Bamboos
In soil, bamboo uses its rhizome to develop its root system and to propagate. So you can see young shoots appear in different places of the garden, even where it can be inconvenient, between the flagstones of a driveway, for example. What is called rhizome is a rod which circulates underground, or in water for certain species of plants, and which contains food reserves.
First of all, it is necessary to understand that not all bamboo is invasive. If you want to buy bamboo, you must therefore make sure to choose a so-called non-tracing species.
We therefore distinguish:
- the non-tracing bamboo Where cespiteux, that is to say a bamboo whose limited root system only spreads over a small distance and thus reduces the risk of invasion;
- Bamboo tracing may, meanwhile, have a root system that extends far into your garden, or even into the land next door through its rhizomes which can crawl very far.
How to get rid of bamboo?
To eradicate bamboos that are already well established, it is necessary to be patient. It takes time, but then you will be permanently rid of these plants.
First step: attack the aerial parts
You should know that rhizomatous plants accumulate their reserves through photosynthesis, which means that it is the aerial part that provides the roots with what is necessary for their development. This is why you should start by cutting the bamboo plants low to the ground. If the canes are too thick, to make it easier for you, you can use a brush cutter or a saw. This first step can be carried out in March. This is the best time to weaken the plant. However, if you don’t want to wait, you can take action throughout the year.
Second step: remove the shoots
After removing the aerial part, you will see many shoots appear. This is what we call spears. You can eliminate them as they appear, for example with your mower. It is important to remove them frequently. While this work may seem tedious at first, the frequency of the need for this operation will decrease over time, as the rhizomes are weakened each time.
Third step: pull out the rhizomes
Even if you weaken the rhizomes, it will still be necessary to remove them. For this, the best is to act at the end of each season. Using a pickaxe, pull out the rhizomes that are located underground. The aerial parts being cut and the rhizomes weakened, this operation is then simpler. This step is optional. Indeed, if you want to avoid damaging your land with the pickaxe, it is also possible to continue to remove the spears until the rhizomes are exhausted and lead to their death. But it takes a lot longer.
To remain vigilant
When you feel like you’ve come to the end of your bamboo, stay vigilant all the same. It is enough that a fragment has persisted for the plant to start again. You should therefore watch for the slightest appearance of a new shoot and remove it immediately. After two seasons without a new shoot, you can consider that you have come to terms with your bamboo.
Another solution to eradicate bamboo
Another way to get rid of this invasive plant is to deprive it of everything.
- Start by cutting the canes low to the ground. As in the first solution, you can use a brush cutter, for example, or a saw.
- Then install a thick tarp over the different stumps. Support it with stones, for example, or whatever you have available, so that it does not lift up and let no light pass through.
- Watch that no growth appears next to the place where you have tarpaulin, otherwise you will have to extend the perimeter of the tarpaulin, once the aerial part has been cut.
- Leave the tarp in place for at least a month.
Once the tarp has been removed, as before, make sure the plant does not pick up for a while. This solution is certainly not very aesthetic, but it will allow the plant to be killed by depriving it of light, but also by limiting its intake of air and water.
Why it is not recommended to use chemicals
To get rid of your bamboo, you may be tempted to fall back on a simpler and quickly radical alternative. You can then think of a chemical. To fight against bamboo, the use of a weedkiller is not only ineffective, but go, in addition, damage the environment and to your health. Glyphosate herbicides are also prohibited. As for techniques such as bleach, vinegar or coarse salt, they are not only ineffective in combating bamboo, but they can, in addition, be a source of damage to the ecosystem. It is therefore better to take your pain patiently and eradicate them at the cost of a physical effort that will get rid of them, all the same, in a radical way.
How to avoid being invaded by bamboo?
If you like bamboo and want to install it in your garden, it is quite possible without being invaded. Some actions allow it:
- choose a non-tracing bamboo species;
- install an anti-rhizome barrier when planting bamboo. It can be plastic, metal, etc. It will have to be driven into the ground to a depth of 60 to 70 cm and protrude 10 cm above the level of the earth. Prefer an anti-rhizome barrier that will last over time, the material of which is less likely to disintegrate.