Destroying bamboo: how to remove it of course

Bamboo is one of the most popular plants in the garden. Not only are the grasses sturdy and can be used for a variety of decorative ideas, they also grow exceptionally fast and tall. Exactly this joy of growth can lead to problems in the long run, especially if the bamboo spreads in the garden and prevents other plants from growing. In this case the bamboo has to be "destroyed" in order to protect the other plants.

Important: patience

If your bamboo is slowly becoming a problem, remove it naturally and gently. It is often advised to treat bamboo with agents based on glyphosate or other chemical substances so that the grasses die off. However, the use of glyphosate is highly controversial and therefore you should absolutely avoid using such solutions. The methods below can be used to get rid of the bamboo effectively as long as you can be patient. Bamboo is extreme persistent

and can only be disposed of quickly as a young plant or as a small species. Otherwise, it may take years for the bamboo to be removed.

tip: If you want to remove your old bamboo, but do not want to do without the decorative grasses, you should rely on species that do not form runners. In the case of stolon-forming species, however, you should never use the Rhizome barrier forget that the grass prevents the grass from forming lateral runners that can quickly lead to invasive spread.

Removing bamboo - ways

spade

If your bamboo plant is less than a meter tall, you can use the spade to remove the plant. If you notice in these growth stages that the plant strongly drives out and would displace other plants or break through the lawn, for example, you should pull out your spade and dig up the plant and its roots again. However, depending on the size and spread, this work can take hours, but of all the solutions mentioned here it is the fastest. With one or more helping hands, the work is much faster and is a good workout.

tip: If you are not strong enough, you can rent a mini excavator. These can quickly and effectively pull the rhizomes out of the earth in one piece and do not require any muscle strength.

Tiller

A power hoe, also known as a hoe, is also very good at effectively destroying the bamboo. This method is very suitable for bamboo of all sizes, as the device plows through the earth and destroys the bamboo roots and rhizomes. Of course, this method requires a tiller and a little patience, as the process takes several weeks. Once you have your device available, follow these instructions:

• cut the bamboo as close to the ground as possible
• dispose of the straws
• now chop the location of the bamboo within a radius of 2 m
• set the device to a depth of 50 cm
• this is the only way to catch the rhizomes and roots, since bamboo is a shallow root
• Mill the rhizomes and roots as best you can
• in most cases you will have to run the hoe over the same spot several times
• check the soil several times to see if the rhizomes and roots are crushed
• now let the soil dry out for five to six weeks

As a rule, pieces of root that are less than five centimeters in size no longer sprout. Over the waiting time, these dry up and rot. During this time, it is possible that further runners form on the edges, which you absolutely have to dig up. So dig up all the runners that have reached a size of one centimeter and check again for more runners after two weeks. After a period of about two to three months, the bamboo should be completely removed.

tip: You can rent a tiller cheaply in hardware stores and specialist companies. On average, you pay 50 euros per day for the device, while you have to reckon with a weekend rate of around 75 euros and a deposit of 150 to 200 euros.

mowing machine

You can also tackle the grass with the lawn mower. With this method you make use of the way of life of the bamboo grasses, because they need a certain height in order to be able to grow further. The lawnmower prevents them from reaching a certain height, which over time weakens the plant to such an extent that it dies. The best way to do this is to use a so-called Meadow or all mowers at. These shorten the hard stalks of the bamboo without any problems and are therefore the ideal work tool. Of course, conventional lawnmowers are a good choice, but you should robust Have device available.

method

1. Cut off the stalks of the bamboo near the ground and dispose of them. If you have a larger specimen in the garden, you can try to dig it up completely. Over time, runners will form, which you can then trim with the lawnmower.

2. Now wait for new shoots. You can recognize them by their light color and thickness. The stalks are still very thin and can therefore be easily cut with the lawnmower. As soon as the new shoots appear, cut them back to ground level with the lawnmower and repeat this step over several weeks. Depending on how vigorous your bamboo is, you will cut back new shoots every week.

3. After the stalks look a little weaker over time, cut them back again with the lawnmower. Now prepare a layer of cardboard or paper with a thickness of at least ten centimeters, which you distribute on the site of the bamboo.

4. Fix the paper layer with a black, hard-wearing tarpaulin that is completely opaque have to be. Stretch the tarpaulin over the paper or cardboard layer. Make sure to fasten these as well as possible so that the tarpaulin does not slip. Heavy stones are best for this. The bamboo is now robbed of the sun, rain and fresh air that it needs to drive out. As a result, you go in more and more over time and even further offshoots are no longer formed.

With this method, expect your lawn to suffer as well. To 2 to 3 months you can remove the tarpaulin and recondition the floor. Of course, you can only try to remove the bamboo by constantly mowing it, but it takes longer and is not always successful.

Stalk cut

The final method of getting rid of the bamboo is similar to using the lawn mower. For this, however, you do not use the lawn mower, but a Lopperswith which you can easily cut the stalks:

1. At the beginning, cut all the stalks back to the ground. Be particularly careful here so that all the stalks are really the same length. This saves you a lot of work and the method works more effectively.

2. Now wait for the plant to sprout again and check when the side branches appear. The unfolding of the side branches is the indication of the next cut in order to slowly but surely finish off the bamboo.

3. Now cut the stalks back to the ground again. Repeat this process until no more green forms. Especially small shoots at the interfaces must be cut away as soon as you notice them, as they can lead to rapid budding.

4. Since this method lasts for several years, winter naturally comes in between times. If this is the case, just let them stay over the winter and cut them back in spring as soon as a new shoot tries to show itself.

5. Implement this procedure again over the year. A big advantage of this method is the gentle effect on the garden, because you neither have to dig something up nor cover the earth. While you'll have to wait a lot longer here, the rest of your plants are doing just fine.

Dispose of bamboo waste

Bamboo waste is a bit difficult to dispose of because the runners can sprout even in little soil. Especially if you want to take the entire plant out of the ground and dispose of it in one piece, you have to do this with the household waste, as the compost is usually not suitable for this. Even some green waste landfills do not accept the bamboo leftovers, especially when they are rhizome acts, as these can sprout even in green waste. Therefore, you need to find out who will accept the rhizomes. Of course you can cut stalks easily dispose of on the compost or in the green waste landfill.

tip: Alternatively, you can give away or sell rhizomes through classified ads, as bamboo is extremely popular. This will save you a lot of costs and maybe even make some money on the side.