Thanks, Chris. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

BTW: the best way to manage the shoots seems to be to let them grow to
5-6 ft. and then snap them off. Otherwise they just keep coming up.
Folklore has it that once the bamboo root structure musters the energy
to drive the shoots to that height and then gets cut down, it can't
muster enough to continue spreading. In any case it seems to work for
the new shoots.

Dan

On 3 Apr 2003 20:44:39 -0800, (Chris) wrote:

Dan Epstein wrote in message


Dan,

The best way to deal with the uncontrolled bamboo problem is to mow
down the shoots as they come in. As they are shooting, they are very
soft and easy to cut down, you can even kick them over. Large timber
bamboo (as you are describing) will shoot April, May and June, with
some wimpy shoots about a month on either side of it.

As for cutting down established and hardened off culms, good luck.
I've used a sawzall and a chainsaw. They are both pretty effective,
but the "fiberglass" nature of the plant will dull many blades.

Ask around if there are people in your area interested in it. You
described what sounds like Phylostachys Nigra "Bory", usually pretty
sought after. Some people will be happy to help you harvest your
problem. What part of the world are you in?

Good luck!

Chris
Chino,CA