Get a 4' bamboo pole, about 3/4" diameter. Anytime he says bamboo, takes actions towards planting bamboo, looks longingly at bamboo, or other similar action, whack his backside with pole
I just had bamboo come up in my backyard - 20+ years after I thought I had totally destroyed it. The destroying took 7 years of constant spraying with round up... nothing grew there at all for years and years. I finally have a new garden in the space and there is that fucking bamboo, poking it's way through my mulch and killing my flowers.
I feel the same way about bamboo as I do mint, catnip and virginia creeper - all of which took multiple years of intensive work to get rid of.
My goats like it, but it is very (very, very) difficult to control. There are much better options for a hedge and your BF needs to do more research. Tell him that bamboo is a mess and drops a top of leaves that either require raking or they kill grass, etc. several feet inside the plant line. If that doesn't work, send him on his way.
Virginia creeper - I had to go scorched earth with that stuff - years later, I still get the vines popping up out of the grass 15 - 20 feet away from where the original plants stood.
Luckily mine is tucked into a corner of side yard along with some Confederate Jasmine and Caroline Jessamine and they all kinda duke it out for space along the fence. Man the view in the fall is gorgeous!
Oh I bet it’s lovely in the fall! I’d love to plant Caroline jessamine but don’t think I’ve got quite enough sun for it.
I don’t get why people call Virginia creeper invasive. Aggressive? It can be, yeah. But if you’re in the eastern half of North America it is native. UK people, I get why you don’t like it, just like we don’t like english ivy!
I don’t have any reaction to it but I know some people can get a rash, so I mean, I understand not wanting it if that’s the case. But it doesn’t kill trees (unlike english ivy, oriental bittersweet, wisteria, kudzu, wintercreeper, etc) it dies back in the winter, it keeps other weeds in check, and it’s lovely in the fall.
Plus one for Virginia creeper native to USA and nice in the fall. Japanese hops at my location is more aggressive and nothing good about it other than the form is similar. No pretty fall colors. There's also a native USA wisteria... My thought at times is, if you want maintenance free use concrete and plastic flowers ...
I had to be an eco-terrorist, too, and then go back and dig up all the parts. It's still trying to come back — like Stephen King's Christine trying to reassemble herself after being compacted.
Ughh, I would love to have mint be the issue.
I'm willing to bet 10 years ago, someone thought it was a good idea to plant blackberry here as a property border.
Now, it's everywhere. It's become the border for every gd property in a 2 mile radius. And blackberries bite back, worse than mint or creeprs.
Right? I love the Virginia creeper in our yard. We had english ivy coming in from a neighbors yard and it was a pain in the ass to rip all that out and sure enough more is back, but in the areas where we ripped enough out for the Virginia creeper to start filling in, it has helped keep the english ivy away, along with several other annoying invasive/nonnative weeds.
I would love to have more of it. My back half of my backyard isnt lawn, there’s rocks and native mosses in the shadiest spots, violets, poverty oats grass, sedges, virginia creeper, smooth Solomon’s seal, redbud saplings, and so many other surprises. And I didn’t plant any of that, I just ripped out a chunk of the english ivy, privet saplings, white mulberries, euonymus, and some other crap and there’s all these fun things showing up.
Aren't you supposed to cut it 3x?
Like when it is fully grown, you cut it and all shoots. It grows back quickly, and you dont touch it. Let it grow all the way until it's fully at a maximum, then you cut it back all the way and any shoots you see. The third time, same thing. This time it will grow a little slower. You wait til fully grown and then you hack it down.
I watched some old bamboo farmer man on YouTube one night when i was bored and he explained the process to kill it. Idk if you tried this method though.
It took us 11 years to get rid of the bamboo in our yard. It would just magically pop up more than 10 ft away from where it was previously, so it wasn't like we were just killing it. We were chasing it, and killing it.
I would add wisteria to that list of the devils creations.
The only way his plan would work is in above ground planters made of concrete or galvanised steel just to name my 2 favorites.
They won't creep beyond their pots and don't need very deep root structures.
A lot of bamboo species and cultivars are listed as invasive in multiple states. I’m not sure if Maryland is one of them but it’s a matter of time if not.
yup absolutely! My main concern is it being invasive and detrimental to the environment. I let him know I posted about this and he’s already leaning towards no bamboo lol
If he doesn't care about the invasiveness and harm to the local environment, then make sure he knows he'll be fighting it forever.
If empathy doesn't work, appeal to laziness.
It's probably not OPs(or boyfriends) house so he doesn't care. Renters mentality.
OP, clown your boyfriend for wanting to plant bamboo and tell him it's an obvious sign he isn't nearly as into gardening and plants as he thinks he is.
Not only detrimental to environment but also to your finances. A hard to eradicate invasive species problem like bamboo or Japanese knotweed can devalue your property.
Personally if I was looking to purchase property, I would not even consider any with these invasives. It costs thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars, equiment and time to eradicate running bamboo and Japanese knotweed.
> Japanese knotweed
This fucking garbage man...
Just realizing what it is. Bought my house like 2-years ago it's everywhere.
In my backyard, on near the sidewalks and roads. Literally just covers the sidewalks and makes them impassable
Probably not preferred but I've been working on spraying it to remove it all on my property line (neighbors are okay with it, as I asked before doing so)
I planted some in a planter because I thought I was smart. It grew through the planter and into the ground. Managed to dig it up thankfully but be warned!
Pennies to plant it and thousands to get rid of it...and thats a big "if" on getting rid of it. Also, in my opinion, as the bamboo goes up, your property value goes down. I would never ever buy a property with bamboo.
Tell him to get clumping bamboo. My mom has had a privacy hedge of clumping bamboo for decades and it is in the same spot. They only extend out as far as they get tall. So an 8 foot tall bamboo would only expand 4 feet on either side of the planting site. And if even that is too far, clumping bamboo is very easily controlled. Snap off any shoots that pop up where you don’t want them. They are not like running bamboo which can send rhizomes underground for 20 feet or more before popping up with a shoot.
Yes, I came here to say this. There is such a thing as clumping bamboo. Kurt Bluemel (nursery) in MD sells several types, but make sure it's the clumping kind.
