Bamboo - Should I be worried?

Well that will make the golf a little less boring.

 

We dug it out over 10 years ago, but occasionally a bit will pop up in our hawthorn hedge and hubby gets in there and digs it out.

It was many years ago we first saw some also appear on the golf course and a groundsman came and carefully dug it up - he carted it off in his buggy to have for himself.

At the present moment there is a patch in the same place, so it has come back there too. The current groundsmen hardly ever visit this area as it's full of brambles and ditches.

Once you've had it, it never goes away!

 

We do love our bamboos BUT we know that they will take whatever to move...and they do. Forget about clumping or runners, bamboos will do want they want especially when the weather is in their favour. We are constantly keeping an eye out on "not wanted" runners. They can be many meters away from the parent plant and under concrete/slabs and then pop up. Once we see the "culprit" we wait for new growth and then use a weedkiller with glyphosate

 

I know I've mentioned this in the past, although probably not on this forum, but I remember a chap who was a recognised knowledgeable expert on bamboo, doing an item on G's World many years ago. He said that the clumping ones will also spread, albeit not as vigorously as the well known running types, and we shouldn't assume they'll nicely stay put where we want them. Obviously conditions dictate that too, but it pays to be vigilant if you plant them.

I've come to the conclusion that the running ones should be considered as problematic as J. knotweed etc, and labelling of them should be prominent when sold. When you consider how often they're recommended as good screening in gardens, and the amount of new build estates which have them dottted around, it's not surprising how many problems they create for people. They need to be planted with a completely secure barrier round them to a good size and depth, and even then....be wary.

 

I have no idea what sort of bamboo ours was (is). It came from a large house in north Wales in the 1970s, where we used to go for training. Hubby was wondering around the grounds and thought he would like some. He must have used some canteen cutlery to dig up a bit as his only other equipment was a calculator!

He popped it in a plastic bag and when he got home planted it at his parents house.

It finally came to our present house. If I look inside our hedge I would probably see some. I can see the golf course's clump from our back windows.

Ours used to come up in the lawn and got mowed off if we didn't pull up the runner.

To us it's just "standard" bamboo!