Will weedblock stop bamboo shoots?

[Vincent]

I planted some clumping blue chungii bamboo. It is dormant at the moment because of winter. It is surrounded by weedblock. The weedblock is a home depot type, nothing special. As it grows come spring, will it push thru the weedblock to produce a shoot or do you think the weedblock will inhibit? Any feedback appreciate. The clumps are about 10 gal size.

[DoomsDave]

Good question!

Offhand, I'd say no, especially for a rather robust bamboo like Bambusa chungii (if it's another species, please tell us). The points on the new culms are sharp, and I sincerely doubt that any but the most ironclad weed mat would stop them.

That said, it probably won't matter on a practical level, since clumping bamboos don't spread like their running cousins, and their upstart culms won't usually pose a problem unless you've got a very very limited space.

Of course, if I turn out to be wrong, I'd like to know, since that's really great practical information.

Hope this helps.

dave

[Vincent]

I saw an older clump of chungii and it was about eight feet across (I have no idea how long it would take to get this big- any ideas?). This clump is maybe eighteen inches across. It has some new leaves on it since we got a break from the cold. Growing season has not started. Maybe in six weeks things will perk up. Having said all the above, I will let you know if the chungii goes through the weedblock. If the weedblock does keed new shoots from coming up, would that have a negative impact on the bamboo? This chungii is a cool bamboo. I like the blue color.

[paulgila]

nothing stops bamboo short of concrete.

with rebar in it.

[Gallop]

Vincent, I grew a nice clump of chungii, started out as a 15gal & weed barrier did cause problems w/ the the new shoots. It set my clump back the 1st year. I removed the weed barrier. It took about 2 yrs or so for my chungii to really get going and put on some size . It's a real nice one to grow w/ neat blue color.

[MattyB]

My instinct says that the bamboo will push up, through, around, etc. your weed block. But according to Gallop, maybe not. Why don't you pull the mulch away and cut a large circle out of the weedblock so your bamboo can throw some culms freely next year. Pohonkelapa is right, once that baby is established you're gonna find that weedblock about 15 feet in the air hanging on a culm like grandma's underwear on the clothes line.

[paulgila]

thats funny cuz ive SEEN your gramma's underwear!

[Xenon]

Apparently, bamboo can grow through people...My link.

Jonathan