bamboo to plant or not to plant ?

dslamjack

We were given 2 bambusa phyllostachys aurea , late last summer by our son.
Any how , my wife and I don't know should we plant these bamboo's straight in to the ground - plant them in the in the ground in a bigger container , so the root's and bamboo don't spread like wild fire or what ?.We're afraid if we plant them straight in to the ground ,they may take over the garden , like the ivy it took us 5 year's to get rid off , any advice please?

LurkerNo1

Wouldn't risk it myself, certainly not in the ground. Look up Bamboo nurseries that give proper advice on how to plant them. You need to big a pretty big trench and use root barrier and root prune them. I saw ones that have got out of hand and it's a nightmare haha
I did a course with Michael King last year, he actually wrote a book on bamboos and said he doesn't plant them anymore because even the ones they say don't spread do eventually and that includes clumpers.

Sonnenblumen

We would only advise planting Phyllostachys bamboos (yes they can and do also spread) in containers/robust pots, in a purpose built planter (concrete side minimum 500mm deep) or in pits lined with special purpose bamboo root (rhizome) barrier.

A great plant for most gardens, so long as the proper precautions are taken.

overmantle

They get out of hand really quickly and can cause huge problems in a suburban garden. Wouldn't recommend.

dslamjack

Many thank's for all the advice ,I came across RKD Floral display's in Celbridge (via adverts.ie).
Tried a lot of place's for a container,pot or trough big enough to hold the bamboo plant ,we needed 2/3 feet in width by 2 foot deep.
RKD had the perfect solution , an old wine cask , well half of one ,made from solid oak,they were absolutely perfect for the job, we are delighted.
I will come back and post pic's when I have enough post's up to post link's pic's etc.
But we can't thank RKD enough ,they were brilliant, talk about customer service ,they were second to none.

wildlifeboy

I planted one of them in a corner that I don't care about. its in a V shape so I hope it takes over the entire corner. I am putting down a dry stone wall on the open part of the v so hopefully that will contain it.

lazybones32

I have a clump-forming p. aurea in my garden and it's fine...well, it's living but not thriving.
I doubt garden centres stock the invasive types as the demand wouldn't be there for them. Any half-knowledgeable garden centre employee will have told the buyer if it's invasive and the likes of Woodies, B+Q, etc don't sell them.

I'd say plant it and if by the end of the Summer, you see new shoots appearing outside of the initial planting hole, you know you've got a 'runner'. At an early stage, it'd be quite easy to control and is definitely not something to be fearful of. Bamboo canes are excellent spanking material

secman

Planted 2 bamboos 4 years ago in a border. Late autumn noticed shoots coming up all over the border . Worse when we noticed shoots sprouting in the lawn. Spent a whole Saturday taking them out. Broke a stainless steel spade and not the handle !
Some of the runners were 12 foot long ! A bastard of a job to get them out, but as I said to herself we'll take them out whilst we are able to.

cobham

I had a 'non spreader' that I planted about 15 years ago. It gave a nice sense of movement in a small garden as the breeze moved the leaves. But after clump spread to c 3 sq yds I decided it had to go. I covered it up with plastic over the winter and took few weeks to dig all roots out. They do not go too deep but so intertwined! Perhaps have one at side of a concrete drive to contain it? I do not think it will do well in a dry corner as like moisture. So good idea about the barrels but keep up with watering.

johnd123

just read this post on bamboo and dont know the answer but am interested to know how you got rid of the ivy

lazybones32

Pull it by hand John or spray with weedkiller. Repeat spraying may be necessary. Wear gloves and a face mask while spraying.

paddylonglegs

Hi folks, I'm hijacking this but I wanted to ask specifically about the phyllo aurea. I will be getting a couple and putting them in containers, but I wanted to ask about how they grow - I want to have a bamboo plant that will grow upright and tall, not bushy and arching outwards. Would this be the right bamboo to go for? They will be placed in a small court yard so I want the height to create interest. And I also like the look of the plants. They will be close to a seating area and near a eLl so I don't have a lot of space for it to grow outwRd. Thanks

bazbrady

Really dont understand all this chat about bamboo taking over,my father has phy aurea bamboo(golden bamboo) the last 10 years in his garden against a wall ,no issues what so ever,the new clump forming ones which he has are fine,they are about 5 metres tall.i really think people take a long time to get over the fact all new bamboo sold,well nearly all in garden centres nurseries etc is clump forming not the old type runner stuff.i also have phy aurea in my garden with japanese acers in between the last 5 years and the same again ,no runners,its very easy to trim,comments here about clump forming spreading i just dont understand,unless my fathers garden is special or it starts running after 15-20 years but it already 10-11 years there and mine is 5-6 no issues.just cut shoots old or new at the base,plenty of water is required ,even in winter due to wind,dry out,as long as its not water logged ground.

Cumin

Bambusa phyllostachys lookes and does best were it can just do its own thing. Well away from buildings, lawns and path ways. It doesn't like to sit in containers and will eventually brake out of any constrained area in the ground.

joanmul

johnd123 wrote: »

just read this post on bamboo and dont know the answer but am interested to know how you got rid of the ivy

Cut it at ground level and then try and cut a couple of slashes into the root. Then dribble some used oil, preferably engine oil. Do this a few times in small quantities so that it won't spread in the ground around it, affecting other growth. In time the root will die. At the time I did this I read someplace that oil is the only thing that will kill ivy. It certainly worked for me. Now I have to look further for how to get my bamboo out! I didn't know that it was invasive when I put it down a couple of years ago!

endacl

Toughest job I ever had to do in the garden was get rid of poxy bamboo.

Burn it now, OP. Before you plant it. Only way to be sure.

bazbrady

bazbrady wrote: »

Really dont understand all this chat about bamboo taking over,my father has phy aurea bamboo(golden bamboo) the last 10 years in his garden against a wall ,no issues what so ever,the new clump forming ones which he has are fine,they are about 5 metres tall.i really think people take a long time to get over the fact all new bamboo sold,well nearly all in garden centres nurseries etc is clump forming not the old type runner stuff.i also have phy aurea in my garden with japanese acers in between the last 5 years and the same again ,no runners,its very easy to trim,comments here about clump forming spreading i just dont understand,unless my fathers garden is special or it starts running after 15-20 years but it already 10-11 years there and mine is 5-6 no issues.just cut shoots old or new at the base,plenty of water is required ,even in winter due to wind,dry out,as long as its not water logged ground.

I know I'm dragging up an old post but 5 years later did you have any hassle? I have some Phyllo Aurea that I'd love to plant. I'd surround it with a root barrier and keep an eye on it but I'm a bit worried reading about it online