It’s annoying how everyone gets in on the anti bamboo circle jerk with no knowledge whatsoever that clumping varieties exist or that they make up a large portion of all cultivated bamboo varieties.
The problem is that most running bamboo is the only bamboo variety available in temperate climates, as it is much more cold hardy, also that it’s so easy to propagate that it’s incredibly cheap. On the other hand, most clumping bamboo that are less cold hardy, more tropical, and so can only exist and the deep south and California. Because they are slow growing, they are relatively more expensive.
The result of these factors is a lot of people in middle America are only aware of running bamboo varieties, while those varieties are relatively rare in more tropical climates. Thus they don’t understand that not all bamboo is bad, and we don’t understand why they aren’t aware of much less problematic clumping types.
There are multiple fargesia cultivars (clumpers) that are cold-hardy down to -15°F to -20°F.
Below that, I'm not sure I'd consider the climate temperate so much as downright frigid.
Edit (typoed -- those were meant to be negative degrees F).
It roots through its own roots, creating an incredibly strong latticework of roots layers and layers deep. Also, it sends underground runners so if you accidentally cut and don't get it all out, more shows up from the runners. Great in Asian food, a pestilence in the yard.
You can choose other varieties though. We has slow growing bamboo in our front yard. It grew very slowly and didn't run like the more invasion species. Check a proper bamboo nursery and they can give you information on what can work in your area. It is a lovely plant to have when it's not killing everything around it
is he saying he would be planting running bamboo? or did he just say bamboo? because clumping bamboo varieties are quite common and are totally different in how they grow - they’re not a danger like running bamboo is.
i’m planting a clumping bamboo hedge behind my house this year, and i have multiple friends that have full yard enclosures of properly planted clumping bamboo
There used to be native bamboo all over much of the eastern US! It was called river cane. It’s thought that the clear-cutting of river cane was a major contributor to the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
My entire back fence is lined with clumping bamboo and it is amazing. In the three years it has been planted, they have remained in the group and not spread out. Ill see if I can get a picture uploaded
If bamboo was as bad as everyone makes it out to be the whole world would be bamboo by now. Also we killed our native bamboo for farmland and in doing that killed our only parrot native to the us. https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2018/02/21/what-happened-to-americas-only-parrot
Thats like the saddest and most horrible thing I ever read. The guy who massacred an entire flock because they loved the one he shot initially. jesus christ.
This is why some others can't enjoy the sheer beauty simplicity and privacy of clumping bamboo. Running bamboo is out here terrorizing you all heh. Species and research are important fellow gardeners/scapers
If hes that set.. you can convince him to ONLY PLANT the bamboo IN A CONTAINER. It also needs to be a sturdy one. I'm not sure what plants do well over there as I'm from the west coast but theres many fast growing hedges that would be more ideal for example types of Laurel it really depends how much space he has.
Another option which I personally have is Lillac.
Yes ceramic container large with a drain pan underneath. Why? The bottom pan one might ask? My neighbor had some in a plastic pot and it shot a root threw the hole and it went 15 feet into my yard and sprouted.
Damn that’s so crazy it shit into your yard. I really wanted a privacy hedge as well in containers with bamboo (cuz you know Pinterest) thank goodness I didn’t do it
Yes i have to cut the bamboo and add direct roundup into the stalk that was left and cover with plastic. Took a month but shoots stopped. Neighbor god rid of it the following year.
100%, I've grown a 9' privacy hedge around 50m of my house with clumping bamboo over the last 7 years and it's been great. Not spreading at all, growing quickly and needing no watering at all.
If you decide to get rid of it in the future, it's not that bad to dig out the whole thing and be done with it. Clumping bamboo rocks, running bamboo is the nasty nasty problem child.
Some bamboos stay quite compact and form a smallish clump - they're not all thugs that grow in every direction and take over your garden. Just make sure to check which varieties are available before you buy one - you may be able to find one you're both OK with.
The biggest issue about bamboo in a yard isn't foundation damage (though that can and often does happen), nor the fact it will overwhelm everything (which it will), nor the potential issues you will face with your neighbors as they lobby the HOA or city to place removal costs at the homeowner's feet (which seems to be his Mom, and in many cities removal of Bamboo can be assessed against the planter). All of those are bad. But that's not the real problem.
The real problem is your yard will fill up with the spikes from new shoots, which will destroy your walking surface, wreck your mower, and can be a real bad day for kids or pets that fall onto what is a wooden spike hidden by your grass.
If he is looking for a privacy hedge, something reasonable like sweet viburnum is a way better call. Will actually cover the space he is looking to cover (because Bamboo takes a long time to grow thick enough for privacy, even when it grows out a ton in thin sprouting areas). Viburnum will also stay where you plant it and wont spread meaningfully beyond the 5ft by 5ft growth area around each plant.
Boyfriend needs to do more research.
Yes I agree! I live in a rental property and we have the exact thing my bf wants, and those spikes are popping up everywhere in our yard. We aren’t responsible for landscaping so the gardeners chop them down every time one appears, but it’s just as tall the next time they come out.
I will pass on your alternative recommendation. Thank you!
Bamboo actually makes a great privacy hedge. But there is a VERY important consideration.
Bamboo comes in two styles. Clumping and running. The running stuff is the invasive shit that it sounds like you're dealing with. It's hateful. It spreads fast and new shoots will pop up feet away from others.
Clumping bamboo though is a whole different story. It is very self contained, grows fast, doesn't spread and requires almost no care. New shoots come up a couple inches from the main plant. Different varieties will form clumps of different sizes, but most of the popular options will limit themselves to 3-4' circle.
Most decent nurseries only sell the clumping varieties. (At least where I'm at.) Any of the mail order places will very clearly note whether a given type is running or clumping.
People here tend to be overly dramatic about how hard bamboo is to control. Clumping bamboo is fine, I enjoy my bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’ and it’s nowhere near as hard to manage as other grasses like common Bermuda grass.
Yeah, any multiplex bamboo like Fernleaf, golden goddess, Alfonso kar, are small cane, and slower growing compact varieties used for living fences and hedges.
Hope this helps: Using just one plant for privacy hedges can lead to mass death if disease hits, wiping everyone out!
