On Feb 7, 7:47*am, Gunner wrote:
Bamboo is a grass so Roundup is not a very effective option.

The first thing to be done is ID the type bamboo,it may not be a
runner and the cure much easier.
Talk to your county Extention agent, they will be able to direct you
in the right direction and may have low cost options for you the land
owner.

??? Roundup works very well indeed on grass. Dunno about bamboo but
I don't see why it wouldn't work there as well.

Harry K

On Feb 6, 11:54*am, Elliott P wrote:
Greetings all. A new property of my family's is covered by a massive
stand of running bamboo. The lot is six acres rectangular, where about
*one and a half* acres of the total acreage is covered by a very dense
stand of running bamboo. It is 350 feet long deep at its longest
dimension The plants have been there for decades, as the property was
allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. It is our intention to
restore the property, inside and out.

Options for removal I've seen generally target small areas. However
this is a much bigger problem! My first thought is to hire someone
with a bulldozer to come push it all down, and then put it all in a
commercial wood chipper. This could get expensive though. What else
can we do? What problems does my scenario present? Hiring a panda bear
would probably not go over well with the neighborhood.

The property is in Towson, Maryland.

Thank you in advance.

I had a half acre lot down in Ga my parents bought for me as a gift.
Some gift! I could mow it down and there were be 6 inch sprouts the
next day.
The lot was in town but my neighbor had goats on a little hobby farm
out in the country. We fenced in my lot and put the goats on it. It
took all summer and fall but the goats finally won out. A new job took
me out of state so I let my neighbor grow a garden on the lot until I
could sell it. Think it would take too many goats for yours.

Jimmie

On Feb 7, 12:40*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 2/6/12 5:24 PM, Sonny wrote [in part]:

Bamboo is a grass. *You can chop it down, but it will sprout back
out. *You either have to dig up the roots, also, or kill the plant
with a herbicide. *Check with the nearest forest service, as they have
a potent enough tree killer that will do the job and only they are
allowed to use that herbicide. *I doubt you can do that big of job,
yourself.

Yes, bamboo is a giant grass. *However, you do not want to use a
tree-killing herbicide.

There are herbicides that specifically target grass, killing both the
visible growth and also the roots but generally not damaging non-grass
plants. *I use Grass Getter, but there are others. *These are best used
when the grass is actively growing.

I suggest you have the area cleared. *Any piece of bamboo remaining --
if it includes an internode (joint) -- can root and sprout. *Thus, what
is cut must be hauled away

In the spring, fertilize the area well and make sure the soil remains
moist. *When new bamboo shoots are about 1-2 ft high, spray with a
grass-killing herbicide mixed with some liquid soap. *The soap ensures
that the spray really wets the bamboo. *You might have to repeat this
treatment a few times. *Be sure to treat any new shoots that grow beyond
the current patch; running bamboo can send its underground runners many
feet away from existing shoots.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Thank you David, and everyone else for the responses thus far. The
county would not be opposed to this, but would ask for grading permits
if we were to do any serious excavation. Just cutting it all down
wouldn't require any notice of the gov't. One of the neighbors
informed us that the old homeowner used to sell/give the bamboo to the
National Zoo for its Panda. No joke!

100,000 lbs is a lot of bamboo! I don't think that's far off though.
It is very dense, hard to walk through even, and the heights range
from 10 to 30 feet in spots. I'll get some pictures, its quite a sight
to see.

Theres a new problem of some possible underground utilities and maybe
a septic field amidst the bamboo. This could explain the rapid growth.
We'll have to use caution with mowers and tractors until we know where
that is.

Thanks again for all the responses thus far.

goodhttp://www.collegefun4u.com/track.php?u=4

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.gardens.]
On Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:40:50 -0800, David E. Ross wrote:
Actually, the Arundinoideae are not bamboos. They are reeds. None of
the bamboo genera fall within that subfamily.

Arundo is in the Arundinoideae; Arundinaria is in the Bambusoideae. I think
you're confusing the two genera.

Arundinaria are the giant canes; they are found in N. America and S. Africa.
When you read about canebrakes, they're talking about big stands of Arundinaria.

