Hello first post

Hello,

First time post but I have a massive project which I am starting from scratch and I have several ideas but I have a simple question first which may have been asked before so I apologise if it has.

I want to use bamboo as a boundary on two sides of a corner, I know the root structure and growth rate is very aggresive and I have been told that if you put down an adequate root barrier you can control bamboo.

I have been told the root barrier has to be a minimum of 1m deep.

I want to create a L shaped bamboo wall on plan which each leg being around 8m long and about 600mm wide. I was thinking of purchasing a solid medium to put in the ground like plastic corrigated sheet or galvanised steel and effectively making a L shaped plant pot in the burried in the ground. Planting the Bamboo in several points and letting it fill the whole L shaped bounded area.

Does this sound like a stupid idea? Or is there and easier way of bounding plants to prevent growth without having to relentlessly keep on top of the plants shoots and spreading in directions you do not want it to grow.

Cheers

Andrew

 

Afternoon to Andrew and welcome to GC.
Enjoy your stay.
Robert of Yorkshire

 

Paving slags are an option, however I do not have any s/h ones and the project is in France.

I have just been speaking to a friend and he suggested using rubber sheeting which you can buy on the roll. The 'screen' is at the bottom of a slope so I intend to build a dry stone wall circa 1.2m high on the boundary, place the membrane against it, back fill circa 600mm wide and place the next membrane the fill up again, this will allow the construction of the trench and build up the bottom of the land by circa 4ft as well allowing me to level the bottom part of the land. (If that makes sense).

I do want the aggressive type so it fills the whole trench over a period of time rater than having to purchase lots of plants and I want it to make a full dense screen however this bit of enabling works will prevent years of beating back the growth of the plant.

Thanks for the warm welcomes as well, hopefully with me being a complete novice you will not get tired of some stupid questions and eventually I may be able to answer some questions as well.

Cheers

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum. I am a relatively inexperinced gardener too. The members here have been very good to me, as I am sure they will be to you. Don't worry about asking questions mate, we all had to start somewhere.

I do know about bamboo cane though. One of my mates has a large Koi pond. Water was leaking and it was a mammoth task to drain the pond and fix the leak. The cause was Bamboo roots. Guy next door had some in his garden and the roots had travelled. Took several days to dig it all out and the new liner was very expensive. The roots had penetrated top quality pond liner which is very tough stuff.

Might be an idea to consider what other plants would also offer a dense screen. Quite like the idea of restricting a plant to grow in one way only or into a specific shape. I personally don't think it is a bad idea. Maybe some of the more experienced members could suggest some other suitable plants.

Good luck with the project, post some pictures so we cann all see what you are doing.

Chopper.

 

just an idea, dig a small trench around the desired planting site and back fill with concrete that way you know your not going to have any holes/gaps in the barrier and it will be strong enough to with stand unwanted roots.

Granted a hard task but if a job is wort doing its worth doing properly.

 

Hi Andrew & Welcome to the forum,

Not familiar with Bamboo, but being a grass, if its anything like couch grass, it could have armour piercing root cappings. Quite capable of going straight thru most plastics.

Mr Zens concrete suggestion is good, but you really need to know the depth the roots will go to. A lot of work for it to just go underneath.

I was wondering if an asian/australian forum might be worth a visit, someone that might have already tackled this problem ? Just a thought.

 

Had thought about the concrete idea, but the roots can get down to 1m, and if it is not compacted enough, the voids in the concretecan just act as pathways for the root structure, also if you get any inclusions during the cast the thickness of the wall decreases.

The rubber I am thinking of is 3mm thick solid rubber, had not considered the penetration point of view.

May have to revert back to my galvanised mild steel sheets idea, was thinking the rubber would have a longer life cycle as it does not decompose where as the steel will last many years but not as long as the rubber.

