How to Plant Bamboo so it Doesn't Take Over Your Garden!

Not all bamboo is invasive but a good percentage is, so it's important to control its' spread before it gets out of hand. Watch as I install 'Bamboo Root Control Barrier' so I can plant my golden bamboo knowing it won't take over the garden.
🧰 The tools and equipment I use: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/properdiy
Proper DIY Patreon Page: / properdiy
Amazon links to the tools used in this video...
UK Links:
► Roughneck Post Hole Digger: amzn.to/3ItwoqG
► Roughneck Drainage Shovel: amzn.to/438QQG1
► Bamboo Root Control Barrier: amzn.to/42WzGv8
US Links:
► Fiberglass Post Hole Digger: amzn.to/41VMksX
► Fiberglass Long Handle Shovel: amzn.to/45uCph0
► Bamboo Root Control Barrier: amzn.to/3MeTmDe
The Amazon links above are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you anything to click on them but I do earn a small commission if you do. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@MyFloridaLife]

Job well done. You need to leave a bit of the barrier above ground anyways because the rhizomes can climb over the top. The barriers work great. I contained a running bamboo with this method just fine.

[@lllANIMALlll]

I planted Fargesia Robusta Campbell 3 years ago and have had no problems with it spreading as it is a clumping bamboo. I did my research before I bought this as I also didn’t want it spreading everywhere. Thanks for the video. 👍

[@illofation7879]

Thank you for sharing. I'm currently preparing for my new garden and considering bamboo. So this is very useful information. What is your experience with the growth, dealing with our winters, and how tall it can get? And the leaves, do they drop at all?

[@lllANIMALlll]

@@illofation7879 It hasn’t spread at all. But bushed out nicely. I bought them in July 2020 at about 3 feet tall. They are now about 9 feet tall now. They stay green all year round and I’ve had no problems in the winter. I am in the South East of England. Here is the plants I bought www.bigplantnursery.co.uk/shop/plants/bamboo/fargeisa/fargesia-robusta-campbell/ Hope that helps.

[@JB-lr1tf]

Would it be OK to plant clumping bamboo in a raised sleeper bed? Iv just brought 2 fergesia robusta

[@lllANIMALlll]

@@JB-lr1tf I don't see why not. 👍

[@lainiwaku]

people who complain about spreading bamboo, definitely didn't even tried to search befor buying, and brought the first variety they found ! planting a fargesia and you don't even need to put barrier

[@toy838]

Clumping varieties worth mentioning I have them minimal spread .

[@Quaker521]

Great job Stuart, I'm really looking forward to how you jungle garden develops. I usually find 'lost' items when I'm looking for something else!😂

[@across8339]

Thanks Stuart, I might try this idea for a couple of figs that are not thriving in pots. Agree with you about the Roughneck post holder, its worth every penny.

[@barnbersonol]

Ive got a 12" wide, 30 foot long bamboo hedge along my fence and is a good privacy screen without being a light thief. Beautiful and maintenance free. The bonus is that the plastic screening like youre using stopped the problem of extremely unwelcome guests tunnelling in from the field on the other side, maybe the rootmass itself would have sufficed. (Then I saw gnaw marks in the fence so ran chicken wire along the bottom of the fence. That stopped the little barstools. Sorry if this has put you off your lunch.) When digging, put the soil straight into rubble sacks for easy transportation. I adverised "free top soil" online and someone came for it within an hour. My mistake as it turned out cuz you'll always find a use for it elsewhere.

[@daniel__clark]

Thanks for the video. You're very lucky to have top soil going so deep. Here in Essex 200mm down and I'm hitting east London orange clay.

[@jwatkins123]

Looks like a lovely spot to build a swinging garden seat, potential future project!

[@ranat5526]

The bamboo shoots spread like wildfire, even an off cut piece ends up in the lawn and starts to spawn!

[@allongshanks940]

A grubbing mattock is an excellent tool for cutting accurate channels. Also as you get into well-compacted soils a fencing bar is great for breaking up the soil before you dig it out

[@martinaaron609]

Came to make the same comment - a mattock will cut that trench in a lot less time and with a lot less effort.

[@kevinfisher7142]

Always good to watch Stewart well done looks great, cant wait for the next one.

[@andrewhamilton-gill]

Smashing video with super advice about basically pacing yourself, especially if your not as young as you think you are.