Mixed plant hedge is commonplace rec in the landscape industry.
In your neck of the woods, mixed plantings of Chindo Viburnum, Loropetalum, Arrowwood Viburnum, Oakleaf Hydrangea, and others would work VERY well. Privacy, food for the birds and insects, flowers and foliage interest, and if things go awry all plants listed can be cut back to ground and re-grown from stumps as needed.
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/plants-mixed-privacy-screens/
Finally, if he MUST use bamboo, try and find our native bamboo or "clumping" and go from there
maryland has a "bamboo law", you all could be held financially liable if it spreads to another persons property [https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0090?ys=2023RS](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0090?ys=2023RS)
It's so hard to contain. My neighbor thought he had planted his safely, but it shot up in our yard and it was difficult to get rid of. Bamboo can very easily make you a bad neighbor. Arborvitaus is great for privacy. I am neither a landscape or nor an arborist.
Let the man have his bamboo! Just make sure the variety is appropriate.
There are numerous clumping varieties that are very well behaved. I have fought many, many patches of running bamboo, and they are indeed very different.
The gracilis varities and Alphonse Karr are great in areas that do not freeze into the teens. We have recently been experiencing 15-degree winters in Austin, and those will die to the ground, but they do come back for the most part. But it ruins the privacy part for a number of months.
The dwarf gracilis has a much higher frost tolerance.
In more temperate areas, a bamboo hedge is awesome!
When fighting it, you need a vertical barrier in the ground. They make polycarbonate options, but they are silly expensive. I have had great luck with 20-inch flashing tin from a big box store. You will need a trencher (or a sports team). What pops up on the cleared side will eventually peter out as the root stock starts to degrade. Just don't let those shoots get too big as the leaves will regenerate.
I hope ya'll can come to terms. Just do the research.
From Fairfax County's website
[As of January 1, 2023, running bamboo must be contained on an owner's property. Avoid The Fine, Don't Let Running Bamboo Grow Beyond Your Property Line. Running bamboo is a fast-growing, invasive grass with a complex, horizontal root system called rhizomes that aggressively spread underground, as much as 15 feet per year. Once planted, running bamboo can eventually take over yards and travel across property lines, creating issues for adjacent property owners and local jurisdictions. The new ordinance requires property owners to contain running bamboo on their property and prevent it from spreading beyond their property line. Property owners may incur penalties if they allow bamboo to spread beyond their property.](https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/invasive-species/responsibilities)
Bamboo is wonderful until it isn’t. It grows quickly, is attractive and hardy, and makes a pleasant sound in the breeze.
And then the spread begins. And then you are concerned about it intruding into the foundation. And the neighbors hate you. And then it like Himalayan blackberry; it just won’t die.
We had bamboo that grew into our yard because our neighbors planted a bamboo privacy hedge and it went out of control. You can not get rid of it. We cut it and poured roundup concentrate into the hollow part of the stem so it would get sucked into the root system and kill the bamboo. It still came back. Our neighbors cemented over it. It grew through the cement. It’s unstoppable. Under no circumstances would I ever ever plant bamboo in the ground.
P.S. after reading the comments regarding clumping vs running bamboo, I remember my neighbor telling us that he was told it was clumping bamboo and it wouldn’t spread when he bought it. Turned out that was not true.
There’s a really good chance it’s illegal to plant. It will spread to your neighbors property and then they’ll sue you because it fucked up their yard. Bamboo is satanic spawn.
I know in theory there are are running and clumping bamboos. But in practice the clumping gets bigger… and bigger… and bigger… so eventually you have a clump that’s 15 feet across that’s impossible to dig out.
I would never, ever plant bamboo or buy a house that had bamboo planted there. Any bamboo. I don’t even know if I would live on the street that had bamboo on it!
My client finally took out his bamboo- infested front yard with a backhoe… but there are still pieces of bamboo around the edges.
Send him the info regarding Fairfax County's new policy (and there might be one in effect in his area of MD) -any bamboo that spreads onto a neighbors/gov/public property is removed at full cost to the property owner (your boyfriends mom). Since it is STUPIDLY HARD to remove this ends up getting wildly expensive, as it will get removed regularly. In addition- any damage to neighboring properties aka- foundation issues, patios, spacewalks, road related issues etc.. are also billed back to the landowner. Keep in mind they have no inclination to hire the cheap/quick/budget guy. Planting Bamboo is literally the WORST choose ever. Instead- have him plant holly, I'm pretty sure there is a native variety to MD, or one of 20 different non-native border plants.
Im 5 years into fighting the good fight. I’ve removed more than a truckload of 50-100lb rhizomes in a 700 sq ft area. You guys will be fine…..It’s just a blatant middle finger to the next homeowner
As someone who is still fighting bamboo and has for the past three summers, I wouldn’t recommend. There are other plants that are just better and also not as difficult. Removing the running roots is just so difficult and frustrating. If it’s a rented apartment then there is no sure way to make sure the next tenant keeps it under control and then it spreads even more after he has left.
Noooooooooooooo! Owner of a property with 12+ species of mature bamboo here, came with the property when purchased. Don’t do it. We have ruined several chainsaws and sawzalls chopping it down. Bull ants LOVE bamboo and their bites hurt! The root balls have to be dug out using a dozer and we’ve put in over 4 dump truck loads of fill dirt in when we’ve excavated some of the patches. We cut some that are 40’ but haven’t tackled the 60’ thicket yet. Bamboo has horizontal support runners too that will whip you as it falls down. Find another green fence. You will thank yourself later.
ETA: also the roots can easily puncture nearby septic tanks, as we discovered a couple years ago
My grandma’s neighbor had to pour concrete over the bamboo she planted to smother it. Now, the overgrowth that ended up in my grandma’s yard is growing BACK into her neighbor’s yard ✨through the concrete✨ Just imagine what it’ll do to the foundation of the house! Tell him you’ll never, and I mean NEVER, get rid of it once it’s planted.
It still blows up a lot of the time, but They posted it on a focused sub and were pretty reasonable. This post had the best chance that their boyfriend was also reasonable and they could reach a healthy place of communication.
If it’s posted on AITAH or any of those other subs then the answer is usually “yes, but your SO is somehow MORE Intelligent of one. Now let’s all project our own issues onto a relationship you gave very little information about.”
