Invasive species

[John Case]

My neighbor to the North has blessed me with running bamboo, and my neighbor to the South, horsetail.

glenn,

do you know which species of Bamboo?

It may have value!

Not this stuff. It has decent looking black canes, but runs underneath the fence and everywhere else. Its roots form a mat just below the surface and it starves everything out that lies in its path. It'd be great, if all you want is bamboo and enjoy cleaning up the leaves it drops constantly. Its beyond worthless. I wouldnt plant running bamboo within 5 miles of my house.

Probably Phyllostachys nigra, which retails for about $50.00 in a 5 gallon can and $130.00 in a 15 gallon.....look at the prices on craiglist and eBay....

Even if you hate it (which I understand), it can be dug up, put in a can, and grown for a year, then sold. Many nurseries up here stock it all of the time, but I do not know why.

[SubTropicRay]

Carrotwood trees

[ghar41]

My neighbor to the North has blessed me with running bamboo, and my neighbor to the South, horsetail.

glenn,

do you know which species of Bamboo?

It may have value!

Not this stuff. It has decent looking black canes, but runs underneath the fence and everywhere else. Its roots form a mat just below the surface and it starves everything out that lies in its path. It'd be great, if all you want is bamboo and enjoy cleaning up the leaves it drops constantly. Its beyond worthless. I wouldnt plant running bamboo within 5 miles of my house.

Probably Phyllostachys nigra, which retails for about $50.00 in a 5 gallon can and $130.00 in a 15 gallon.....look at the prices on craiglist and eBay....

Even if you hate it (which I understand), it can be dug up, put in a can, and grown for a year, then sold. Many nurseries up here stock it all of the time, but I do not know why.

From the looks of this species on line, I'd bet youre correct. I would certainly recommend against planting it, especially in mild winter, hot summer areas that are irrigated, unless you want something that can spread ten feet in one summer (once established.)

Apparently it tends to spread to the South (thank you North neighbor) and loves my rich, moist, nutritious soil. The runners have grown right through the middle of my palm root systems proceeding to suck them dry. I had one grow right through the "trunk" of a tree fern, killing it.

My neighbor has always been great with it...it almost never spreads North into his yard... he rarely fertilizes, and keeps his yard on the dry side. It's my problem not his.

[John Case]

My neighbor to the North has blessed me with running bamboo, and my neighbor to the South, horsetail.

glenn,

do you know which species of Bamboo?

It may have value!

Not this stuff. It has decent looking black canes, but runs underneath the fence and everywhere else. Its roots form a mat just below the surface and it starves everything out that lies in its path. It'd be great, if all you want is bamboo and enjoy cleaning up the leaves it drops constantly. Its beyond worthless. I wouldnt plant running bamboo within 5 miles of my house.

Probably Phyllostachys nigra, which retails for about $50.00 in a 5 gallon can and $130.00 in a 15 gallon.....look at the prices on craiglist and eBay....

Even if you hate it (which I understand), it can be dug up, put in a can, and grown for a year, then sold. Many nurseries up here stock it all of the time, but I do not know why.

From the looks of this species on line, I'd bet youre correct. I would certainly recommend against planting it, especially in mild winter, hot summer areas that are irrigated, unless you want something that can spread ten feet in one summer (once established.)

Apparently it tends to spread to the South (thank you North neighbor) and loves my rich, moist, nutritious soil. The runners have grown right through the middle of my palm root systems proceeding to suck them dry. I had one grow right through the "trunk" of a tree fern, killing it.

My neighbor has always been great with it...it almost never spreads North into his yard... he rarely fertilizes, and keeps his yard on the dry side. It's my problem not his.

Glenn,

You should be upset....

Since your neighbor isn't interested in this you will have to take measures.

1) Install a rhizome barrier on your fenceline. Get a trencher that can dig a 24 inch deep trench. Purchase a plastic rhizome barrier and place it in the trench (if you're feeling mean, salt the trench on his side of the trench ,...I didn't say that) and backfill.

2) Removing the bamboo on your side is a bit more problematic. Horses love bamboo, but they also love lots of other things. Phyllstachys nigra shoots twice a year, in the spring (my condolences to your tree fern) and in the fall. A dialy walk around the garden during these times is important. Once you see a shoot, dig it out. It should be tender enough to remove 4-6 inches down. Remove them all. After a couple of years, the rhizomes should exhaust themselves and die. Its too bad he didn't plant a bamboo that is a little more tasty, however.

Hope this helps.

John

[ghar41]

Bumped this thread to update. Many great suggestions but none better than that given to me by Darold Petty. An inexpensive trouble free measure is to cut the canes as they appear on my side in the Spring while they are fresh. Leave space in the cells so they can be filled with concentrated Round Up at full strength. Not only did I find that it kills the runner but it systemically kills many other runners nearby.

Also, I have noticed recently that the main plant in my neighbors yard is now flowering...possibly a response to the stress/threat it is receiving on my side. My neighbor is not disappointed, he didn't plant it. Neither of us wanted to spend the time/money on other measures to stop its spread.