"Gary Rich" wrote in message
...
Chris Herring wrote:
"zookeeper" wrote in message
...
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

The sheet metal will rust away eventually, so you are asking for some
long term maintenence as you eventually dig it out and replace it. EDPM
is a longer lasting solution. One thing I see commercial planters do
(Six Flags amusement parks as an example) is cut the bottom out of a
EDPM trash can and plant the bamboo in there. The root tips don't dive
down that far so it will contain it. Put gravel or something in the
bottom to ensure good drainage.

Boo and oak together may be asking for trouble. Bamboo needs copious
amounts of water during its growing season. Oak (at least all the oak
varieties in the west) need dry feet all summer long or they become weak
and sickly. Summer watering of oaks in yards and parkways is one of the
leading causes of disease and death of the trees.

The tree is a white oak. Not sure if the same concerns about root rot apply
to that tree (especially here in Maryland.. it seems like it has rained
every day since I moved here!). In any case, that fact seems to lend more
support to the planter idea.. I can control the drainage from the planter so
that it is outside/away from the drip line of the tree.

Chris

"Chris Herring" wrote in message
...
snip
The tree is a white oak. Not sure if the same concerns about root rot
apply
to that tree (especially here in Maryland.. it seems like it has rained
every day since I moved here!). In any case, that fact seems to lend more
support to the planter idea.. I can control the drainage from the planter
so
that it is outside/away from the drip line of the tree.
snip

Not even my Canadian Hemlocks have been adversely affected by the rains we
have had in MD. I'd suspect the amount of water needed by the Bamboo would
not adversely affect the oak. Just my 2.

BV.

Chris Herring wrote:
"zookeeper" wrote:
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 ...

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)?

We are confident that the sheet metal will contain the bamboo for a
while. And if it does rust and the bamboo begins to get through the
barrier, there are a lot of ways to slow it down or keep it contained:
when the shoots are young, they can be mowed or broken off, and if you
continue to break off the shoots, those runners will die back.

We were concerned about the drainage because our soil is clay with river
rocks. But it seems to work well -- rain water drains away, and we
frequently flood the bamboo ditch with pond water when doing pond water
changes during spring / summer.
--
zookeeper

Gary Rich wrote:
Chris Herring wrote:
"zookeeper" wrote
This sounds like an interesting idea. I would like to plant bamboo
next to a fence, ...

The sheet metal will rust away eventually, so you are asking for some
long term maintenence as you eventually dig it out and replace it. EDPM
is a longer lasting solution. One thing I see commercial planters do
(Six Flags amusement parks as an example) is cut the bottom out of a
EDPM trash can and plant the bamboo in there. The root tips don't dive
down that far so it will contain it. Put gravel or something in the
bottom to ensure good drainage ...

We're not concerned about the sheet metal rusting away for quite a
while. It's galvanized sheet metal used for roof flashing, so it's
fairly thick and treated to withstand moisture. If we start to have
problems with escaping bamboo, there are ways of dealing with it. Or
we'll explore other barriers when necessary.

The EDPM trash can sounds like a good idea, though. Might have to check
into that for some bamboo nearer our pond.
--
Zk

zookeeper writes:

We are confident that the sheet metal will contain the bamboo for a
while. And if it does rust and the bamboo begins to get through

I wonder if aluminum flashing would last longer in contact with the ground?

BenignVanilla wrote:
"Chris Herring" wrote in message
...
snip

The tree is a white oak. Not sure if the same concerns about root rot

apply

to that tree (especially here in Maryland.. it seems like it has rained
every day since I moved here!). In any case, that fact seems to lend more
support to the planter idea.. I can control the drainage from the planter

so

that it is outside/away from the drip line of the tree.

snip

Not even my Canadian Hemlocks have been adversely affected by the rains we
have had in MD. I'd suspect the amount of water needed by the Bamboo would
not adversely affect the oak. Just my 2.

BV.

I think it may just apply to the oaks native to the west were we
(normally) get no rain at all between May and Oct. It's not as simple
as root rot, it's more that they need to hibernate during the hot dry
months and water prevents that from happening.

I'd double check white oak to see if it can handle the amount of
moisture that the boo needs, but you may be OK.

garyr