Bamboo

[Texas001]

I have a 10 acre homesite in central Texas. We have a spring the runs almost all year long and it feeds a nice little pond of about 1/4 acre. I have alot of
oak trees and natural brush and grasses and even some river ferns around the pond. Had fish in there but a big old Indigo snake has cleaned them out. I think a blue heron helped him out. Anyway, I want to plant some bamboo in this area. I would like to grow it along one side of the pond and let it spread there. It can spread as much as it likes. I would like to plant some and then let it be on its own and grow naturally. I have a friend that lives in San Antonio and has at least an acre of bamboo and says I can have all I want to dig up. It is running bamboo, I know that, but how do I get some to plant at my pond area? Do I try to get small shoots or just the roots? I don't want to kill my self digging huge root balls. Actually, I don't know what a bamboo root ball would look like and how deep and wide, etc. Any tips would be appreciated. I have had a lot of people tell me not to get the running bamboo but I want it to run in that area.

 

[NigelJ]

A bamboo root system is relatively shallow and looks like a mass of bedsprings and has a similar amount of resilience.
I would use an excavator to dig out a chunk. Alternatively chop off roughly 1 -2 ft square pieces from the edges. So long as you have a handful of canes and some good shjoots coming on the roots these should take.

 

[Chuck]

Planting running bamboo on the edge of a pond is a BIG mistake. You cannot control where it will spread and it being at or in the water it will soon encircle the entire pond leaving you with very limited access. A few Weeping Willow trees would be IMO a much better choice

 

[Texas001]

Planting running bamboo on the edge of a pond is a BIG mistake. You cannot control where it will spread and it being at or in the water it will soon encircle the entire pond leaving you with very limited access. A few Weeping Willow trees would be IMO a much better choice

How many years will it take, I am 81 now.

 

[Chuck]

How many years will it take, I am 81 now.

At 81 you don't have to worry about it, but, how about the people you leave the property to. They will have to somehow clean up the mess. And a mess it will be. You cannot control the stuff and it is very difficult to kill. Within 5 years it will have really started to spread. Suppose you want to sell your property. Do you think the prospective buyers will not see it and not know what it does? If you're lucky perhaps they won't, but, I certainly wouldn't buy it. I am 72. I have seen this stuff and what it can and will do. Many places are banned from selling it. When I lived in the Houston area I saw what this stuff can do to a frame house. It started as a hedge and ended up destroying the house. It was a rental and the owners tried everything available at the time to kill it to no avail. To this day the only sure way to kill it is to either literally remove ALL of the soil to a minimum depth of 12 inches or to use dangerous chemicals that stay in the soil for years and poison waters. The stuff travels by underground runners and it can travel a good distance before sprouting and it can pop up anywhere. It even grows in water although not as well as in damp soil so the pond itself isn't safe from the stuff. It is as bad or worse than Kudzu and I am sure you have seen what that has done.

 

[Texas001]

At 81 you don't have to worry about it, but, how about the people you leave the property to. They will have to somehow clean up the mess. And a mess it will be. You cannot control the stuff and it is very difficult to kill. Within 5 years it will have really started to spread. Suppose you want to sell your property. Do you think the prospective buyers will not see it and not know what it does? If you're lucky perhaps they won't, but, I certainly wouldn't buy it. I am 72. I have seen this stuff and what it can and will do. Many places are banned from selling it. When I lived in the Houston area I saw what this stuff can do to a frame house. It started as a hedge and ended up destroying the house. It was a rental and the owners tried everything available at the time to kill it to no avail. To this day the only sure way to kill it is to either literally remove ALL of the soil to a minimum depth of 12 inches or to use dangerous chemicals that stay in the soil for years and poison waters. The stuff travels by underground runners and it can travel a good distance before sprouting and it can pop up anywhere. It even grows in water although not as well as in damp soil so the pond itself isn't safe from the stuff. It is as bad or worse than Kudzu and I am sure you have seen what that has done.

Thank you so much for your experience in bamboo. I am certainly glad I posted here for advice, otherwise I might have made the big mistake of planting a nightmare. Isn't there some bamboo that doesn't run everywhere? Clumping they call it. As I said I am a novice in bamboo but I really would like to plant some around my pond. Do you have any idea where I could get some of the clumping and would you recommend that type of bamboo? Also, would the running type be okay if I put it in flower pots on my patio? I just have this "new" thing about bamboo. Would the bamboo in flower pots bloom and scatter seeds into my yard? You have me scared now about bamboo.

 

[Chuck]

Thank you so much for your experience in bamboo. I am certainly glad I posted here for advice, otherwise I might have made the big mistake of planting a nightmare. Isn't there some bamboo that doesn't run everywhere? Clumping they call it. As I said I am a novice in bamboo but I really would like to plant some around my pond. Do you have any idea where I could get some of the clumping and would you recommend that type of bamboo? Also, would the running type be okay if I put it in flower pots on my patio? I just have this "new" thing about bamboo. Would the bamboo in flower pots bloom and scatter seeds into my yard? You have me scared now about bamboo.

Yes, there are varieties of clumping bamboo and they do not spread or at least not drastically. If you want bamboo that is the kind to have.. A word of advice when buying. Only buy from a reputable nursery, never from an individual. There are quite a few in Austin and San Antonio. Just google nurseries near me and give them a call.

 

[Texas001]

Yes, there are varieties of clumping bamboo and they do not spread or at least not drastically. If you want bamboo that is the kind to have.. A word of advice when buying. Only buy from a reputable nursery, never from an individual. There are quite a few in Austin and San Antonio. Just google nurseries near me and give them a call.

Thanks for your help. Probably saved me a lot of heartaches. Appreciate your good advice.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

There are clumping varieties that do not spread like regular bamboo.

 

[httptrish]

I planted a clumping bamboo in my yard last year and it did beautifully until one morning when I went out and all three stalks were gone,, nothing left but 3" nubs. I found the tops lying across the yard, the leaves still intact. Are deer really that desperate for a bite? I heard they're very particular choosing their vegetation. But now I'm hearing if they're hungry enough they'll eat anything. I'm going to try planting more this year, do you have any advice on how to protect them this time ? Thanks