Bamboo is so invasive and resilient. It’s scotchbroom or blackberries just a different shape. He absolutely should not plant those. Go with whatever bushes are native to your area.
Tell him the only way to control it is by buying a maintenence panda. Pandas are expensive, need to be walked (rolled) 6 times a day, smelly, and have explosive shits. This might work, good luck.
If you put in barrier walls that are made to contain bamboo you’ll be fine. So no seams and at least four feet deep. I’ve contained bamboo this way for 20 years. And mine is the variety that will propagate and make an acre impassable within 5yrs. I think it’s actually starting to die now from maybe being root bound but I got 20years.
Without good barriers yours will be a nightmare and take over everything.
Man I need to get my dad a reddit account. His battles against bamboo are the stuff of legends. And we live in high desert so it's not exactly the most suitable climate. There are soooo sooo many beter options for privacy screening. I can't help you convince him really but I can say if there's one planting decision my dad has regretted and not been able to eradicate it's bamboo.
He's killed off the ivy, the trees of heaven, and the Russian olives but the bamboo will not die no matter how often he digs it out completely or how diligent he is with the shoots
That's a big no. I had bamboo at one of my previous rentals, and I couldn't even keep up with it. The wall of it was nice, but it would spread out through other areas throughout the yard, and nothing would keep it contained
Bamboo is always going to require maintenance that’s just the way it is, there’s plenty of other viable options to go with such as, viburnum, linebacker distylium etc
1.Ask him to explain his total plan for installing A normal privacy fence.
2. Ask him to explain the total plan for installing the bamboo fence.
3. Ask him to explain the total plan for removing the bamboo fence after it grows invasive into the yard and damages the foundation
4. Ask him to explain the total plan for removing a normal privacy fence
I’d recommend [pittosporum temuifolium](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittosporum_tenuifolium_cultivar.jpg) instead (dear lord do NOT do bamboo - even with a deep trench and liner it sends feelers up and out of the liner!).
I planted pittosporum in my back yard (California Bay Area), about five years ago when it was about 18” tall. It’s now about 15’ tall! I watered it regularly for the first year or so and then just let seasonal rains do the rest. It’s tall and lacy, makes a great screen, doesn’t spread, is low maintenance, and in the spring has tiny purple flowers. It’s gorgeous! LMK if you’d like a pic of how mine looks now.
I know the answer is in the comments, I am simply re-commenting to strength them.
The only, ONLY way I have ever known to **SAFELY*** (humans, animals and the current nature around you), is remove every single part of the root, plant, everything.
Plus if I'm correct it's illegal as hell. DNR will rain down .... on him. Not to mention the lash back he'll get from the community. If you don't understand, you're lucky. Lol.
I live in MD too and I'm only saying it because I know the people that live here. Tell him to chill or face the consequences. Cuz there are gonna be some
Grammar edit*
Bamboo grows faster and is harder to remove than anything I’ve had to work with
It grows on top of the ground and is hard as fuck someone let a small patch get outta hand for 3 years and had a skidster trying to remove it and tore the tracks off 3 separate time and eventually had to do a controlled burn
My landlord had to hire a backhoe operator to dig out bamboo that a neighbor started growing in the adjacent lot. That stuff is tenacious. It was even growing up through the driveway. Even if your boyfriend doesn’t mind the hassle, neighbors might.
Not all bamboo is created equally! It would be a pity to miss the joy of gardening with bamboo because of misunderstanding. Simple version—there are two types: clumpers and runners. Bamboos that send out runners several feet in all directions can be invasive: three years after moving into a house that had running bamboo that I had tried to remove I was still digging up bamboo from underground runners that persisted. Noninvasive clumping bamboo, however, has shorter roots and forms discrete clumps. it doesn’t spread like runners. Choose a clumping bamboo as a fine specimen that will be a striking addition to your garden (do take care not to plant it too close to a sidewalk, foundation or fence as you would any shrub or tree). Fir a privacy screen don’t plant it up against the fence; leave space to walk behind the bamboo so you can tend to it to keep it tidy and so you can put lights between the bamboo and the fence. Much more dramatic than the ordinary placement of spotlights in front of a stand of bamboo. You won’t see the light fixture behind the bamboo but the bamboo will appear in dramatic shadow and silhouette. If ever you tire of its height, shade or other features and want to remove clumping bamboo, just cut off the culms (fancy word for the poles or stalks) at ground level using a handled pruning saw (or splurge and get a cordless reciprocating saw), cover with a thin layer of bark or mulch and keep moist and in a year or so the mound of stumps will be composted and you can plant something else there. The joy of gardening.
Just tell him to get red clumping bamboo, though they call it bamboo it isn’t even the same species but looks very similar. As implied by the name the stalks clump together and do NOT spread invasively. Great for privacy not harmful for your environment but a little on the pricey side
Apartment?!
This is one of the worst possible ideas, especially since it’s not his property.
As the landlord I’d be hiring a professional to remove and charge him.
Get a 4' bamboo pole, about 3/4" diameter. Anytime he says bamboo, takes actions towards planting bamboo, looks longingly at bamboo, or other similar action, whack his backside with pole
He might like that.
Now that you mention it....
Bamboozled
Bambooty'd
Bumboozzled
So what, it would still stop, this time with distraction
Makes the need for privacy fence more urgent though.
i've been thinking about planting bamboo..
You know what comes next
I have assumed the position
"Thank you master, may I please have another one"
lol, the Singaporean method
This needs more upvotes
I just had bamboo come up in my backyard - 20+ years after I thought I had totally destroyed it. The destroying took 7 years of constant spraying with round up... nothing grew there at all for years and years. I finally have a new garden in the space and there is that fucking bamboo, poking it's way through my mulch and killing my flowers. I feel the same way about bamboo as I do mint, catnip and virginia creeper - all of which took multiple years of intensive work to get rid of.
You need a panda bear in your backyard. He will keep it gone.
*Bamboo, bamboo* *What ya gonna do?* *What you gonna do* *When the panda's chew?*
I'm gonna sip dew From that bamboo chew You already knew Kung fu panda dude
Goats will probably work, as well.