[@slowmarchingband1]

Speaking as a self employed gardener, I'd have planted pretty much any hedging rather than bamboo. It's a nightmare, and that plastic won't stop it forever.

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

Nice new hedge is very satisfying too. Jethro Tull reference?

[@stuartandrews4344]

Spot on, bamboo is like japanese knotweed, very rampant.

[@Chris-dy5fy]

Probably depends on where you live and what type you get. If it's clumping it's not spreading far, if your soil is consistently dry and poor, you can control it more. Plus, if it does get out of hand, dig it up and use it to build stuff.

[@stuartandrews4344]

Bamboo,is like Japanese Knotweed a plant from hell, once you have it, you got for life, so difficult to control/remove..

[@simonfredriklund]

​@@stuartandrews4344wait til it has grown as much as it can before leafing, then cut it all down, reapeat for a couple of years and it dies, it spends all its energy growing but doesnt get to regain it with leafs.

[@Mc674bo]

Hi Stuart at first I was totally bamboozled 😂 then everything became clear Kind regards as always. 😀👍👍👍

[@garulusglandarius6126]

Excellent as always Stuart 👍😁

[@pattyseel1892]

Thanks for a very informative video...I want bamboo in my yard, too...am building some Planter boxes...as I am fearful of its aggressive nature! But I really wanted to say I greatly appreciate your humor! Made me laugh out loud...and that's priceless!

[@fenners1290]

Given me some inspiration. We have the same issue with our bamboo!

[@valborchardt3596]

Thanks Stuart.

[@CB-DW]

I love the look of bamboo but having just removed 16 tonnes of soil in order to remove it from our lawn, you could say I’m no longer a fan. That’s really down to the previous owner of the house not having planted it with a bamboo barrier. They’ve cost me around £3k to get it sorted 😢😅

[@blowitoutyourcunt7675]

Arborcide

[@RiBenjafield]

Wow! Great job Stuart, I think the hard work will pay off. Bamboo is a beautiful plant. We inherited one at our previous house which had no barrier and completely took over despite my best efforts to control it. I like the way you dug the trench with the fencing tools - using an ordinary spade doesn’t work for me as, at 8 stone 4, I stand on a spade and nothing happens! 😂

[@mikaeljonsfjord]

Thanks so much for the tuos on the tools. I hust dudg a 120 cm deep hole 40 cm ub diameter for a flagpole. Woulr have been impossible without these digging tools.

[@SoftwareInTheWoods]

I use the roughneck post holer for loads of planting. We did about 2000 spring bulbs with it last year - me holing and the wife following along.

[@DockyardTiger]

"me holing the wife" 😮 Err more tea vicar 😅

[@user-ni9gr1qn5t]

Looking good Stuart, and the garden! It's that time of year mid spring, I love it.I am building a second rockery with sand stone.I do like bamboo, like you say you got to manage it or it can get out control. I'm looking forward to see how you get on with it.And like you said with putting things down, where are they now! that's me I'm 50 something as well.Great video,take care see you on the next one.

[@Tminus89]

Advice from a friend who is a bamboo grower with 200+ species... Never put in a root barrier without clamping both ends together!! When the rhizome has filled out the space, the lack or pressure keeping the material together gives the rhizome enough room to be able to push the barrier outward until a hole is made through which it can send runners... If you have experienced otherwise with a plant that is in the ground more than 5-6 years I would love to know, but it didn't sound like a solid longterm solution to my mate

[@blowitoutyourcunt7675]

Dad used giant pieces of pvc nested into itself, so it was very long and doubled walled. He didn’t want to plant bamboo at work but he researched and did it well enough so it’s contained and removable later if necessary.

[@freeshrugs63]

How likable are you? Thanks for the entertaining and informative video.

[@MRrwmac]

Nice to see someone else doing the work digging as I did a few days ago. Damn, I was breating hard after just a few minutes and I’m only 72…..argggg. Good subject. I did the same but did’nt go deep enough. Thanks

[@keithmiller5042]

Don't worry about being 72 - it's only temporary...

[@MRrwmac]

@@keithmiller5042 That’s what the Doc told me also. Have a great Memorial Day!

