Experience containing large clumping bamboo with concrete barrier?

[Sandy Loam]

Has  anyone ever tried to contain a large, clumping bamboo (bambusa) by pouring a wall of concrete around it, with reinforcement bars inside the concrete?  I am talking about large-cane bamboos.  Will this kill the bamboo as it tries to grow outward?

Thanks for your insight.

 

[John Case]

It will stunt its growth for sure but probably not kill it. Cheaper to build a wall with concrete blocks reinforced and filled with concrete.

[Sandy Loam]

Thanks for your advice, John.  Someone once told me that they thought that a ring of concrete containment would kill the bamboo because clumping bamboo's growth is outward and therefore the bambusa's outward growth would be forced to cease.  This did not make sense to me because all clumping bamboos eventually reach some natural barriers which stop their outward growth anyway, such as large trees.  

Also, here between these two buildings in Miami, you can see that a large cane bamboo has been growing in containment between concrete barriers for many years and seems to be thriving:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7790296,-80.1320519,3a,60y,100.55h,92.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOM7gX1SjWXNkGfg6Ghqz0w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

(zoom in to see more clearly)

 

More bamboo in Miami sandwiched between concrete barriers/two buildings:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7809269,-80.1316457,3a,30y,100.23h,87.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIMSlIt-8ETeaB3sDY8bu5Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

(hard to tell whether it is thriving though)

 

Again, more bamboo in Miami contained between concrete barriers/buildings and it seems to be thriving:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7834412,-80.1311479,3a,37.5y,94.54h,91.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMyrs2GO_slJyri1gV_9diQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

These make me feel confident that I can get away with this experiment before my two giant bambusa take over my property.  Having said this, take a look at this photo of a Bambusa Ventricosa bursting open solid concrete: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljuly96.htm   This does not instill confidence, although the concrete in the photo likely was not thick enough and does not appear to contain any rebar/reinforcement.      

Thanks John.  Has anyone else experimented with this method of containment? 

  

 

[Sandy Loam]

I just noticed this -- one more large-cane bamboo contained between concrete barriers in Miami, again:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7790296,-80.1320519,3a,75y,280.37h,89.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOM7gX1SjWXNkGfg6Ghqz0w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

It seems to be healthy.  I assume that all of these bamboos were planted decades ago and have thrived ever since.  The buildings in this part of the city are from the 1920s-1930s.

[John Case]

  On 11/22/2015 at 4:52 PM, Sandy Loam said:

Thanks for your advice, John.  Someone once told me that they thought that a ring of concrete containment would kill the bamboo because clumping bamboo's growth is outward and therefore the bambusa's outward growth would be forced to cease.  This did not make sense to me because all clumping bamboos eventually reach some natural barriers which stop their outward growth anyway, such as large trees.  

Also, here between these two buildings in Miami, you can see that a large cane bamboo has been growing in containment between concrete barriers for many years and seems to be thriving:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7790296,-80.1320519,3a,60y,100.55h,92.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOM7gX1SjWXNkGfg6Ghqz0w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

(zoom in to see more clearly)

 

More bamboo in Miami sandwiched between concrete barriers/two buildings:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7809269,-80.1316457,3a,30y,100.23h,87.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIMSlIt-8ETeaB3sDY8bu5Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

(hard to tell whether it is thriving though)

 

Again, more bamboo in Miami contained between concrete barriers/buildings and it seems to be thriving:

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7834412,-80.1311479,3a,37.5y,94.54h,91.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMyrs2GO_slJyri1gV_9diQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

These make me feel confident that I can get away with this experiment before my two giant bambusa take over my property.  Having said this, take a look at this photo of a Bambusa Ventricosa bursting open solid concrete: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljuly96.htm   This does not instill confidence, although the concrete in the photo likely was not thick enough and does not appear to contain any rebar/reinforcement.      

Thanks John.  Has anyone else experimented with this method of containment? 

  

 

Expand  

ventricosa is not a running bamboo and the rhizomes do not travel very far outside of the canes, however it is an exceptionally large bamboo; unless you have a lot of room,youmay be disappointed with its performane........I have a raised planter surrounded on all 4 sides, about 2 by 16 feet that has Phyllistachys nigra in it; a more aggressive runner I do not know; the canes seem to have stopped at about 10 feet from the expected 25 or more.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

When growing bamboo for harvest some people recommend hollowing out the middle of the clump.  This way the new culms form inside and outside the clump.  I think some sort of thinning strategy similar to this would allow you to grow bamboo successfully in a contained area.

[Bazza]

Never heard of using concrete - just metal - but I guess it would eventually rust - so the concrete sounds more practical. Hmmm....

[WonderKeeper]

There is difference  between clumping and running  bamboo, but I always telling myself they are the same just to  be safe in the long run, than sorry. Bamboo barrier is a must have for all of them ,if you grow them in the ground.   Two of the most people talking about are  concrete barrier and thick like black plastic  barrier.

Concrete barrier is somewhat an old school technique.The big problem with this type barrier are no matter how well you make it .It will crack. As you know the earth is  always  moving. With that cracked concrete , soon or later  young shoot  bamboo  will find the way to grow through it. Concrete barrier is expensive to make. When you like to change your garden design, then what are you going to do with that old concrete barrier?

Today , thick black plastic barrier is the most popular way people use.  There are different sizes of it that you will find . Its depth are 18", 24", 30", 48" with 30,40,60,80 Mil of thickness. If you  know how to work well with this material, then it could be the best option for  bamboo barrier ,Please  search the web for more  information on about and the installation.

 There are more than two ways of using barrier to control bamboo size. However, none of them are perfect, that why I just grow them in container.