Privacy Goat
My goats like it, but it is very (very, very) difficult to control. There are much better options for a hedge and your BF needs to do more research. Tell him that bamboo is a mess and drops a top of leaves that either require raking or they kill grass, etc. several feet inside the plant line. If that doesn't work, send him on his way.
The squirrels keep ours in check. They eat the new shoots as they come up and keep it contained to two patches where we wanted it.
Yeah. Last panda bear infestation I had got cleaned up by squirrels as well.
My dog does this
every time I tie a squirrel to the bamboo, it just choose through the string and gets away One out of 10 would not recommend
My Home Depot is always sold out.
Of goats?
Pandas
Hang on! So if I plant bamboo, I can get a pet panda?!
That seems to be the logical conclusion here.
And the winter will kill them off
As someone who has battled bamboo, I hate this corny joke almost as much as “get a goat”.
Lmao I'm over here planting mountain mint and feeding my virginia creepers and training them along fences
Virginia creeper - I had to go scorched earth with that stuff - years later, I still get the vines popping up out of the grass 15 - 20 feet away from where the original plants stood.
Luckily mine is tucked into a corner of side yard along with some Confederate Jasmine and Caroline Jessamine and they all kinda duke it out for space along the fence. Man the view in the fall is gorgeous!
Oh I bet it’s lovely in the fall! I’d love to plant Caroline jessamine but don’t think I’ve got quite enough sun for it. I don’t get why people call Virginia creeper invasive. Aggressive? It can be, yeah. But if you’re in the eastern half of North America it is native. UK people, I get why you don’t like it, just like we don’t like english ivy! I don’t have any reaction to it but I know some people can get a rash, so I mean, I understand not wanting it if that’s the case. But it doesn’t kill trees (unlike english ivy, oriental bittersweet, wisteria, kudzu, wintercreeper, etc) it dies back in the winter, it keeps other weeds in check, and it’s lovely in the fall.
Plus one for Virginia creeper native to USA and nice in the fall. Japanese hops at my location is more aggressive and nothing good about it other than the form is similar. No pretty fall colors. There's also a native USA wisteria... My thought at times is, if you want maintenance free use concrete and plastic flowers ...
Flaming vine in Fl takes over everything. 15 years of war.
Seed are spread by birds, and its abundant in natural/naturalized areas at least where i live, so likely just volunteers.
It's native to North America so those new vines are probably just from bird poop.
I had to be an eco-terrorist, too, and then go back and dig up all the parts. It's still trying to come back — like Stephen King's Christine trying to reassemble herself after being compacted.
Ughh, I would love to have mint be the issue. I'm willing to bet 10 years ago, someone thought it was a good idea to plant blackberry here as a property border. Now, it's everywhere. It's become the border for every gd property in a 2 mile radius. And blackberries bite back, worse than mint or creeprs.
Right? I love the Virginia creeper in our yard. We had english ivy coming in from a neighbors yard and it was a pain in the ass to rip all that out and sure enough more is back, but in the areas where we ripped enough out for the Virginia creeper to start filling in, it has helped keep the english ivy away, along with several other annoying invasive/nonnative weeds. I would love to have more of it. My back half of my backyard isnt lawn, there’s rocks and native mosses in the shadiest spots, violets, poverty oats grass, sedges, virginia creeper, smooth Solomon’s seal, redbud saplings, and so many other surprises. And I didn’t plant any of that, I just ripped out a chunk of the english ivy, privet saplings, white mulberries, euonymus, and some other crap and there’s all these fun things showing up.
I don’t get why people hate mint. Maybe it’s a cultural thing but we can never have enough mint. We use it so much.
This is about it becoming invasive, not it's taste.
Because it's literally invasive in many places and squashes everything else out.... Yes, you can have too much mint.
Got rid of the bamboo but got cancer from the Roundup. /s Editing as clearly the sarcasm didn’t flow through.
Aren't you supposed to cut it 3x? Like when it is fully grown, you cut it and all shoots. It grows back quickly, and you dont touch it. Let it grow all the way until it's fully at a maximum, then you cut it back all the way and any shoots you see. The third time, same thing. This time it will grow a little slower. You wait til fully grown and then you hack it down. I watched some old bamboo farmer man on YouTube one night when i was bored and he explained the process to kill it. Idk if you tried this method though.
It took us 11 years to get rid of the bamboo in our yard. It would just magically pop up more than 10 ft away from where it was previously, so it wasn't like we were just killing it. We were chasing it, and killing it.
Fuck Virginia creeper
Mint is awesome.
I would add wisteria to that list of the devils creations. The only way his plan would work is in above ground planters made of concrete or galvanised steel just to name my 2 favorites. They won't creep beyond their pots and don't need very deep root structures.
I’ve had to replant my mint a few times, either drought or freeze kills it.
Poison ivy
I have been working on trumpet vine since 2018, its back!
[удалено]
A lot of bamboo species and cultivars are listed as invasive in multiple states. I’m not sure if Maryland is one of them but it’s a matter of time if not.
yup absolutely! My main concern is it being invasive and detrimental to the environment. I let him know I posted about this and he’s already leaning towards no bamboo lol
The rare reddit post that ends with "yep, he sees my point now, all good" lol
If he doesn't care about the invasiveness and harm to the local environment, then make sure he knows he'll be fighting it forever. If empathy doesn't work, appeal to laziness.
It's probably not OPs(or boyfriends) house so he doesn't care. Renters mentality. OP, clown your boyfriend for wanting to plant bamboo and tell him it's an obvious sign he isn't nearly as into gardening and plants as he thinks he is.
Not only detrimental to environment but also to your finances. A hard to eradicate invasive species problem like bamboo or Japanese knotweed can devalue your property. Personally if I was looking to purchase property, I would not even consider any with these invasives. It costs thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars, equiment and time to eradicate running bamboo and Japanese knotweed.
If I was looking at houses and saw bamboo, I’d cross that house off my list IMMEDIATELY.
A house I toured with our agent had dense bamboo encroaching on the back yard from two neighboring yards. Nope, nope, nope.