[@FlashPan73]

For my screening bamboo, I've just planted Fargesia Robusta Formidable - Fountain Bamboo Formidable

[@JB-lr1tf]

I think running bamboo has gave clumping bamboo a bad name due to people's lack of research before planting in the garden. Great vedio

[@MissTJM1]

Great video, Thank you 😊

[@Mountain_Valley_Sky]

I enjoyed. Thanks 😊

[@nigelmiddleton2727]

That post digging tool is the 30 quid I have ever spent. I have just completed quite a large decking project that required 75 post holes. I dread to think how difficult it would have been without that tool. Highly recommended 👌 👍 👏

[@David-bl1bt]

I use a post hole boring tool, basically a pole with a course, wide helical thread and a "T" handle. I first drill a hole in the ground with a long masonry drill, then insert the point protruding from the helix thread, slight pressure then screw away! Once the length of the thread is full with soil, pull it out, knock the soil off, then continue. In decent ground (not heavily stoned) it takes just a couple of minutes per hole. Far easier then using a mattock or trenching spade with considerably less strain on your back.

[@NikNakGB]

Weird, I did this job today & now I see your video. Pretty sure it was easier for me to dig the whole area out with a fork than it looked for you with that post hole digger. Worth pointing out there are two types of bamboo, clumpers & runners, still it's worth having this barrier with either so you can be sure it stays where you want it.

[@ROOSTEE7100]

Wonderful video with great information. Did you know that the dirt you have extra out of the hole is due to the moon phases. You can also dig that same hole different phase then come back the next day and will not have enough dirt to fill the hole. Try an experiment. I had to do it myself before I would believe it made that much difference

[@awantamta]

great job

[@iamrobfromcardiff5515]

I’ve just done this exact same job today, albeit on a retrospective basis to curtail any more runners popping up where I don’t want them.

[@quinkydinkend]

Great video

[@josephlai9759]

That is really a smart way to dig a trench. Thank you.

[@great-garden-watch]

Hmmm now I wonder if you can sink a bottomless planter pot into the ground and put the bamboo in that

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

You're the best!

[@McPruden]

Electric post digger does wonders quickly!

[@JennyReviewMakeup]

My neighbours have bamboo and it comes to my garden. It came under the fence somehow 😂 now i have bamboo too😂

[@mathewadams2929]

I never would have thought to use a post hole digger to make a narrow trench like that.

[@andyc972]

Nice one Stuart, it looks better already ! The other thing that starts at 50 is you start muttering to yourself about what is winding you up ! 😉

[@David-bl1bt]

.....whilst stopping work every 15 minutes to run to the loo😅

[@43bikeguy]

I am with you on the hand trowels they just dissappear, we buy new ones each year and they seem to evaporate into the garden.

[@David-bl1bt]

I'm exactly the same with seafarers 😮

[@waffle_chair9269]

Greta ideas. Would love to see an update.

[@MarkH10]

Please call 811 in the US, nationwide to ask all the local utilities to come mark their locations BEFORE you dig. It is the law, and fines for not doing so start at $1000 first offense around here.

[@paulpalmer9970]

Brilliant video and great advice but when you going to fix your fence lol can’t let the bamboo hide it 😅

[@PixelatedPenfold]

Without the post digging tools that you used, digging a trench is a hard and fiddly job. Despite the size, digging out most of the hole may be quicker (possibly easier) if you only have a regular type spade.

[@mwffoto7698]

Follow up review of the liner in 5 years when the pandas have moved in 😂

[@Richard-hm2pj]

Mmmmmmm. Think I’ll just buy bigger pots.

[@1teem]

Can you do a follow up video on your jungle garden?

[@simonmiddleton4977]

A lot of work but looks great! 👍😃

[@dellcornish]

Love my bamboo, especially black bamboo. Any thoughts on motorised barrows/skipfillers? - i'm just getting to an age where my joints are telling me it would be a sound investment!!! ps. walking around looking for my tape measure with it in my hand.

[@Matteo-rs7nk]

Hi , nice video well done 👍. Just want to ask you , if I plant the bamboo away from my neighbours fence something around 600mm/700mm away from the fence , do I still need use plastic barrier ?? Thanks

[@chazM6116]

buy a non-invasive clumping variety as opposed to bamboo known as "runners"

[@BeGood2DoGood]

Thats quite a workout. Wont the roots go deep and then send out shoots sideways below the black liner?

