Controlling running bamboo with a Spade & Rhizome Trench

I control my Running Bamboos with 3 different methods, Rhizome barrier, Rhizome trench and with a spade.... The Spade version is especially “funny”, it is a lot of work but it gets me to understand the growing pattern of bamboo better, which can be exciting and scary at the same time

[@fjordsalmon]

❤hellooo from south korea i'm having neigher's bamboo (problem) invading mine so was looking up for good answer and found ur video😂 so funny and informatic! thx u so muchhh

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

Hello South Korea, greetings from Northern Germany 🙂, it is always a pain when people (your neighbours ) don't know how to control Bamboo, this is why the plant has such a bad reputation... but I love it. I am so glad that you liked the video 😂, Once the garden season starts again there will be more Bamboo videos. Let me know how you are getting on with your neighbours bamboo.

[@drefhill]

4:27 the japonica is easy to keep under control. I have mine under control without trench, i just cut the grass around, it doesn't try shooting further than 1-2m away and when you cut the shoots (which are always small) it doesn't try again for the year. But with the trench it's even easier and safer 👍.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@drefhill it really is, it is one of my favourite running bamboo, it grows so shallow which is easy with a trench.

[@thomaskrell3379]

So much work every year Jochen! Maybe installing a deep barrier would make it easier in the end. 😅

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@thomaskrell3379 I know 😂, I also have rhizome barriers, but for the time being I enjoy the torture, and it has given me a.lot of understanding of how Bamboo grows.

[@drefhill]

What do you call deep ? I know a guy near me who have mosos and the rizhomes dive 3-4m down in his basement. They die/dry when they get into the basement (no soil no light and dry air) but they still get there, if there was soil and nothing to prevent them from going where they want to go they'd get back up to the surface.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@drefhill shit, that would not be my thing at all, with the vivax the deepest rhizome I had so far was 70 cm. That is deep enough for you 😂

[@drefhill]

​​@@jochen.allardice-greinwith an obstacle like a barrier the bamboos can dive very deep. That's why a trench is better. With a trench they dont dive or turn around the barrier like if it was in a pot and cumulate until it's so full and dive deep and escape. When i've digged my trench around my Viridiglaucescens the deepest rizhome was at 30cm there was a few at that deepth, but 90% where between the surface and 15cm. If they had meet an obstacle they would have certainly dived much deeper.

[@t0mhd572]

Regret planting seems like a lot of work lad

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@@t0mhd572 yup can be a lot of work, but you can also put a barrier in, which makes it a lot easier

[@drefhill]

running bamboo need work. But if you know what you've planted and how to manage it, it's not that complicated and not that much work if you look at a long time period. Digging a trench is a lot of work but once it's done it'll last for decades and you'll just need to clean it once every 1 or 2 year. If you want your bamboo to look good you'll also need to remoove the dead culms every year, that will also take some time every year but not much. It's only complicated the first year if it's never been cleaned for a decade or more. You can do it an hour or 2 every day or week when you have time, it doesn't matter if it take you 6 months.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@drefhill totally with you, the issue is with some people they have no idea what they plant and then have a shit load of issues further down the line.

[@drefhill]

​I think the botanical shops used to sell running bamboos like it was just any regular plant.​ Now they seems to be more aware of the problem it can cause and they sell mostly clumping bamboos or species that dont run much. Strongly running species still can be bought online tho...but that's the buyer's responsibilitie to learn about what he's buying and how to manage it. @@jochen.allardice-grein

[@drefhill]

2:25 be very carefull when you pull rizhomes like that. You can feel like you have agood grip on them and they offer a nice soft handle but their sprouts are very hard pointy and sharp, they can cut your skin very easily and deeply if your hand slip while you're pulling them while holding them very strong. They can cut your hand deeply. Wear gloves.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@drefhill true and I usually wear gloves, I just forgot this time.

[@drefhill]

​​@@jochen.allardice-greini've cut my hands many times, fortunatly never deep but every cut remind me that it's dangerous and could be much worst. The buds on the rizhomes are sharp and cut like razors. The rest of the rizhome is very slick so it make you feel like it's safe to pull it with bare hands.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@@drefhill I really usually wear gloves, I hate getting my hands dirty 🤣🤣, but joking aside I get your point, and will make sure that I will always wear gloves from now on. no exceptions.

[@Grant25099]

So I’ve got some more info about a client that has bamboo, he wants it removed completely to put a rockery down. The few details I’ve been given about it is 1. It’s about 10 ft tall, 2. It has thin canes, 3. The bamboo canes are yellow and most importantly it is a clumpier by what he thinks. I’m ready to start the job as soon as he lets me see it. Is there any info I can give him that he’s gonna need to know

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

He doesn’t need any info, he is not taking it out hahahah, the information I can give you is. If it is a clumper it could be Fargesia Murielae (Umbrella bamboo) they have yellow canes, I have a few of them and the rhizomes are tight. I recently bought a reciprocating saw, and I can tell you it makes the whole removal so much easier.(kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4W7cnyJfcyXm9U) it is still a big job and pain in the arse... but it does make it a little easier.

[@Grant25099]

That’s perfect thank you. Love the videos. They’re incredible

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@@Grant25099 Thank you so much

[@drefhill]

I've decided to dig a trench around my 20-30 yo #viridiglaucescens to finally take full control of it. So far we've just cut the grass around it but it's shooting 15m from the main bush so it's getting complicated. It's a bigger and more vivid bamboo but still similar to your aureosulcata that i also have. The Viridiglaucescens is just one level above but similar. The trench is digged, now i wonder if the rizhomes outside will die. And i wonder if the bamboo inside the trench will now grow smaller since they can't pull water and energy from all their rizhomes surface. The trench also make the soil dryer. I've used a 8,5 cm pick axe so my trench is very similar to yours.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

@@drefhill the good thing is that i dug the trench just after I planted the bamboo. Before the 5 year rule took place 🤣🤣

[@drefhill]

​​​@@jochen.allardice-greinit's said that it take around 20 years for a bamboo to be adult and grow at full power and kind of explode. I've kind of felt that. Before it was growing great but the runners were not that many and they were not shooting to far but now it's crazy, they multiplicate exponentially in quantity and distance, and the culms they shoot are bigger. We could'nt keep cutting all those shoots everywhere and what if for some reason one year we couldn't do it ? I'd become even more uncontrolable. Maybe i'll make a video before cutting everything outside the trench. I see plenty of people are scared of their bamboo or have no idea how to take back control of it so it'll help many people and give them hope, i've kept a 2x10m bush.

[@fergus247]

when was the H Vivax planted :) its got some nice stems :)

[@drefhill]

the Vivax get thick very fast. But it has thin walls so it's weak and can't be used for building things. The shoots are great to eat so it's a good bamboo for food. And for it's look of course. A neighbourg have them at 7cm wide. Vivax aureosulcata (the one with random green lines). It doesn't run to crazzy if you give it enough space to grow freely.

[@jochen.allardice-grein]

I planted this one about 5 Years ago and this year was the first time that it had that 7 meter tall and thick cane, BUT it started its life in my Garden as just a rhizome, no cane, so it really was a start from scratch ... so to say 😂