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.

That's all very well if it is a small clump. The bamboo behind me would have been there for decades, digging out wouldn't have been an option, it would require a mechanical digger. It grows horizontally under the ground and then puts up shoots - and it was taller than the trees in the garden it was planted in. The neighbours used a very large shoot as a clothes line prop!

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/my-neighbours-bamboo-caused-60k-worth-of-damage/]

@Jimmyneutronsforehead I appreciate that, it's so difficult. Our NDN had planted bamboo which was coming up in our garden. Ne people moved in and thankfully they agreed to get rid of it. There's still the odd spike popping up in ours so it wasn't 100% cleared but we'll keep at it.

Certain species of fast growing bamboo with favourable conditions apparently grow 1.45" an hour in the first growth phase and up to 35 " a day.
Totally mad when you think about it.

indeed but nowhere near MPH unless you accept very small fractions of a mile!

I drove past this bamboo recently, which has escaped from someone’s garden. I feel very sorry for the neighbours.

My neighbour planting some bamboo and it hasn't spread in 15 years so don't panic.

Very true, I think the other poster was over doing it a bit 😉

This

Why oh why do many people seem to have a terror about actually speaking to their neighbours (nicely and calmly) about issues that affect them?

Knock on their door, ask them if they'd mind telling you if the bamboo is in pots and if it is a runner variety, because if it's not it can invade everywhere, and I wonder if you'd mind checking that out. If it's in pots, ask if you could take them and destroy them, or pay them a small sum for the pots. If it's in the ground offer to go halves to have it removed. Something like that. It's so worth a try, so go for it OP, and good luck.

I’ve had 2 sets in the ground for several years.
Its near the garage and barely grows …

Came here to say this. Not all types are wildly invasive.

This. Japanese knotweed is a menace (and illegal to spread) but bamboo is like any plant from next doof that will spread. I gnash my teeth at my neighbour’s ivy as it will evdntually destroy my fence, but I just quietly remove it my side when I see it. It’s called gardening. No need for all this melodrama!

Mine too.

I planted bamboo but in big pots that I dug into the ground. Then I put a membrane over the top and then gravel. It looks like it’s in the ground but is contained if that makes sense? I’d ask the question, I moved mines after a few years without issue.

Well, yes. That's what everyone here has been talking about.

Okay so this thread is freaking me out sorry! Attached pics of my garden. What type of bamboo is this please and is it okay as it is? 😫

Ours too. We moved into a house with a clump. 17 years later it's now 2 clumps because we once separated it to screen the neighbours' new extension.

OP you mention that your neighbours are amazing gardeners. It's highly likely they will have researched and chosen the variety very carefully.

Exactly. I was fairly ignorant about bamboo circa 90s, just liked it visually, purchased some in a local garden centre and fortunately planted it a big planter. It clumped so much it broke the planter. We had to chop it out with an angle grinder. Luckily it died and I burned the fuckr as insurance.
Re Japanese knot weed, recently I noticed a house 2 streets away with a newly dug bed in the front garden and a neat row of 6 Japanese knot weed plants! So some idiot has bought it or cultivated it. It's also on the border with their neighbours front garden.
Op, we need a photo please of the planters & bamboo please (I couldn't see one, just the one of the fence and bamboo growing above it )

Exactly. I was fairly ignorant about bamboo circa 90s, just liked it visually, purchased some in a local garden centre and fortunately planted it a big planter. It clumped so much it broke the planter. We had to chop it out with an angle grinder. Luckily it died and I burned the fuckr as insurance.
Re Japanese knot weed, recently I noticed a house 2 streets away with a newly dug bed in the front garden and a neat row of 6 Japanese knot weed plants! So some idiot has bought it or cultivated it. It's also on the border with their neighbours front garden.
Op, we need a photo please of the planters & bamboo please (I couldn't see one, just the one of the fence and bamboo growing above it )

Thuggish plants are easy to propagate... the £40-for-a-huge-pot bamboo you see in garden centres is more likely to be a thug. How else can they sell it cheap?

But there are lots of bamboos that aren't rampant, particularly in a sturdy pot. Hugely depends on the type.

JFC I have bamboo in my garden in a massive planter. It’s fine. Just ask if it’s in a planter or not.

apparently under the wildlife and countryside act, its illegal to sell it or transport it. Do you know the homeowner well enough to chat to them?

We have a half acre bamboo plantation on our land. We cut it right back at the base, then burn it at the root if we want to stop it spreading. In a garden you could do that with a blow torch. I think it's a lot of hype personally, I mean it spreads, but it's hardly uncontrollable.

Depends what kind it it tbh some don’t really spread then there’s the other kind that’s going the same way as Japanese knot weed

@godmum56 Thank you. No I don't know them as they are 2 streets away. I'm nosey and love looking at gardens and plants & spotted it. The house looks a bit neglected, possibly it's an hmo but the bedding & knotweed stood out as looked fairly newly done & deliberately planted, not accidental spreading. I'll call round to both properties to let them know ,& that it needs reporting to the council.