Serving as an OSU Central Gorge Master Gardener volunteer has many rewards. Top on my list are the bonds that are formed with other Master Gardeners who are equally interested in learning science based gardening information and sharing it with others, designing, building and maintaining our public gardens, and answering Plant Clinic questions sent in by home gardeners. When I was a novice Master Gardener, one of my first Plant Clinic questions was how to control bamboo. I knew very little about this plant as I’d never grown it. Through the research process that I’d learned in Master Gardener training classes (held in the winter when we’re not busy gardening) and with the help of our program coordinator and other Master Gardener volunteers, I soon learned that bamboo is a type of perennial grass that spreads through underground stems called rhizomes. Varieties can either grow in clumps, where the rhizomes tend to be short and stay close, or running where the rhizomes can quickly get out of control.
This Plant Clinic question was sent in by a couple who had bought a home with a bamboo hedge along one side of their property, and new shoots were popping up all over their yard. Their question was how to stop the shoots from invading their yard while still keeping the bamboo hedge. After asking a few more questions, it was confirmed that their hedge was a running bamboo variety. Running bamboo has a valid passport and likes to travel! Unless measures are taken to contain the rhizomes, it can multiply rapidly throughout your yard, disrupt your driveway, and bore into the foundation of buildings. Fortunately, these new homeowners quickly sought out advice from Central Gorge Master Gardeners, and put our recommendations into practice.
There are ways to grow running bamboo without it becoming an infestation on your property. The trick to this is containment. I’ve seen bamboo planted with in-ground metal edging, and it appeared to work well. You still need to frequently patrol this area and cut off the shoots as they escape the metal edging, but this limits long distance travel. Planting bamboo in above ground metal containers is a good way to contain the spreading rhizomes too. If you have time for regular maintenance, an economical method is to dig a ditch around the perimeter of the bamboo and cut off the shoots as they emerge into the open space around the plant.
If you already have bamboo on your property and want to reclaim your land, there are methods of eradicating it. Bamboo doesn’t tolerate frequent mowing, so this is the recommended mechanical method of control. Remain vigilant as the rhizomes of the bamboo will continue to set out runners and new shoots. By keeping bamboo cut short, it won’t have a chance to set leaves. No leaves means no sunlight is collected to make food for the plant. Plan on mowing the area where bamboo is present for about two to three years. Another option is to dig up the roots and rhizomes by hand or with machinery, and continue this process for two to three years, or until the bamboo is eradicated.
Using a chemical control to get rid of bamboo is also possible. I’ve found recommendations that suggest applying a 5% solution of glyphosate to be most effective. Use a product with 41% glyphosate and follow the label’s mixing directions. Do not use more herbicide than is directed. Mixing it stronger than the label directs won’t make it work any better or faster. It will just cost you more money. Be sure to also read the precautions on the label and wear protective clothing. Keep in mind that several applications of glyphosate over two to three years (the same amount of time for eradication as the mechanical controls of mowing or digging) are necessary to eradicate bamboo. Let the stalks grow to a height of three feet and treat the area when new leaves have emerged.
Bamboo is not native to the Pacific Northwest, but the bamboo that gets planted here grows very well and can quickly get out of control. Detailed information on mechanical and chemical methods of controlling bamboo can be found in these articles:
Now that you know more about controlling bamboo, can you guess what the new homeowners with the running bamboo hedge decided to do? After learning the details of how bamboo grows and discussing the control suggestions that Central Gorge Master Gardeners prepared for them, they chose to cut two feet deep into the soil next to the hedge and install metal edging. This, along with routine cutting of new shoots when they appeared in their yard, allowed them to keep their bamboo hedge as well as having a bamboo free lawn!
Central Gorge Master Gardener volunteers provide free beginning gardening classes and continuing education to home gardeners. For research based information about specific gardening or pest questions, submit your concern online at extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/hoodriver or by phone at 541-386-3343. Home gardeners can also drop off plant or pest samples Monday through Thursday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the OSU Hood River County Extension Service, 2990 Experiment Station Road, Hood River.
The Central Gorge Master Gardener program is a division of the OSU Hood River County Extension Service. OSU Extension Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs, services, activities, and materials.
Find them on Facebook and Instagram: @centralgorgemastergardeners
Commented