Neighbours planted bamboo at our fence… but now moving away.

[ReginaaPhalangee]

As title suggests, our neighbours planted bamboo about 18 months ago. We are in a semi detached with a shared fence. It’s right at the fence, right up at the property. They are a nice couple, very quiet and keep themselves to themselves. They have totally transformed the garden from the previous owners and it’s full of beautiful plants, thus attracting beautiful birds etc.

they have recently sold the house and moving soon.

im worried about the bamboo. I’ve heard from friends who have had issues with it, and seeing more and more news articles how it is causing damage (the one where the couple had to demolish their conservatory due to the roots growing through it).

I know it will take years for it to cause major damage but I’d rather nip this in the bud now before It gets to that stage.

I don’t like confrontation or these types of conversations but I know I need to. I want to ask them to pull it up before they move as, now this may sound petty, I’d rather have the issue with these neighbours lol rather than new ones who move in and live there for potentially years..

how do we handle this? I’ll upload some pics that aren’t identifying to show where it is to the house etc.

Stand on a chair & pop your head over the fence, if in pots you may be worrying unnecessarily.

Yes, of course.

Thanks to the posters with helpful advice, I will take it onboard, bite the bullet and have the conversation.

not sure why some posters feel the need to be rude. I only asked a question.

anyway, I will report back once I’ve spoken to them

If it is in a planter you're probably safe. They root fairly shallow, and spread through their roots.

I disagree in general that clumping bamboo doesn't spread though, our next door neighbour put some clumping bamboo directly into the ground 8 years ago when he moved in and last year we had to take up our fence so he could dig it out of both his and our garden and make sure he got all of the rhizomes so we didn't have any more surprises. He has now replanted it in pots submerged into the ground in the same place, but we are both more well informed now.

I LOVE the craziness and drama on MN with things like this. 😀
If someone live next door to the Manson family or Leather Face with his chainsaw, I can understand not wanting to engage with the neighbours.
But OP has said they are a nice couple who are quiet, so I would guess it would be easy enough to speak to them and politely ask about the bamboo,

It's probably the clumping sort that won't spread.

Yes to this.

Bamboo is a bugger.

All bamboo spreads in the same way. The "running" bamboo is just faster about it. It's nuts putting it in pots then putting the pots in the ground, this is stuff that can break through foundations and walls. A plastic pot with holes in for drainage is not going to hold it back for long, then you'll be in the same position again having to dig it all out.

Easier in the long run just to get rid, and plant something that behaves itself.

Hopefully they will be amenable to removing.
However if they aren’t, and you aren’t convinced it’s not running bamboo, you can take action your side by digging down deep - 3ft and adding a bamboo root barrier to contain it from your side. Not ideal though.

Bamboo can be very bad news indeed. Isn't it the only plant where they measure growth in miles per hour (not joking, I'm sure I saw that on an episode of QI)?

They used to use it for torture a long time ago: basically by sticking it up the victim's fundament and waiting for it to grow inside them. Nasty stuff.

Unless you can insist that they can only sell to people who have a pet panda!

If it is the running type and they have planted it in the ground then they need to dig it up NOW! I had neighbours who planted this sort back in the days when it was not so widely known as a menace. I have the most horrendous time with it, I have paid hundreds to have the bloody stuff dug up and I still have to be really vigilant and nuke any new growth that appears with weed killer. The people who planted it sold up and moved out years ago and I still curse them in my head for all the problems and expense it has caused me. The house is now owned by a landlord who does not give a damm so it is still growing on the other side to me and I just have to kill and dig up the new growth that appears in my yard. IT IS AWFUL STUFF AND I HATE It

I'm a gardener would I fuck put bamboo in my own garden

If they don't want to do anything it, reach over the fence on the day they move out and give the leaves a good long spray with sodium chlorate or glyphosate.

Why do places even sell bamboo to ordinary householders? It's as irresponsible as selling Japanese knotweed.

All of those lovely plant and tree choices available that won't destroy your whole neighbourhood's homes; why on earth would you choose that?

We bought a home with bamboo in garden about 2-3m from back of house wall. Hasn’t spread, in a normal bed, stayed contained, completely fine. I should add this was 9 years ago and it’s still in exactly the same spot.

The clumping type will still spread, slower than the running type, but it will still spread. Mil planted some and then ignored it in a large garden - there were clumps every 10m or so in all directions. DH had to dig it out with a digger…awful stuff!

If it's contained I think it should be fine. But speak to the new neighbours and voice your concerns. In a nice non confrontational way. They may well want fully rid of it. If they want it there then you just have to cut it back if it goes on your side. I don't think you can force them to take it out?

For your comfort OP, my next doors have got bamboo and have had it since we moved in over 30 years ago. Periodically I have a chop at it and once, some 15 years ago I had tree blokes in and asked them to dig it out on my side. It does come back and needs managing but its not always the horror some people are experiencing. Do talk to them about it, maybe suggest that a purchaser might be put off by it but don't panic. If they prove intransigent then what should work is to get a root impermeable membrane installed all along your fence line. If you don't disapprove of it, glyphosate on new shoots will also control it.

I would speak to the neighbours before they move out.

I agree with this from experience. We have both green and golden bamboo and it has behaved itself for upward of ten years. Then last year we discovered it had broken cover and was heading for the house. It took DH all last summer on his knees clearing out roots and rhizomes from a strip 4'x10'. The roots and rhyizomes filled a brown garden bin twice. We also have a bamboo nigra which has a root barrier around it - but I'm sure it will be breaking free soon.

miles per hour? I doubt it.

FFS. So much scaremongering here. Don't let people wind you up OP.

It looks like phyllostachys, golden.

Even running bamboo don't really get going in our UK climate. I've had 'running' bamboo in several properties for over 10 years and it's not a problem. If it goes somewhere it shouldn't, cut it off. No drama.

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Good point, I keep mine in a pot. It’s as bad as Japanese Knotweed for being invasive and causing damage.