Oh no!!! bambo in my lawn!

[poppiesinaline]

We've got bambo in a flower bed in our garden. Love it, it looks fab. Was already here when we moved in (we've been here a couple of years now). Just noticed that its shooting off everywhere and is even going into my lawn . Help!!!

Is it definitely bamboo? Japanese Knotweed looks a little bit like bamboo but dies down every year. Is horrid stuff and rampant.

Hub, oh gardening guru, can you tell me whether "Arrow Bamboo" or 'Pseudosasa japonica' is a scary one ? I know it is vigorous growing (what I want) but don't particularly want the thing to spread. Am I better planting it in a big pot in the border, IYSWIM (digging the hole deep enough to completely hide the pot, as it were) ?

thanks hub2dee I feel a bit better now. Will get chopping at the weekend and hope I dont make things worse! LOL

JennT - no def bamboo. Had that knotweed stuff in my old house - thats awful stuff - almost impossible to get rid of . What we have is definitely bamboo, doesn't look like that Knotweed stuff at all. Did have something else in my garden that I was a bit suspicious of - suspecting knotweed but thank goodness it was something else, phew!

Sorry to disappoint, but I don't know which are which. I am a bamboo virgin, and I've never had a deer (Sorry, but you can't ignore a thread like that one ). However, I did some googling and most people agree it is a clumper not a spreader and will do fine in a pot.

HTH

PS - Re: pot in ground... I think it will break the plastic / uses the holes to spread easily within a couple of years ! If you want to contain it, I think the root membrane (linked to on one of my links) would be the best bet. But a pot would certainly be better than nothing !

Hmmm... I might retract that last post... The Palm Centre (run by a very knowledgeable blokey in Richmond) says it's a spreader...

'deer' - will I ever live that one down! LOL spelling is not my strong point!

Don't worry, you can spell your name ! You will always be poppiesinsaline for me !

PMSL

I was expecting a Bumbo :o

V glad it's not knot weed!

What do you mean by a "hard split" hub?

It's bear grappling for plants....

Dig the lump out. Get two sharp spades, place them back to back on the middle of the root ball and KABAAAM ! Chop them in two, then plant each half up !

But it's huge!

You can just try and split from above then, but it will probably be tough, tough, tough !

I think I will have a go in the autumn when the stuff around it has died back a bit. I did move it about 18 months ago because I planted it under the washing line (duh! ) but it has grown loads since then.

Can you plant bamboo now? Hub2Dee as you sound like you know loads about it. I want to shield the garden next door from mine without putting up a huge fence.

Errrr just read the post about your garden being open. . You are A Titchmarsh really aintya!!

Fingers nowhere near as green.

You can plant bamboo at any time, but I'd give it loads of water whilst it establishes itself. Makes an ideal hedge, but be aware of the clumping / spreading habit I mentioned. I was at a friend's garden yesterday and her black bamboo (phylo. nigra) suckered underground and has come up with several fat juicy canes about 2m away !!!