How to Keep Bamboos from Becoming Invasive

Bamboo can either be clumping or running. Clumping bamboo spreads very slowly and concentrically, extending its original clump a little bit each year if they aren’t kept in check. This kind of bamboo isn’t invasive because it is easy to control. Running bamboo, on the other hand, is often considered a real problem for a plant. Without proper precautions, it can spread vigorously and seem (it isn’t) nearly impossible to control.

Most bamboo found in the US is running bamboo, which has more species that tolerate our temperate climate. Golden grove, black bamboo, and Kuma bamboo are popular types of cold-hardy, running bamboo, as are arrow bamboo and river cane. But there are hundreds of species. Whatever the type of running bamboo, the precautionary methods of control are the same, and they can make all the difference.

Source: Our Japanese Garden Escape/YouTube

How Running Bamboo Works

Running bamboo makes an amazing, fast-growing, and evergreen grove that can work as a living fence, privacy barrier, and manicured hedge. It’s inexpensive to get going, and it can provide a lot of handy materials for garden and outdoor projects.

The bad reputation that this bamboo has comes from its ability to spread far and wide, and quickly. Running bamboo can send out long, underground rhizomes that can send up new bamboo shoots dozens of feet, in any direction, from the actual plant.

What often happens is that people plant bamboo without preparing to control it. Before they know what’s happened, the rhizomes have sent up new shoots all over the place. They can show up throughout the yard, under the fence, into the neighbor’s yard, or amongst the trees at the edge of a forest. Then, people freak out.

But it doesn’t have to go this way.

Source: Volunteer Gardener/YouTube

Controlling Running Bamboo

When running bamboo spreads, it is doing so very near the surface of the ground, typically no deeper than four to six inches. If it can’t do that, it can’t spread. Furthermore, it can be kept in check with—and this is important—regular and attentive maintenance which is no more work than typical lawn care.

Most people use different types of barriers to control the spread of bamboo.

• Natural Barriers: Bamboo likes water, but it cannot grow in water. So, creeks and ponds are fantastic barriers for controlling running bamboo. They’ll not be able to move past these obstacles.
• Structural Barriers: Most bamboo rhizomes can’t cause damage to thick concrete foundations (as newer homes and buildings have). They can’t travel under frequently trafficked roadways and, especially, dirt or gravel tracks.
• Installed Barriers: Lastly, there are special barriers—as simple as tough, thick plastic sheeting—that can be installed a couple of feet deep around the area where bamboo is going to be planted. The rhizomes won’t break through the plastic.

Another great control technique is to plant running bamboo in open areas where it can be monitored on all sides.

• Mow It Regularly: Running bamboo sends up new shoots in the springtime, and if these are kept mowed regularly (every week or two), they’ll never get large enough to cause any issues or extend the bamboo grove. Once the season has passed, the shoots won’t come up again until the following spring. If kept mowed, new bamboo can’t grow.
• Cut the Rhizomes: A more extreme method of mowing the bamboo is to cut the rhizomes first. This involves using a spade or shovel and circling the growing area to cut the spreading rhizomes. Then, mow the area regularly and the rhizome will have no nutrients from the original plant (or the mowed sprouts) to get established. It’ll die.

Source: Shanti Green/YouTube

Why Grow Bamboo

Bamboo, unchecked and without measures to keep it from spreading, can become an invasive problem, and planted in the wilderness or within forests, it can potentially damage local ecosystems. But that’s not all there is to know about bamboo. It can be a very enjoyable plant to have around developed areas, and there are many reasons for that.

1. A grove of bamboo can produce more oxygen than a similarly sized stand of trees.
2. Bamboo is great for preventing erosion and storing water in the soil.
3. Bamboo provides fantastic construction materials for home projects.
4. It’s a beautiful, evergreen plant that keeps the yard colorful in winter.
5. Bamboo is an effective carbon sink and produces a lot of biomass for mulching and such.
6. Certain bamboos have choice, edible shoots, providing lots of food every spring.
7. It’s easy to grow and grows very quickly.

Related Content:

• How to Grow and Use Bamboo
• How Sustainable is Bamboo Fiber?
• How to Grow Edible Bamboo
• How to Grow Bamboo at Home
• 8 Eco-Friendly Pet Products Made from Bamboo
• 10 Eco-friendly Bamboo Products

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