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Dreaded bamboo help!

CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
in Plants
My son has inherited a large bamboo in his garden that in 6 months had put a least a foot on in height and of course the spread. He has dug down around 18inches to put a rubber barrier down to prevent the many runners. Can anyone advise with pruning times and care and any advice please? 
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  • shazza 3shazza 3 Posts: 197
    my son had exactly the same problem. inherited it with new house. every time he pruned it, it grew twice as big. he's now spent half a day digging it out as it took over most of the border. i hope your son has more luck
  • brackenbracken Posts: 91
    Bamboo can be a nightmare, no amount of manual digging will get rid of that lot.  In the past we had a property with huge clumps.  Got rid of it in the end by hiring a mini digger and a skip.  Even then you need to go down really deep and not leave any bits else it will shoot again.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    Given how fast bamboo grows - and how it grows well in this country - I'm surprised it isn't used more extensively as a crop.
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I often use it when it’s be made into knitting yarn. Its used for so many things these days.  
    I bought some when I first started building this garden, it never spread anywhere, was lovely and tall, filled the space, made a lovely screen but they just don't suit cottage gardens so we pick axed it out last year. Sad really but you have to be ruthless, if you don’t like the plant, take it out. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    It's difficult to judge the size of that clump but I dug out a clump, approximately 3 metres x 1 metre, by hand.  I cut the canes down to about 1 metre high - that leaves a good amount to grip when trying to work it loose.  Dug all round the clump with a mattock.  Cut the clump into manageable size chunks by cutting down with an axe.  Then undercut each section to remove it.  The canes made is much easier for a helper to pull the clump to one side as was undercut.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I agree about the mini digger.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    It would help if suppliers whether GC's, Nurseries or specialists were a tads more explicit and honest about their sales info.
    If you look at the prices some of these Bamboos are being sold for - only to be ripped out by the unwary buyer a couple of years later - it's time for the suppliers to get a grip and stop flogging stuff which is eminently unsuitable for many gardeners.
    The right Bamboo in the right place can be a thing of beauty but the wrong type in the wrong place inevitably leads to vast numbers of posts on here asking for help in removal. Such a waste.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Amen
  • ajr63ajr63 Posts: 2
    spray it with roundup proactive, in the autumn when it has good leaf cover, spray as much of leaf area as possible, and spray at least twice!; it may still take a couple of years to clear out potentially. Or cut down in autumn and pour proactive down the stems (bit more labour intensive) if you try to dig it out you will invariably leave roots in somewhere; and it will cost. I sprayed a 200 metre square patch in our garden last autumn using above (after taking advice from Bayer chemical fields-man) and I think it is dead.
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Thankyou everyone for your replies. Does anyone know what variety it may? What is the usual time of year to cut the top down but a foot or two? Many thanks 
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