Bamboos: the methods to not let yourself be invaded

They grow quickly, keep their foliage, but some are invasive. How to avoid their proliferation: follow our advice!

Bamboos have seduced individuals who have chosen them to quickly create a screen of greenery. Unfortunately, installed in the ground without precaution, they are likely to leave their beds in search of new spaces to conquer. If the bamboo likes it, the rhizomes can spread several meters further. The scenarios below should make everyone aware of the importance of properly planting a bamboo.

1. “A bamboo is for life”

“I tried everything, says Nicolas G; I tore it up, slaughtered it with a spade; but the smallest piece of root left in the ground makes it start again! It has even started to colonize my neighbor’s garden … I am desperately looking for a solution. “

2. Elbow grease!

If the precautions have not been taken from the start, the gardener will have no other solution than to use the pickaxe with relative success. Unfortunately, there is no effective natural method.

What precautions?

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Once established, the most creeping bamboos can produce rhizomes of several meters each year. Nothing stops them: they will pass under your lawn, will invite themselves into your beds. The best weapon is prevention rather than cure.
 

1.  There are tufted bamboos which remain in a tuft. They don’t colonize the land. Choose in particular the Fargesia species.
2.  For the others, it is essential to install a (real) anti-rhizome tarpaulin before planting, in a trench 50 cm deep to prevent them from spreading. The rhizomes are powerful; do not use an imitation tarp that would let them slip away! Forget the tiles, slate, geotextile and pond cover.
3. Beware in particular of phyllostachys , very common in garden centers, with creeping rhizomes. Keep them in the pots (making sure that the rhizomes do not escape through the drain hole).
4. Make a trench (of a width equivalent to a good spade iron) all around the massif to prevent the propagation of rhizomes. Monitor this trench every year and remove any excess.

Conclusion

Rarely sick, maintenance-free, aesthetic with their canes of color, bamboos have advantages provided they are well chosen and contained.