Hmmmmm thinking outside the box here, but wonder if I could just build a block retaining structure for the same kind of money!!! May have to price it up, there would need to be no foundations, as long as the soil at level is solid and I could easily just build the structure out of 100mm blocks and the back fill on either side untill I got to the surface thus hiding the block sturcture all together. At ground level garden side I could easily just put a course of stone on to finish the wall off.................

Yes it will not be a problem posting pictures of the project as it progresses, it will be a long term project but I have fully designed the scheme (which is circa 3/4 acre), however the design is basically all the levels, retaining walls, etc, not real flora or fuana. I have decided where to plant my fruit bearing trees, but that is about all at the moment. I have planted an apple tree earlier in the year and intend to get some more trees in at the right time.

Going doing some work on it tomorrow as travelling across for a week and going to start more of the clearing and hopefully will level the therapy garden (mrs is a complimentary therapist) and I am going to have a go at building a dry stone wall. (got a book on it from local charity shop).

Will post some pictures of my attemp upon my return. LOL.

I will also come back with some figures for the schemes I am considering for the root retention as both the rubber options and steel options appear to work out expensive so I will look at the block wall option.

Great site and I am sure I will be very regular as this is a massive project I am undertaken and my fave statement is - All the gear and no idea.

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,
I can vouch for large plastic barrels as a way of restricting spreading bamboos. You would need to drill holes in the base for drainage and sink them to the rims so they don't show. The only drawback would be that you would need a clump in each container. You could divide up your new plants and pot up a piece with a few stems in each.
Julie

 

Hi Andrew,

I've a "stand" of bamboo against our back fence. It was originally a "clump" about two feet or so in diameter further down in a border. I dug it up and split it into many sections with a spade and planted it in a line along the back fence about ten years ago. It was obviously of a clumping variety, the name of which I have no idea.
It has only grown to about seven or eight feet, previously about five and has hardly moved forward at all. (photo on my endless "Doghouse's Garden" thread). There's no barrier to stop the roots spreading.

I'd suggest you get one of these varieties as once you've got the other kind, it's very hard to get rid of it later, should you so choose.

 

Actually, I would give serious consideration to Doghouse's suggestion too! http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieparishruralgardener/3987785838/ Golden bamboo, thickens out year by year, but doesn't spread too dramatically. You can still put in the barrels :wink: Black bamboo is a good one too, but a bit slow and pricey maybe.

 

Another possibilty might be the green roofing material. Like the galvanised sheets but made from (and I can be corrected here) glass fibre to potentially will not rot away if buried.

Another suggestion might be the pre-cast concrete fencing sections which just slot into the posts and you build up the fence, used on the bottom of some wooden fencing where conditions are damp.

I would have suggested sleepers but your in France and I think they as standard have for many years used concrete sleepers.

 

Martin, this was one of the routes I was exploring and have still not given up on the idea. The fencing panels is anoth good idea and again I will look into this in relation to costs. It is heart breaking to spend a lot of money for something you do not see, however spending may be needed to prevent years of hassle down the line.

I like the clumping idea, however this is going to be the only boundary as there will be no fence behind, hence the reason for creating a trench that the bamboo would fill and make quite a dense solid screen.

I have many things to consider and the first is the bamboo that I am being offered for free as this is always a strong incentive. I will ask my friend to take a couple of pictures for me so I can look on sites to determine which species it is. I know it is a very aggressive grower as they get shoots growing up 2m away and they can get 3 to 4 shoots a day at peak growth. Hence the reason the trench in my opinion would become full within a couple of years and hopefully be contained to the foot print I want.

Like I say, I am a novice and this is just an idea which may or maynot work, but from reading on some bamboo sites, the ultimate depth is 1m and it should then be contained.

I was thinking of using some form of containers buried in the ground but could not find square containers at the right kind of money etc, but I have not stopped looking and will of course keep this thread updated with my final solution, be it arrived by itteration and publish pictures as well.

Cheers for all the help up to now, it has given me some good things to think about for starters.

Andrew