- Fertilize, Water & Cut It Down Again!
- Now that you have cut the poles down, the underground biomass will not be fed via photosynthesis. You should now water and fertilize the root structure in order to encourage it to expend its energy trying to grow new shoots to replace the missing above-ground bamboo growth. Simply repeat the cutting process when you see the new shoots come up, disrupting its growth cycle and not allowing it to ever feed the root structure.
- Cut Anything That Pops Up
- Keep an eye out for any new shoots that try to pop up, and cut them as needed until the rootball has exhausted its energy and dies completely.
If you don’t want to cut the entire colony down, it is possible to divide the colony so you can keep a section alive before you follow the steps above.