Gardening Question of the Week: How Do You Contain Bamboo?
Thursday August 7, 2008
Over in the About Gardening forum, KEP77 has been tossing around ideas for how to plant bamboo, but keep it contained. Since we don’t have many natural predators of bamboo in our gardens, like these happy campers here, the only surefire way I know of to guarantee bamboo won’t escape is to plant it in a container. Even then, you have to keep an eye out that it doesn’t creep over the sides. I know an occasional bamboo plant in the garden isn’t going to engulf the world, but I have known people to plant bamboo and move away. So I’d love to hear suggestions from those of you who have grown bamboo successfully, without it taking over the neighborhood.
And if you’re interested in trying to grow some bamboo yourself, consider the clumping varieties, rather than the vigorous runners.
PhotoCourtesy of Paula Bronstein / Getty Images. Used with Permission.
Comments
I’ve heard that you can successfully plant bamboo in an open space by driving a shield several inches around your planting area and leaving a lip along the top. I guess the theory is they run shallow roots. I’m not sure if it will work though as I have not tried it as of yet!
I suppose shallow is a relative term. Most bamboo experts recommend at least a 2′ barrier. But I poked around a bit online and Blue Ridge Bamboo says 12″ would suffice. I’m sure it depends on the type of bamboo, but I’d err on the side of caution. I already have too many plants with free rein in my garden.
I think it’s more important that you keep tabs on the bamboo. I’ve just known too many casual gardeners who’ve planted it and not checked back until a year later, then asked what they should do.
I watched a special on this just last week. They said to dig a 2 inch wide by 36 inch deep trench and line with a plastic barrier (simular to edging) in this trench and then your bamboo will be contained as the roots of the bamboo only go down aprox. 34 inches.
Looked like it would work to me and when I plant my bamboo this is how I will do it.
Hope this helps.
While smartly1 advice is good we here in our gardens recommend nothing less thick than 20 mil. We also recommend a liner material such as that used for garden ponds underneath the plastic. Make sure all sharp roots and rocks be removed from the area. Surround the area (the entire 360 degrees) with two layers of brick or garden stone with the plastic and liner sandwiched between the layers. Bamboo is very useful in the garden but quite pernious in it’s spreading habits.