Unruly Bamboo

[Nickienickie]

I have a raised bed which has bamboo planted in it. It's right next to an Olive tree and a lovely magnolia tree and I want to remove the bamboo. Any hints or tips would be great - ie do I have to dig out all the roots ? Can I pour something on the roots to kill them ? It seems very hard to remove and its growing like a triffid. Thanks.

[mason01]

hi there you can dig up bamboo as i have done it with a really big one,but obviously if it is right next to other trees you have to be careful not to disturb there roots after saying that if th trees are not to big they will settle down again if you do dig and disturb then try and put some fish blood and bone meal in the ground because this helps the roots to form quicker and reastablish.Ther are also products like rootout available at gardn centres but you kill the plant by putting it on the top growth and you need more than application i my self have used caustic soda to kill plants you mix it in a watering can and throughly drench the roots you may need to do it a few times,the problem again is you must not get any on your tre roots personalloy i would dig it out and then reastalish your other trees if you cant get it all out or decide to killit with the products i have mentioned then dig round the roots making a ditch around the bamboo roots so as not to get any on other trees.If i can be of any further help you can email me on [email protected] when i go to my allotment society i will look for any other products available and if you email i will send you info.Good luck i hope it works out for you. Paul

[Thunderbird+]

I had a dificult patch of bamboo which was vertually imposible to dig out, so what I did was cut the cains down to about a foot high and painted the cut ends with 'SBK Brushwood killer'. Be careful not to get it on any wanted plants and when it's totally dead you should find it will dig out easily. Good Luck Tbird+