Our home came with bamboo growing close to the foundation and we knew immediately that it would need to be transplanted to another area. What we did not know is that bamboo was invasive and that once it was established in your yard nearly impossible to stop it from spreading.
My husband dug up the roots and replanted the bamboo by our patio At first we thought it was a good privacy barrier but soon learned that it was invasive and that we needed to prevent it from spreading. We cut the large bamboo canes with a saw at the soil line and followed that by cutting the new shoots as they emerged.
The following photos show the bamboo canes. You can see that they were planted too close to the foundation and growing out of control.
The best way to stop the bamboo from spreading is to control all new growth by cutting it back as soon as the shoots emerge in the spring and throughout the summer months.
Another way to control the
spread is to mow over the new bamboo shoots.
Set your mower at the lowest level then mow over the bamboo, you will
need to repeat mowing of the bamboo weekly to prevent it from growing back.
Many people will stop the bamboo from spreading by cutting back the shoots and then treating the area with chemicals or herbicides. This method is a way to permanently kill the bamboo. Be aware that you may have to repeat the herbicide treatment a few times to stop the roots from spreading.
We find the best way to manage the bamboo growth is to cut back the new shoots and cut the roots that appear just below the soil surface. Then mow the area weekly.
