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Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: sarah on September 16, 2007, 11:33:00

Title: bamboo wars
Post by: sarah on September 16, 2007, 11:33:00
about six weeks ago my husband cut down a large area of bamboo alnog our boundry fence as it was getting out of control and breaking up the concrete path in our neighbours garden. it had grown about twenty foot high and there was tonnes of the stuff.  i told him it was no good just cutting it down and that it would grow back again and he decided to use round up which i said would not be strong enough. he's given it two lots and, as predicted, it hasnt done much and new shoots are comin thick and fast.  father in law reccomends drilling into roots and pouring round up in that way. i just wondered if any one had any advice or experience of destroying bamboo. no panda jokes please. :D
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: saddad on September 16, 2007, 12:53:39
Not even the Eats, Shoots and Leaves....  ::)
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: Baccy Man on September 16, 2007, 13:04:51
If you want a chemical control then clearcut the bamboo first then when it re-sprouts (and has a few leaves), mix sodium clorate at the rate of 100 gram per litre and spray all the green parts, including the leaf and stem of the new shoots. That is how it's killed to make room for palm oil plantation in the far east.

A more natural approch is to suddenly change the PH of the soil by pouring either vinegar or lime on the area or alternating between the 2 if it is persistent. Bamboo does not cope well with changes in the soil PH & will usually die.
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: sarah on September 16, 2007, 16:27:36
Quote from: saddad on September 16, 2007, 12:53:39
Not even the Eats, Shoots and Leaves....  ::)
specially not that one. :D

Quote from: Baccy Man on September 16, 2007, 13:04:51

A more natural approch is to suddenly change the PH of the soil by pouring either vinegar or lime on the area or alternating between the 2 if it is persistent. Bamboo does not cope well with changes in the soil PH & will usually die.

that is just the sort of thing i am looking for. thanks baccy man will give it a go. wish me luck. ;)
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: OllieC on September 16, 2007, 16:45:24
They had a very similar problem on R4 today. 2 opinions - my fave which is to keep it as short as possible, cut off anything that grows & it will go away in a year or 2!

Alternatively, Sodium chloride (or possibly Glyphosphate which you've tried already although I would have thought it'd work).
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: ipt8 on September 16, 2007, 18:56:34
You need Roundup from a commercial supplier, such as an agricultural merchant. Put on as advised for tree stumps, that is 20% Roundup in water. Mind you a litre of concentrate costs about £20 I think, but this will make you 5 litres of mix. You do not have to soak it on but make sure all bare stems ars sprayed.
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: Svengali on September 20, 2007, 08:58:02
If you go to an agricultural supplier, you can get a Roundup clone at a fraction of the price, and at a greater concentration.  I use something called Clinic, and the merest whiff of it killed my cherry tree earlier this year.
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: isbister on September 20, 2007, 09:09:00
Can you not dig out the root, or some of the root - bamboo forms a kind of corky plate just below ground level, you can usually cut through this with an axe and then lever it out with a mattock.
Title: Re: bamboo wars
Post by: sarah on September 20, 2007, 09:11:48
i will pass all this advise onto lovely husband and i am sure he will crack it. thanks all. ;)