Kay

why not leave the stand of bamboo by whatever name and resume donating
it to feed pandas or other zoo animals?

this equals less grass to cut

"Elliott P" wrote in message
...

Greetings all. A new property of my family's is covered by a massive
stand of running bamboo. The lot is six acres rectangular, where about
*one and a half* acres of the total acreage is covered by a very dense
stand of running bamboo. It is 350 feet long deep at its longest
dimension The plants have been there for decades, as the property was
allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. It is our intention to
restore the property, inside and out.

Options for removal I've seen generally target small areas. However
this is a much bigger problem! My first thought is to hire someone
with a bulldozer to come push it all down, and then put it all in a
commercial wood chipper. This could get expensive though. What else
can we do? What problems does my scenario present? Hiring a panda bear
would probably not go over well with the neighborhood.

The property is in Towson, Maryland.

Thank you in advance.

If you're in MD, your 'bamboo' is most likely Japanese Knotweed.
It's REAL tough to get rid of!

JAS

"Limp Arbor" wrote in message
...

They make great tomato stakes after they are cut down & dried.

The initial cutting is the least of your problem. You'll then need to
'cut the grass' twice a week until it stops trying to grow back...

I cane "beat" my wife & her grandmother with a chunk of it. You should see
granny try to wheel away from me when I get the big stick out. She gets it
twice as hard when she tries to make a break for it.

I don't think it is native anywhere on the continent. but then I hae
been wrong once or twice in my life.

There are 3 species of Arundinaria native to the US, all in the SE/Appalachia
area: A. appalachiana, A. gigantea, and A. tecta. That's all we've got for
native bamboos. There are others in N America, in Mexico and Central America.
Mexico, for instance, has 8 genera and 35 species.

If you want to know mo http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/

Kay

Actually, the Arundinoideae are not bamboos. They are reeds. None of
the bamboo genera fall within that subfamily.


Oops! Arundinaria are NOT part of the Arundinoideae. Instead, they are
indeed bamboos.

On Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:49:20 -0800, David E. Ross wrote:
Oops! Arundinaria are NOT part of the Arundinoideae. Instead, they are
indeed bamboos.

This came through after I found the initial statement... should have
known you'd know when you stopped to think about it!

Kay

On 2/7/12 8:26 PM, Harry K wrote:
On Feb 7, 7:47 am, Gunner wrote:
Bamboo is a grass so Roundup is not a very effective option.

The first thing to be done is ID the type bamboo,it may not be a
runner and the cure much easier.
Talk to your county Extention agent, they will be able to direct you
in the right direction and may have low cost options for you the land
owner.

??? Roundup works very well indeed on grass. Dunno about bamboo but
I don't see why it wouldn't work there as well.

Harry K

Roundup kills almost any plant. Grass Getter, Poast, and similar
grass-specific herbicides do not harm most broad-leaf plants.

With both herbicids and insecticides, I tend to favor the kinds that are
specific to the pest I'm trying to kill instead of killing everything in
the neighborhood. No, I'm not an organic gardener; I'm merely careful.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On 2/8/12 1:18 PM, John Simpson wrote:

If you're in MD, your 'bamboo' is most likely Japanese Knotweed.
It's REAL tough to get rid of!

JAS


Both Wikipedia and Sunset's "Western Garden Book" indicate that Japanese
knotweed is Persicaria capitata. This is a ground cover that, in my
garden, forms a mat about 6 inches thick. Through most (sometimes all)
of the year, it has small clusters of pink flowers that resemble the
flowers of white clover. For that reason, P. capitata is also called
pink clover although it is definitely not a clover at all.

However, Wikipedia also indicates that Japanese knotweed is also
Fallopia japonica (aka, Polygonum cuspidatum or Reynoutria japonica).
This indeed grows like a bamboo to 10 or more feet high. If this is
really what Elliott P has, a grass-specific herbicide will not work
because Fallopia japonica is not at all a grass.

All this illustrates the fact that many different, unlike plants often
share the same common name. This is why I try to use botanical names
when possible. This also illustrates why the plant should be positively
identified before any attempt to eradicate it. If a neighbor was
correct in reporting that this was cut for feeding pandas at a nearby
zoo, however, this must be a bamboo and not F. japonica.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Feb 8, 2:43*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 2/7/12 8:26 PM, Harry K wrote:

On Feb 7, 7:47 am, Gunner wrote:
Bamboo is a grass so Roundup is not a very effective option.