[@TheMatthew93mt]

Hi I’m thinking of buying the Vaunt wheel barrow you have used in this video. Would you recommend the product having used it to complete your various projects?

[@JIMMYH2011]

Buy a clumping variety. Stick it in a planter. Put planter on raised concrete base.

[@mungoh42]

With all that soil excavated to a deep level, mightn't it be an idea to put some compost or chicken manure at that depth before returning the soil into the void? Also, I'd be concnerned if your missus went missing and you had the polis interested in that coffin-shaped area! :-)

[@Mike-Yorkshire]

That bamboo looks like mine, the clumping type no runners. Mine has been in 8 years and hasn’t spread more than half a metre. I had the runner type in a previous property and it found it’s way all under the lawn.

[@3rdtonefromthesun]

Was gonna say, I can barely get mine to grow, I must have the clumping type!

[@PaulBednall]

Have you seen an advert for an electricity saving device called "voltex" in which you appear as it's inventor?

[@eileengeldard323]

I'm afraid that plastic barrier will not stop bamboo. It will spread and if you have neighbours nearby they will be cursing you. The house I bought had bamboo in the garden and it grew up through a summer house floor and through my neighbour's garage floor. Plastic is no match for it sadly. Dig it up !!!

[@bettybarneyhill4289]

Please help! I have a bamboo in an extra large pot in my yard. I have been away 2 week and it’s all gone yellow 😢.. some of the stalks are still green (under the yellow skin thing) but all the leaves are either dying or completely dead. Can I save it? My ant colony lives in there and if it’s dead the hubby will pull it all out and plant something else in there .. probably killing the Queen and ending my colony I’ve grown since lockdown 😢. Thank you

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

Hey Stuart, completely unrelated question: Doing some posts at the weekend and for marking out I seem to remember you had a paintspray tool for marking holes in brickwork for drilling. What was the one you were using? Was ages ago, so can't remember which video. Do you have an Amazon store or links page for all the tools you use? Cheers!

[@David-fj5lz]

Will the plastic split under the pressure exerted by the expanding root system?

[@user-cu8sq3qp9s]

Am going to plant bamboo in 42 litre plastic buckets and put them in raised flower beds in hope that it controls the evasive nature & provides a decent screen.

[@simonbmr]

I have just done you a solid.😊

[@markmcph]

Hi Stewart. Just letting you know that I saw a KZbin video advert today that played before a video I was watching that advertised a plug in device claiming to save electricity. It contained footage from one of your proper DIY videos of you and was suggesting that you were an English electrician and inventor of this device. It was for a company called volt max. I wasn’t able to replay it so didn’t get more detail. It looked very suspect and might be worth looking out for!

[@BrokenSofa]

It does need securing. Those rhizomes will start circling the perimeter of the plastic, and as soon as the sharp apex finds that seam it will grow in between the plastic sheets and out into the yard.

[@richardportelli1983]

I am surprised you didn't stitch the barrier together correctly to avoid penetration through the joint,

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Mini digger might be overkill - how about a motorised auger ?

[@RAHIWAadeyNayGdiniyu]

Is this necessary to do for clamping bamboo robusta?

[@anwolfs9804]

Doesn't have anything to do with being over 50 Stuart, I never find my trowels either. Or pruning scissor but when I look for those, you bet I'll find the trowels! Nice start to the jungle area!

[@streaky81]

11:55 lol, my life.

[@kylehobart5194]

Seeing as roots only go about 700mm deep it doesnt make sense that the ground would provide nutrients that a planter/pot wouldnt provide. It is only going to use so much depth regardless (same soil)

[@kellyshuffle785]

I've heard Panda's work well

[@kiwifruitpoo]

I’m a big fan of those roughneck tools for posts and trenches but don’t understand why you didn’t dig a big hole with a pick and shovel as it would have been quicker.

[@rayperkins6006]

I had a bamboo problem, I found that by routinely cutting the canes back to ground level, within a year, the bamboo was exhausted and gave up the ghost. Getting the dead plant out was a bigger issue.

[@TheDajoca]

Pick axe or mattock work a treat.

[@liamfinch4129]

Bamdoo will grow very well in pots BUT YOU HAVE TO FEED IT!

