Bamboo’s beneficial attributes are (practically) endless. From food and fiber to their ornamental value, these popular plants are common in many homes. However, many prospective bamboo owners don’t realize that they spread like wildfire, which poses a significant problem. So, to help new cultivators, we’ll explore how to stop bamboo from spreading.
There are several methods to prevent and limit bamboo from spreading, including planting the correct species, using a plant pot, and proactive management. Bamboo spreads via underground rhizomes, quickly covering vast areas with new shoots. They are hardy plants that quickly replace other species.
Bamboo plants are wonderful additions to any garden; however, their spread often hinders gardeners. Below, we’ll expound on the best methods for preventing bamboo plants from spreading, why and how they spread, and the consequences of allowing them to spread.
The Best Methods To Prevent Bamboo From Spreading
Thanks to its lightning growth rate, bamboo spreads to areas where we don’t want or need it to be. Fortunately, several methods exist for mitigating, preventing, and outright stopping this spread.
These methods include the following.
Selecting The Correct Bamboo Species Is Essential To Management
There are approximately 1400 bamboo species globally, with the greatest concentration of plants and species in Asia (east, southeast, and the surrounding areas). There are two growth forms: clumping and running bamboo.
Clumping bamboo is more manageable while running bamboo is more challenging to control (they can spread up to 20’ from the main stem).
Some species, like Green Glaucous Bamboo (Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens), are renowned for fast growth rates, quickly spreading to populate an area. Other species are slower growing with minimal spread.
Some of the most popular ornamental bamboo species include:
- Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra)
- Buddha Bamboo (Bambusa ventricosa)
- Guadua Bamboo (Guadua spp.)
- Umbrella Bamboo (Fargesia murielae)
Planting your bamboo in the correct area also regulates how well or poorly it spreads. For example, some species are shade-tolerant/loving and thrive in cooler regions, while others are sun-loving and rapidly grow/spread when in full sunlight.
You can manipulate how well they’ll do by matching your bamboo species needs to your garden’s layout.
Climate Influences Bamboo’s Spread
The climate you’re in is also essential. Most bamboo species grow in tropical, subtropical, or mild temperate regions and are well-adapted to these conditions.
If you live in a moderate to colder temperate region, a mild temperate species may spread, while a tropical or subtropical species won’t (if it manages to survive).
Excellent growers in colder environments include Japanese Arrow Bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica) and Chilean Bamboo (Chusquea culeou).
Planting Bamboo As A Potted Plant Controls Its Spread
Planting it in a pot is the most effective and commonly used method for preventing bamboo from spreading. Thanks to the restrictive walls of the pot, a bamboo’s roots are completely cut off from the surrounding soil.
There are many benefits to keeping bamboo as a pot plant, including:
- There is very little chance of it spreading.
- You can place and move the plant as desired.
- Pot plants can go inside the house/under structures.
- It stays a manageable size.
- Many people bonsai bamboo plants in pots, a fun hobby, producing beautiful and unique plants.
- Pot plants add an aesthetic appeal to your garden.
It’s important to remember that there is always a risk of the roots growing through the pot (particularly with older plants of the invasive/pervasive nature). So, ensure the container is strong and durable to contend with the ever-searching roots.
You’ll also need to manage the bamboo plant more intensively, as it’ll require more nutrients and water to support its growth.
Controlling Bamboo’s Spread With Underground Barriers
If you’re growing a hedge around your garden and don’t want to use pots, the next best method is to put a barrier under the soil to contain the roots (like a pot buried underground).
These barriers are frequently made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a type of plastic that does not rust or rot.
You purchase it in rolls (like paper), which you unroll and place in the ground as a barrier. The purpose is to make it difficult for rhizomes and roots to spread in that direction so the plant moves them in the opposite direction (controlling where the bamboo establishes).
Bamboo rhizomes and roots are located within the top 12 to 18” of soil, so when using a barrier, it should be from just above the surface to 24” deep and of 40 mil thickness for smaller to medium-sized plants, and a 60 mil thickness at 30” deep for medium to large plants.
Alternatively, you can dig a hole and line it with this barrier. Fill it with enough soil and plant the bamboo inside of it. While not a perfect container, it will limit the rhizomes from spreading in all directions.
There are several reputable Bamboo Root Barrier products on the market.
Controlling Bamboo’s Spread By Rigorous Pruning And Management
When opting for controlling bamboo through pruning and other management interventions, selecting a species that is easy to control is essential. I.e., it has a slower growth rate/rate of spread and is a clumping type of bamboo (while not all running types are pervasive, it’s a rule of thumb).
What intervention/management you choose relates to whether you’re trying to prevent bamboo from spreading or correcting an already spreading plant. Physical management may also require chemical interventions.
Some useful interventions include:
Cutting And Using A Broad-Spectrum Herbicide
Cutting the bamboo is the first step for most interventions. If the cutting is preventative, you’ll cut down into the soil, severing the rhizome and detaching it from the main stem.
For small-scale spreading, you can dig the rhizome out of the ground, removing the issue completely and instantly.
While herbicides should not be the first choice, if the bamboo has already spread to other areas, sever the rhizomes and treat the plant with a herbicide like Glyphosate. Alternatively, mow/saw the bamboo plants, and when they begin resprouting, apply the herbicide.
Remember, a broad-spectrum herbicide kills any plants it comes into contact with. When using it, be careful not to spill the poison onto desirable plants and to use the correct equipment during application.
There are two alternative “chemical” treatments to herbicides:
- Boiling water will also kill the meristems (growing parts) and other parts. You’ll need to expose the rhizome to effectively kill the plant/prevent it from growing.
- Distilled white vinegar has a similar effect.
Planting Bamboo Alternatives Which Don’t Spread
If you love bamboo but don’t enjoy the thought of its spreading propensity, consider planting a bamboo look-alike that doesn’t spread.
Some examples include:
- Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
- Water bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
- Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)
The Mechanisms Behind Bamboo Spreading
While controlling bamboo spread is essential to maintaining a healthy, diverse garden, understanding the “why, how, and what if” of bamboo spreading is essential to managing these beautiful yet pervasive plants.
How Does Bamboo Spread?
Bamboo belongs to the grass family and grows from a rhizome (an underground stem that stores nutrients).
Bamboo’s primary mode of spreading is through vegetative propagation and not through flowering like most other plants. As the rhizome spreads underground, it pushes up new culms (stems) from the nodes (almost like a tree underground pushing out new branches).
Bamboos are also some of the fastest growing plants on earth, with some species attaining 1′ a day! This rapid growth with the vegetative spread means that bamboo can colonize and establish itself in a new area much quicker than other plants.
The Consequences Of Allowing Bamboo To Spread
Although bamboo is a useful and attractive plant, there are some drawbacks to its spreading nature.
Bamboo left to spread has severe consequences for other plants and structures, including:
- Roots and rhizomes spread into and break concrete by entering existing cracks, destabilizing floors, damaging swimming pools, etc.
- Bamboo plants “choke” other plants by growing faster, absorbing the nutrients in the soil, and monopolizing the sunlight.
- By replacing indigenous plants, the local ecology is negatively impacted (when the bamboo escapes from a garden).
Conclusion
Thanks to bamboo’s rapid growth rate and adaptability, it often spreads out of gardens, turning an ornamental plant into an invasive problem. The best methods of controlling bamboo’s spread are selecting the correct species, using root barriers, and managing with cutting and chemical control.