If you don't like it @londondesi100 - don't keep it. See it as an opportunity to plant something else you really like and want.
I've never seen the point of hanging on to a plant if it's not what I really like, especially if it's requiring maintenance. Better to spend that time and effort on something more worthwhile
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I inherited a large stand of phyllostachys aurea (golden bamboo) and it’s definitely a vigorous runner, all phyllostachys types are, they can just take a while to take off. The milder your climate the more invasive they are. Fortunately mine is in a distant part of my land far from the garden, but I still have to regularly dig up runners metres away to stop it getting out of control. It’s actually a useful screen for me, but not really suitable for a small town garden.
Whatever it is, if it’s running, I would dig it up, including tracing back all runners to the mother plant and removing every inch of them, then treating any re-emerging shoots with the stump killer. Your neighbours will thank you for it too, as it will start popping up in their gardens before long!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Thank you @Fairygirl -- I have actually just bought that Vitax product you suggested. @Kili -- I am actually not sure what the bamboo variety is, so hoping someone knowledgeable here can help me identify (i thought from internet searching was a phyllostachys of some sort, but not sure-- I also actually thought that phyllostachys were all running kinds but that some were more rampant than others but am very happy for someone to correct me!) I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to help a newbie!
Mines is PHYLLOSTACHYS AUREA. I still have the original label that came with the plants. It says " Large clump forming bamboo ideal for screening".
It is very confusing though as doing a web search for PHYLLOSTACHYS AUREA also shows on some websites its listed as a running bamboo. Its clearly not! At least not in my garden and has performed as stated on the label as a clumping bamboo.
@Kili -- thanks-- perhaps its the freak hot london summer that caused it to run---if you don't mind me asking -- where are you based for yours to be nicely clumped still?
There is a massive amount of confusion over the difference between running and clumping forms of bamboo, clearly at the RHS too. The plant morphology of both are different. A clumping bamboo has short pachymorphic rhizomes and can only shoot upwards from those. The clump can get large and some types are more vigorous than others, but it is biologically impossible for it to ‘run’. A Fargesia bamboo is a classic, well-behaved clumper.
A running bamboo has leptomorphic rhizomes, which grow outwards away from the plant and can form new rhizomes anywhere along that length. Again, some are more vigorous and faster running than others. Classic runners are Phyllostachys and Sasa. So I’m afraid your label is incorrect @Kili, there is no such thing as a ‘clumping phyllostachys’, it’s running ability is a biological fact, but this ability can lie apparently dormant for many years as yours is doing. Climate and growing conditions can make a difference to vigour, how long it takes to run and sprinting speed, but can’t fundamentally change a runner into a clumper!
edited to say, Kili I just read your link and the RHS is actually correct, at the beginning it says “Phyllostachys are attractive, large, evergreen bamboos with running rhizomes, although in cool temperate climates may initially behave like clump-forming genera”
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie I have bamboo in my garden,Pleioblastus 'Variegatus' (i actually found the label intact and readable yesterday whilst trying to remove said bamboo.After twenty years of being in the garden i reckon it's not biodegradable ,the label,not the bamboo!)Anyway,on reading up on the bamboo it says that pruning makes the bamboo spread by encouraging it to put out new shoots.I'm wondering if that's where i've gone wrong as it's only recently i've pruned it to try and get rid and it's now spreading like mad
@Klink , @Nollie -- thank you . I didn't mean to start a raging debate about bamboo biology but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one confused on the topic! Good advice @Klink - perhaps it bears researching a bit more in case i accidentally invigorate rather than curtail its habit.
@londondesi100 I agree it's very confusing.I have another 'clump' of bamboo that's been in as long as my (now) problem bamboo but i only take out the dead canes so luckily it hasn't spread.(Fingers crossed it won't) I have taken some of the advice on your thread, for which i thank you; i've ordered some SBK weedkiller as suggested to you so hopefully,no more bamboo problem
Oh, don’t worry Londondesi, threads often meander away and one question prompts others and we all learn something new, which is the beauty of this forum.
I don’t think so @Klink, but I don’t know for sure. Bamboos can be pruned to control height, but Pleioblastus is a vigorous running type, even the so-called ‘dwarf’ varieties, so it’s just it’s nature to spread, like mad if it’s happy. Again, if you want to get rid of it, digging the whole lot up is the best option then keeping a beady eye out for bits you have missed.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
See it as an opportunity to plant something else you really like and want.
I've never seen the point of hanging on to a plant if it's not what I really like, especially if it's requiring maintenance. Better to spend that time and effort on something more worthwhile
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Whatever it is, if it’s running, I would dig it up, including tracing back all runners to the mother plant and removing every inch of them, then treating any re-emerging shoots with the stump killer. Your neighbours will thank you for it too, as it will start popping up in their gardens before long!
It is very confusing though as doing a web search for PHYLLOSTACHYS AUREA also shows on some websites its listed as a running bamboo. Its clearly not! At least not in my garden and has performed as stated on the label as a clumping bamboo.
Its no wonder people get confused but, checking the RHS site its clearly listed as a clumping varity https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/75274/i-Phyllostachys-aurea-i/Details.
Although it does say it can be a runner in warmer climates. You cant win can you.
Good luck with sorting it though can be a bit of a bu***r digging it out.
Kili
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
A running bamboo has leptomorphic rhizomes, which grow outwards away from the plant and can form new rhizomes anywhere along that length. Again, some are more vigorous and faster running than others. Classic runners are Phyllostachys and Sasa. So I’m afraid your label is incorrect @Kili, there is no such thing as a ‘clumping phyllostachys’, it’s running ability is a biological fact, but this ability can lie apparently dormant for many years as yours is doing. Climate and growing conditions can make a difference to vigour, how long it takes to run and sprinting speed, but can’t fundamentally change a runner into a clumper!
edited to say, Kili I just read your link and the RHS is actually correct, at the beginning it says “Phyllostachys are attractive, large, evergreen bamboos with running rhizomes, although in cool temperate climates may initially behave like clump-forming genera”
I don’t think so @Klink, but I don’t know for sure. Bamboos can be pruned to control height, but Pleioblastus is a vigorous running type, even the so-called ‘dwarf’ varieties, so it’s just it’s nature to spread, like mad if it’s happy. Again, if you want to get rid of it, digging the whole lot up is the best option then keeping a beady eye out for bits you have missed.