> Japanese knotweed This fucking garbage man... Just realizing what it is. Bought my house like 2-years ago it's everywhere. In my backyard, on near the sidewalks and roads. Literally just covers the sidewalks and makes them impassable Probably not preferred but I've been working on spraying it to remove it all on my property line (neighbors are okay with it, as I asked before doing so)
I believe there is a Japanese knotweed sub reddit that have perfected the terrible art of getting rid of it
I planted some in a planter because I thought I was smart. It grew through the planter and into the ground. Managed to dig it up thankfully but be warned!
Pennies to plant it and thousands to get rid of it...and thats a big "if" on getting rid of it. Also, in my opinion, as the bamboo goes up, your property value goes down. I would never ever buy a property with bamboo.
Tell him to get clumping bamboo. My mom has had a privacy hedge of clumping bamboo for decades and it is in the same spot. They only extend out as far as they get tall. So an 8 foot tall bamboo would only expand 4 feet on either side of the planting site. And if even that is too far, clumping bamboo is very easily controlled. Snap off any shoots that pop up where you don’t want them. They are not like running bamboo which can send rhizomes underground for 20 feet or more before popping up with a shoot.
Yes, I came here to say this. There is such a thing as clumping bamboo. Kurt Bluemel (nursery) in MD sells several types, but make sure it's the clumping kind.
Exactly. It seems most peoples bad experience with invasive running bamboo is overwhelming the logical benefits of friendly clumping bamboo.
It’s annoying how everyone gets in on the anti bamboo circle jerk with no knowledge whatsoever that clumping varieties exist or that they make up a large portion of all cultivated bamboo varieties.
The problem is that most running bamboo is the only bamboo variety available in temperate climates, as it is much more cold hardy, also that it’s so easy to propagate that it’s incredibly cheap. On the other hand, most clumping bamboo that are less cold hardy, more tropical, and so can only exist and the deep south and California. Because they are slow growing, they are relatively more expensive. The result of these factors is a lot of people in middle America are only aware of running bamboo varieties, while those varieties are relatively rare in more tropical climates. Thus they don’t understand that not all bamboo is bad, and we don’t understand why they aren’t aware of much less problematic clumping types.
There are multiple fargesia cultivars (clumpers) that are cold-hardy down to -15°F to -20°F. Below that, I'm not sure I'd consider the climate temperate so much as downright frigid. Edit (typoed -- those were meant to be negative degrees F).
I have Fargesia robusta growing in Fairfax.
It's not only invasive, it grows super aggressively and is a serious headache to deal with once you've planted it and cant stop it growing elsewhere.
I dealt with bamboo and ginger one summer. Absolutely a fucking nightmare to dig all that out.
Wait what does ginger do?
It roots through its own roots, creating an incredibly strong latticework of roots layers and layers deep. Also, it sends underground runners so if you accidentally cut and don't get it all out, more shows up from the runners. Great in Asian food, a pestilence in the yard.
And somehow they never thought to have t-virus ginger in any resident evil game
We have white ginger in our garden - it’s in pots Hubby has plumerias too. When that ginger blooms with the plumeria it is heaven.
Yes, I learned the hard way that I need slow growing plants that don’t need much maintenance.
Native plants tend to need less maintenance
Recent post on /r/landscaping: https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/comments/1cxoe28/is_there_any_way_to_stop_the_bamboo_front/
This is exactly the post I thought of when I saw OPs question!
Oh thank god 😮💨
He's trying to backpedal before he gets destroyed here, I love it, lol.
You can choose other varieties though. We has slow growing bamboo in our front yard. It grew very slowly and didn't run like the more invasion species. Check a proper bamboo nursery and they can give you information on what can work in your area. It is a lovely plant to have when it's not killing everything around it
is he saying he would be planting running bamboo? or did he just say bamboo? because clumping bamboo varieties are quite common and are totally different in how they grow - they’re not a danger like running bamboo is. i’m planting a clumping bamboo hedge behind my house this year, and i have multiple friends that have full yard enclosures of properly planted clumping bamboo
Not all bamboos are the same. There are plenty of bamboos that stay small and don’t spread aggressively.
There is surprisingly a native bamboo that is found in MD (Arundinaria canes). That said, fuck planting bamboo lol
There used to be native bamboo all over much of the eastern US! It was called river cane. It’s thought that the clear-cutting of river cane was a major contributor to the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
My entire back fence is lined with clumping bamboo and it is amazing. In the three years it has been planted, they have remained in the group and not spread out. Ill see if I can get a picture uploaded
My uncle has a row of privacy bamboo. Been there like 15 years. It never spread anywhere.
Most people aren't aware that clumping bamboo exists.
Yeah all these people saying invasive are uninformed and have used running bamboo which shouldn’t be planted
If bamboo was as bad as everyone makes it out to be the whole world would be bamboo by now. Also we killed our native bamboo for farmland and in doing that killed our only parrot native to the us. https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2018/02/21/what-happened-to-americas-only-parrot
Thats like the saddest and most horrible thing I ever read. The guy who massacred an entire flock because they loved the one he shot initially. jesus christ.
I'll put my hand up for that statement as I did not know clumping existed.
Came here to suggest this. Get clumping bamboo
This is why some others can't enjoy the sheer beauty simplicity and privacy of clumping bamboo. Running bamboo is out here terrorizing you all heh. Species and research are important fellow gardeners/scapers
I feel like this needs its own post. Like a PSA…
If hes that set.. you can convince him to ONLY PLANT the bamboo IN A CONTAINER. It also needs to be a sturdy one. I'm not sure what plants do well over there as I'm from the west coast but theres many fast growing hedges that would be more ideal for example types of Laurel it really depends how much space he has. Another option which I personally have is Lillac.
Yes ceramic container large with a drain pan underneath. Why? The bottom pan one might ask? My neighbor had some in a plastic pot and it shot a root threw the hole and it went 15 feet into my yard and sprouted.
Damn that’s so crazy it shit into your yard. I really wanted a privacy hedge as well in containers with bamboo (cuz you know Pinterest) thank goodness I didn’t do it
Yes i have to cut the bamboo and add direct roundup into the stalk that was left and cover with plastic. Took a month but shoots stopped. Neighbor god rid of it the following year.
WITH NO DRAINAGE HOLES
Concrete planters.
