"zookeeper" wrote in message
...
jskirwin wrote:
I am in the process of adding a pond with EPDM liner in an area with
bamboo - for the full on Japanese effect. I dug the hole over a year
ago (lost job long story) then finally bought the liner two weeks ago.
Lined the hole with sand and heavy landscape fabric. Placed the liner,
filled it then let it set for a week to settle. Saturday morning all
was well. Tuesday evening found a 4 inch long bamboo spike through the
liner


To contain our bamboo in narrow space along a fence, we
dug a trench 12 feet long, 2 feet wide, 2 feet deep. We
bought sheet metal and formed a long oval to line the
trench. It is 3 inches taller than the trench to
prevent the bamboo from "jumping" out of the trench;
we stacked rocks on either side to hide the sheet metal
flange. The ends of the sheet metal lining were
overlapped 12 inches, riveted and sealed with pure
silicon caulking. We planted two black bamboo clumps,
which have produced gradually taller canes each year
and have finally begun to spread around in the trench
to fill in between the two clumps. We have not had any
runners jump or go beneath the liner since it was
constructed about 4-5 years ago.

There are a number of commercial products available to
line a planting hole, but they were too expensive for
our project. The sheet metal was relatively inexpensive
as was the riveter and silicon caulk.

Sorry, I am diverting off-topic here..

This sounds like an interesting idea. I would like to plant bamboo next to a
fence, and I have been wondering about the best way to contain it. Did you
consider the possibility that the sheet metal might rust away? If I
understand you correctly, you essentially made an in-ground "planter" for
the bamboo.. sides and bottom of the trench are sheet metal. What about
drainage (apparently not a problem as your bamboo seems happy)?

One of my big concerns is that there is a large oak tree near the fence. I
don't want to disturb the roots of the oak by digging a trench.. now I am
wondering about building a planter above ground, and lining it with perhaps
sheet metal..

Chris