Installing a bamboo barrier to prevent it spreading

dominoman · 16 Apr 2015

I have bamboo in my garden and it is spreading like crazy - and even now popping up through my patio.

I've decided to cut it all out and start again using a barrier all around where I plant it.

I have two questions:
- Does anyone know a place to buy the barrier in London? I've only found places online, but with very expensive shipping

- Should I save some of the existing bamboo and replant that, or easier just to kill it all off and buy new?

freddiemercurystwin · 16 Apr 2015

How much do you need? How expensive was the shipping?

bernardgreen · 16 Apr 2015

Are you sure it is bamboo and not Japanese Knotweed which is similar to some varieties of bamboo.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=218

dominoman · 16 Apr 2015

It's definitely bamboo! But it has just gone crazy and the previous owners planted it directly alongside the patio with no barrier.

It works really well as a privacy screen though so i do want to replace it.

freddiemercurystwin · 16 Apr 2015

freddymercurystwin said:
How much do you need? How expensive was the shipping?

dominoman · 16 Apr 2015

freddymercurystwin said:
How much do you need? How expensive was the shipping?

I need around 10 m

freddiemercurystwin · 16 Apr 2015

Seems to me that the cost is around £5/m, so a quick google found this http://www.toddsbotanics.co.uk/bamboo/bamboo-root-barrier.htm

r896neo · 16 Apr 2015

you could choose a more suitable clump forming variety rather than a runner type.

mctav · 16 Apr 2015

I boxed in my quite invasive bamboo with buried concrete gravel boards, i get the odd few creeping shoots go over the top or under the boards but these are easily managable. The canes sprouted up through my patio and lawn before i controlled it.

mikeey84 · 17 Apr 2015

i've heard of cheap patio slabs being used for the same thing

dominoman · 17 Apr 2015

mikeey84 said:
i've heard of cheap patio slabs being used for the same thing

Thanks. That might be a good option for the part near the patio, where I want to double up. I can probably pick some old ones up for free on my local freecycle group.

Could be more hassle than it's worth given the weight though. And I worry that the rhizomes could still force their way through the gaps where the slabs meet.

mikeey84 · 17 Apr 2015

I think what ever solution you pick, there will be issues.

Bamboo is incredibly tenacious, and will probably find a way around most things!

r896neo · 17 Apr 2015

The proper stuff is like a very tough butyl. i saw it at kew gardens and gave it a feel.

You need a continuous barrier, the rhizomes will push slabs apart and go through the gap.

As i said you can avoid all this by choosing the right variety and buying it from a quality supplier who knows their onions.

ban-all-sheds · 17 Apr 2015

He wants bamboo, not onions....

mikeey84 · 20 Apr 2015

maybe you could hybridize and create Bamions, taste like onions, grow like bamboo, or given the topic, looks like bamboo, grows like onions!

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Installing a bamboo barrier to prevent it spreading

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