The first thing to be done is ID the type bamboo,it may not be a
runner and the cure much easier.
Talk to your county Extention agent, they will be able to direct you
in the right direction and may have low cost options for you the land
owner.

??? *Roundup works very well indeed on grass. *Dunno about bamboo but
I don't see why it wouldn't work there as well.

Harry K

Roundup kills almost any plant. *Grass Getter, Poast, and similar
grass-specific herbicides do not harm most broad-leaf plants.

With both herbicids and insecticides, I tend to favor the kinds that are
specific to the pest I'm trying to kill instead of killing everything in
the neighborhood. *No, I'm not an organic gardener; I'm merely careful.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

In the case of bamboo, that will be the only thing in that patch.
Time he gets it killed out he will be looking at bare ground no matter
what he uses.

Harry K

On Feb 8, 2:43*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 2/7/12 8:26 PM, Harry K wrote:

On Feb 7, 7:47 am, Gunner wrote:
Bamboo is a grass so Roundup is not a very effective option.

The first thing to be done is ID the type bamboo,it may not be a
runner and the cure much easier.
Talk to your county Extention agent, they will be able to direct you
in the right direction and may have low cost options for you the land
owner.

??? *Roundup works very well indeed on grass. *Dunno about bamboo but
I don't see why it wouldn't work there as well.

Harry K

Roundup kills almost any plant. *Grass Getter, Poast, and similar
grass-specific herbicides do not harm most broad-leaf plants.

With both herbicids and insecticides, I tend to favor the kinds that are
specific to the pest I'm trying to kill instead of killing everything in
the neighborhood. *No, I'm not an organic gardener; I'm merely careful.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary


Controlling Bamboo in Landscape Plantings

by Dr. Joseph C. Neal, Weed Scientist
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University


"Too often I receive the following plea: "My neighbor planted bamboo
and now it is coming up all over my yard. I have tried to kill it and
nothing seems to work!. What can I do?" Bamboo is one of the most
difficult to control "escaped ornamentals." Once established, bamboo
can take over landscapes, stream banks, and woodlands. I have seen
bamboo shoots actually breaking though concrete driveways.
Unfortunately, postemergence herbicides such as Roundup seem to only
burn back the foliage, providing no real control. "

On Feb 8, 6:14*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 2/8/12 1:18 PM, John Simpson wrote:



If you're in MD, your 'bamboo' is most likely Japanese Knotweed.
It's REAL tough to get rid of!

JAS

Both Wikipedia and Sunset's "Western Garden Book" indicate that Japanese
knotweed is Persicaria capitata. *This is a ground cover that, in my
garden, forms a mat about 6 inches thick. *Through most (sometimes all)
of the year, it has small clusters of pink flowers that resemble the
flowers of white clover. *For that reason, P. capitata is also called
pink clover although it is definitely not a clover at all.

However, Wikipedia also indicates that Japanese knotweed is also
Fallopia japonica (aka, Polygonum cuspidatum or Reynoutria japonica).
This indeed grows like a bamboo to 10 or more feet high. *If this is
really what Elliott P has, a grass-specific herbicide will not work
because Fallopia japonica is not at all a grass.

All this illustrates the fact that many different, unlike plants often
share the same common name. *This is why I try to use botanical names
when possible. *This also illustrates why the plant should be positively
identified before any attempt to eradicate it. *If a neighbor was
correct in reporting that this was cut for feeding pandas at a nearby
zoo, however, this must be a bamboo and not F. japonica.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

David and others,

I uploaded several pictures I happen to have of the questionable
plants to my Dropbox account. You can see the gallery he
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/27454...amboo?h=d5ab39

I took these before posting this, therefore I don't have any close ups
of the leaves really. The first shows a fox I found running in there.
The next four are various angles, where you can see how massive these
are. There are also some in the snow, and then one showing how a large
tree has fallen among the bamboo causing some damage.

I'll take more when time and daylight allows.