Thread: Lucky Bamboo
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Old 02-04-2003, 08:56 AM
griffon
 
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Default bamboo

Some of the suggestions for containment have been too shallow.

For larger and more invasive running types of bamboo, a person might
regret not making a barrier 3 feet deep.

I saw a lovely field of moso on vacation - it was mostly covering an
area of about two acres. They had dug all around it, making a trench
around two feet deep and one foot across, and then they filled the
entire trench with cement. The bamboo has been escaping. I am told
that even three feet is not foolproof for an agressive spreader that
is very happy with it's location, but it can work. Obviously you want
the barrier to go straight down as well, especially if you use one of
the bamboo liner-type containment systems. Also bamboo tends to jump
over the top edge of the containment whenever it can and has to be
hacked/clipped/chopped off to keep it in bounds.

I do not suggest running types in any backyard unless it is more of a
field than a yard. If your backyard can be measured in terms of
acreage, then that might be an idea. Just contain it well.

Also keep in mind that many types of running bamboo can run in any
direction as far as the culms are tall per year.

My first attempt at growing bamboo was to plant some golden - it was
only about four feet tall and the first year after I planted it the
bamboo had spread to a five by five area and remained fairly low. I
mulched it and added some compost and began tossing old fruit and
veggies into it since it was near my kitchen. I watered it much more
during dry spells. The next spring I had some culms around 12 feet
tall and it had spread to about 2 times the previous year's size. I
realized that I needed to research before I planted anymore.