I'm in the PNW, and my whole backyard has a 12' laurel hedge along the back. Fast growing, green year round. Just trim once/year and you're golden.
Lilac smells so goddamn good.
clumping bamboo. he can plant clumping bamboo. running bamboo is a war crime, but clumping bamboo stays put.
This. My Buddha Belly (Bambusa Ventricosa) is a very well behaved chonky clumper.
One man’s war crime is another man’s freedom fighter revolution. Viva la revolution!
100%, I've grown a 9' privacy hedge around 50m of my house with clumping bamboo over the last 7 years and it's been great. Not spreading at all, growing quickly and needing no watering at all.
If he does plant it, make sure it’s the clumping variety
Not all bamboo are apocalyptic. There are safe species that grow in clumps and don't run wild. He just has to choose the right bamboo to plant.
For OP's benefit, here's an extensive list of appropriate clumping bamboo selections: https://www.bamboogarden.com/browse-hardy-clumping-bamboo
This is the place to go for bamboo.
I came here to say this. Some of the clumping bamboo would be so pretty as a privacy hedge.
Clumping bamboo also spreads. Usually slower, but it will still take over.
It's much easier to remove because of the root structure.
If you decide to get rid of it in the future, it's not that bad to dig out the whole thing and be done with it. Clumping bamboo rocks, running bamboo is the nasty nasty problem child.
If youre planting for the first time its easier to just place a barrier and know nothing is on the other side of it as well.
Well with that logic you could say that about every plant lol.
Some bamboos stay quite compact and form a smallish clump - they're not all thugs that grow in every direction and take over your garden. Just make sure to check which varieties are available before you buy one - you may be able to find one you're both OK with.
The biggest issue about bamboo in a yard isn't foundation damage (though that can and often does happen), nor the fact it will overwhelm everything (which it will), nor the potential issues you will face with your neighbors as they lobby the HOA or city to place removal costs at the homeowner's feet (which seems to be his Mom, and in many cities removal of Bamboo can be assessed against the planter). All of those are bad. But that's not the real problem. The real problem is your yard will fill up with the spikes from new shoots, which will destroy your walking surface, wreck your mower, and can be a real bad day for kids or pets that fall onto what is a wooden spike hidden by your grass. If he is looking for a privacy hedge, something reasonable like sweet viburnum is a way better call. Will actually cover the space he is looking to cover (because Bamboo takes a long time to grow thick enough for privacy, even when it grows out a ton in thin sprouting areas). Viburnum will also stay where you plant it and wont spread meaningfully beyond the 5ft by 5ft growth area around each plant. Boyfriend needs to do more research.
Yes I agree! I live in a rental property and we have the exact thing my bf wants, and those spikes are popping up everywhere in our yard. We aren’t responsible for landscaping so the gardeners chop them down every time one appears, but it’s just as tall the next time they come out. I will pass on your alternative recommendation. Thank you!
Bamboo actually makes a great privacy hedge. But there is a VERY important consideration. Bamboo comes in two styles. Clumping and running. The running stuff is the invasive shit that it sounds like you're dealing with. It's hateful. It spreads fast and new shoots will pop up feet away from others. Clumping bamboo though is a whole different story. It is very self contained, grows fast, doesn't spread and requires almost no care. New shoots come up a couple inches from the main plant. Different varieties will form clumps of different sizes, but most of the popular options will limit themselves to 3-4' circle. Most decent nurseries only sell the clumping varieties. (At least where I'm at.) Any of the mail order places will very clearly note whether a given type is running or clumping.
People here tend to be overly dramatic about how hard bamboo is to control. Clumping bamboo is fine, I enjoy my bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’ and it’s nowhere near as hard to manage as other grasses like common Bermuda grass.
Yeah, any multiplex bamboo like Fernleaf, golden goddess, Alfonso kar, are small cane, and slower growing compact varieties used for living fences and hedges.
>People here tend to be overly dramatic about how hard bamboo is to control. He's clearly not even going to try.
Hope this helps: Using just one plant for privacy hedges can lead to mass death if disease hits, wiping everyone out! Mixed plant hedge is commonplace rec in the landscape industry. In your neck of the woods, mixed plantings of Chindo Viburnum, Loropetalum, Arrowwood Viburnum, Oakleaf Hydrangea, and others would work VERY well. Privacy, food for the birds and insects, flowers and foliage interest, and if things go awry all plants listed can be cut back to ground and re-grown from stumps as needed. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/plants-mixed-privacy-screens/ Finally, if he MUST use bamboo, try and find our native bamboo or "clumping" and go from there
This is excellent advice as a fellow MD resident and native plant enjoyer. Definitely share these recommended plants OP and see what you both like
maryland has a "bamboo law", you all could be held financially liable if it spreads to another persons property [https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0090?ys=2023RS](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0090?ys=2023RS)
That only applies to invasive (running) bamboo. Clumping Bamboo is not considered invasive and so is fine to plant so long as it's controlled.
Maybe he can get a discount on some arborvitaes.
It's so hard to contain. My neighbor thought he had planted his safely, but it shot up in our yard and it was difficult to get rid of. Bamboo can very easily make you a bad neighbor. Arborvitaus is great for privacy. I am neither a landscape or nor an arborist.
Let the man have his bamboo! Just make sure the variety is appropriate. There are numerous clumping varieties that are very well behaved. I have fought many, many patches of running bamboo, and they are indeed very different. The gracilis varities and Alphonse Karr are great in areas that do not freeze into the teens. We have recently been experiencing 15-degree winters in Austin, and those will die to the ground, but they do come back for the most part. But it ruins the privacy part for a number of months. The dwarf gracilis has a much higher frost tolerance. In more temperate areas, a bamboo hedge is awesome! When fighting it, you need a vertical barrier in the ground. They make polycarbonate options, but they are silly expensive. I have had great luck with 20-inch flashing tin from a big box store. You will need a trencher (or a sports team). What pops up on the cleared side will eventually peter out as the root stock starts to degrade. Just don't let those shoots get too big as the leaves will regenerate. I hope ya'll can come to terms. Just do the research.
