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Posted by Patrick Meehan (U15188992) on Friday, 16th March 2012
Has anyone got a tip for getting rid of this plant. It has grown too big and is creeping everywhere and we are too old to attempt digging it up. Any ideas would be gratefully received.
I'm sorry to say that there is no alternative to digging here. Perhaps you could employ someone to do it for you?
Once dug up, any remaining shoots can be treated with weedkiller.
It's possible to remove without digging but it'll take a few years of vigilance.
Cut it all to ground.
Then stomp on or cut new shoots immediately when then appear.
After a few years you'll eventually you'll exhaust the rhizomes.
I'm sorry to say that there is no alternative to digging here. Perhaps you could employ someone to do it for you?
Once dug up, any remaining shoots can be treated with weedkiller.Â
thank you for your reply it was much as I feared.
Pat Meehan
It's possible to remove without digging but it'll take a few years of vigilance.
Cut it all to ground.
Then stomp on or cut new shoots immediately when then appear.
After a few years you'll eventually you'll exhaust the rhizomes.Â
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIP IT SOUNDS MUCH BETTER THAN TRYING TO DIG IT OUT AS IT IS NOW QUITE A LARGE PLANT.
PAT MEEHAN
I have to say, I'm with AlinaW. Digging the stuff out is the only guaranteed method. Harder work than waiting for the rhizomes to exhaust themselves but the wait could be a long one. In the meantime, the stuff will be popping up elsewhere.
I have to say, I'm with AlinaW. Digging the stuff out is the only guaranteed method. Harder work than waiting for the rhizomes to exhaust themselves but the wait could be a long one. In the meantime, the stuff will be popping up elsewhere.Â
Thank you for your reply I'm beginning to come to the same conclusion.
Pat Meehan
I have been watching this thread with interest. I didn't want to have to say it, but Alina said it for me. Some plants are so vigorous and successful that no amount of chopping back will weaken them (I can think of bindweed, Bear's Breeches for a start. Some, like the two I have mentioned, can be killed off by regular application of glyphosate - my Bear's Breeches took three years to get shot of - but bamboo shoots are much less responsive to weedkiller due to their leaf structure.
You need to find a strong young person (or two) that can wield a mattock, pick and crowbar.
Yup. I've dug out a few bamboo clumps in my time. Once, a previous owner had planted the bamboo in a buried washing trough thinking it would contain the roots. Ho hum. The roots hit the bottom of the trough, slid up the sides and out and away.
Identify the original roots. Just under the surface there will probably be runners heading in various directions. And they will have rooted themselves along the way. You can trace them with your fingers. It's a matter of patience and digging. And digging. I've only ever found glyphosate to be a passable adjunct to digging.
Hi,
I'm a bit late to this conversation, but I'm afraid the only way is to dig or to have it dug out.
When we moved into our current house it had bamboo all along one boundary fence, ( about 100ft of it)!!! Needless to say it was invading the lawn, the pavement outside the boundary and just about everywhere else it could get too. Having nearly killed myself, (im in my early 40s) digging out just one of them, we got a couple of great men to dig it all out by hand. It was worth every penny.
Bits of it still come up in the pavement 7 years later......!!!
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