[@Eli-qr9hc]

What was the flat item you used pounding the soil to level out?

[@jcdenton23]

It's called a tamper or a trenching tamper.

[@firsteerr]

Did you know your being used in an ad on you tube as the inventor of voltmax ?

[@easypeezynotsoeasydiy2193]

That root barrier looks pretty thick but as others have mentioned it may not last. Living here in Japan next to a bamboo forest I have bamboo (Take- pronounced Takay) which grows to around 20 metres, with a diameter of around 6-8 inches. Grows incredibly quickly, up to 120 cms a day, Yes a day! I have seen the rhizomes go through any weakness even concrete cracks and recently dug up roots as thick as your wrist. They dont go very deep as Stuart said luckily. Plant bamboo if you wish but keep an eye on them as they can easily get out of hand :)

[@haroldbetterson1877]

How’s it doing now?

[@geekay633]

buy the clumping variety, which doesn't spread

[@imaginitivity7853]

The previous owners of a house i lived in had screened the side of a she with bamboo. That stuff was popping up out of the ground metres away. Nightmare

[@xCupressocyparis]

Great video and advice, although I must say I don't know if that plastic will be sufficient to contain bamboo in the long term. I think I'd at least want to use a double layer. Bamboo can be seriously invasive and it can be backbreaking work to remove it from unwanted areas.

[@michaelrupf776]

Overlapping alone does npt the job. The Rhizomes will push through it after some years..

[@michaelrupf776]

*does not the job

[@bascodelagamma]

👍

[@joirnalhswarrior]

You could have chosen clumping bamboo, which does not run, and have saved yourself all that work, and potential future disaster.

[@Markoolio-Bonaparte]

Had a massiv problem with invasive bamboo on my allotment. Took 4 years to kill most of it. Smal bamboo shoots still shows up now and then. Just do yourself a favour and don´t plant invasive species in your garden. Not worth it if it gest out of control.

[@moneyjuice]

😂😂😂 thinking that a tiny sheet of Plastic will stop bamboo is quite funny

[@MartynSmith]

Stuart, parts of one of your video are being used to sell a gadget that is supposed to improve your electric use - Not sure if you know -It was a you tube advert

[@mmukhlis359]

how are you sir..? thank you so much for sharing.

[@nicholadstoap6944]

How can I stop weeds when panting a flower bed

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

With a topping. Mulch, bark or stones (split/grit or flint/pebble). Hope that helps. 😊

[@c.a.g.1977]

12:20 O, no, this happens to me as well, and has been for years, and I'm not quite 50 yet... Best solution: ask your wife, she'll find them just by rolling with her eyes and walking straight over to wherever they are!

[@ianmarsden8568]

The 'Comments' maybe missing a point here. Perhaps the channel is setting up what seems to be needed, a 'how to remove bamboo' video in the future. 😊😊

[@mortofromoz1]

If there’s one bit of advice I’d give in relation to Bamboo: DON’T. There will come a time you regret the decision to plant it. You’ll be constantly collecting and clearing dead leaves from your yard and your gutters, as well as fielding complaints from your neighbours about the same. The whole plant has high levels of Silica. It won’t break down and is very hard on and tools you use to keep it under control. Don’t believe the advised growth height - double it. What ever you do, don’t feed it, or water it.

[@lainiwaku]

you obiviously know nothing about bamboo

[@dorsetallsorts]

It's a little known fact, but the rings of Saturn are comprised of lost trowels...

[@ParaBellum2024]

We planted bamboo several years ago. I didn't install a barrier, so it inevitably spread. I eventually killed the lot by cutting it down to 6" above ground and pouring Roundup, bleach, vinegar (whatever magic solution was touted on KZbin, really) down the tubes for several months. I've since seen a video suggesting that cutting it down removed its leaves, thereby preventing photosynthesis, and _that's_ what killed it. Anyway, never again. Also, I'm not in favour of burying plastic in the garden, for whatever reason. We foolishly put "weed barrier" down years ago. Of course the weeds beat it, and I'm still pulling bits of plastic up. I would bet that the barrier will be a problem in future, and you'll rue the day you buried it. Oh, and the bamboo will find a way to get through, under, or over it!

[@MO-gs1dy]

Plant a clumping variety rather than a running one. No problem then.

[@geethamavilageetha6308]

👍🙏