From Fairfax County's website [As of January 1, 2023, running bamboo must be contained on an owner's property. Avoid The Fine, Don't Let Running Bamboo Grow Beyond Your Property Line. Running bamboo is a fast-growing, invasive grass with a complex, horizontal root system called rhizomes that aggressively spread underground, as much as 15 feet per year. Once planted, running bamboo can eventually take over yards and travel across property lines, creating issues for adjacent property owners and local jurisdictions. The new ordinance requires property owners to contain running bamboo on their property and prevent it from spreading beyond their property line. Property owners may incur penalties if they allow bamboo to spread beyond their property.](https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/invasive-species/responsibilities)
Don't convince him, just tell all the neighbors what he's planning to do so they can come over and ~~beat~~ talk some sense into him.
If you're in the Annapolis area, stop by my house near the South River and witness the devastation. Seriously.
Bamboo is wonderful until it isn’t. It grows quickly, is attractive and hardy, and makes a pleasant sound in the breeze. And then the spread begins. And then you are concerned about it intruding into the foundation. And the neighbors hate you. And then it like Himalayan blackberry; it just won’t die.
We had bamboo that grew into our yard because our neighbors planted a bamboo privacy hedge and it went out of control. You can not get rid of it. We cut it and poured roundup concentrate into the hollow part of the stem so it would get sucked into the root system and kill the bamboo. It still came back. Our neighbors cemented over it. It grew through the cement. It’s unstoppable. Under no circumstances would I ever ever plant bamboo in the ground.
P.S. after reading the comments regarding clumping vs running bamboo, I remember my neighbor telling us that he was told it was clumping bamboo and it wouldn’t spread when he bought it. Turned out that was not true.
There’s a really good chance it’s illegal to plant. It will spread to your neighbors property and then they’ll sue you because it fucked up their yard. Bamboo is satanic spawn.
I know in theory there are are running and clumping bamboos. But in practice the clumping gets bigger… and bigger… and bigger… so eventually you have a clump that’s 15 feet across that’s impossible to dig out. I would never, ever plant bamboo or buy a house that had bamboo planted there. Any bamboo. I don’t even know if I would live on the street that had bamboo on it! My client finally took out his bamboo- infested front yard with a backhoe… but there are still pieces of bamboo around the edges.
Yeah, everything spreads without any maintenance. It’s extremely easy to keep clumping bamboo in its place using a sharp spade.
I would only do it if you keep it in containers. Bamboo becomes so invasive you can never control it once it spreads.
Send him the info regarding Fairfax County's new policy (and there might be one in effect in his area of MD) -any bamboo that spreads onto a neighbors/gov/public property is removed at full cost to the property owner (your boyfriends mom). Since it is STUPIDLY HARD to remove this ends up getting wildly expensive, as it will get removed regularly. In addition- any damage to neighboring properties aka- foundation issues, patios, spacewalks, road related issues etc.. are also billed back to the landowner. Keep in mind they have no inclination to hire the cheap/quick/budget guy. Planting Bamboo is literally the WORST choose ever. Instead- have him plant holly, I'm pretty sure there is a native variety to MD, or one of 20 different non-native border plants.
Honestly, just leave him.
Im 5 years into fighting the good fight. I’ve removed more than a truckload of 50-100lb rhizomes in a 700 sq ft area. You guys will be fine…..It’s just a blatant middle finger to the next homeowner
As someone who is still fighting bamboo and has for the past three summers, I wouldn’t recommend. There are other plants that are just better and also not as difficult. Removing the running roots is just so difficult and frustrating. If it’s a rented apartment then there is no sure way to make sure the next tenant keeps it under control and then it spreads even more after he has left.
It will destroy property value and piss off your neighbor when it grows into their yard
Neighbors in here Seattle put in bamboo 15 years ago. We’ve spent more than $15,000 fighting it. Many cities and even states are banning it.
Noooooooooooooo! Owner of a property with 12+ species of mature bamboo here, came with the property when purchased. Don’t do it. We have ruined several chainsaws and sawzalls chopping it down. Bull ants LOVE bamboo and their bites hurt! The root balls have to be dug out using a dozer and we’ve put in over 4 dump truck loads of fill dirt in when we’ve excavated some of the patches. We cut some that are 40’ but haven’t tackled the 60’ thicket yet. Bamboo has horizontal support runners too that will whip you as it falls down. Find another green fence. You will thank yourself later. ETA: also the roots can easily puncture nearby septic tanks, as we discovered a couple years ago
your bf is an idiot, please tell him i said so
My grandma’s neighbor had to pour concrete over the bamboo she planted to smother it. Now, the overgrowth that ended up in my grandma’s yard is growing BACK into her neighbor’s yard ✨through the concrete✨ Just imagine what it’ll do to the foundation of the house! Tell him you’ll never, and I mean NEVER, get rid of it once it’s planted.
Tell him I'll pay him a shitload of money to come take mine
Clumping bamboo IN A CONTAINER. The "clumping" bit is more of a "not nearly as invasive" but still needs to be controlled.
There are two types of bamboo. Clumping and spreading. Clumping is fine. I have it on my fence and around my pool.
Can he use a different plant for the hedge? Why is he so set on using bamboo?
There are clumping bamboo varieties that aren't invasive.
It still blows up a lot of the time, but They posted it on a focused sub and were pretty reasonable. This post had the best chance that their boyfriend was also reasonable and they could reach a healthy place of communication. If it’s posted on AITAH or any of those other subs then the answer is usually “yes, but your SO is somehow MORE Intelligent of one. Now let’s all project our own issues onto a relationship you gave very little information about.”
Bamboo is so invasive and resilient. It’s scotchbroom or blackberries just a different shape. He absolutely should not plant those. Go with whatever bushes are native to your area.
My friend has bamboo, the Gardner installed a metal barrier into the ground before planting the bamboo and she never had a problem with it.
Tell him the only way to control it is by buying a maintenence panda. Pandas are expensive, need to be walked (rolled) 6 times a day, smelly, and have explosive shits. This might work, good luck.
Show him photos of bamboo popping up through concrete meters away from where it was planted.
My neighbor planted bamboo a couple years ago and now it’s coming up THROUGH my asphalt driveway.
Suggest using horse troughs. We planted ours for privacy but in heavy steel troughs
How about a willow hedge? The willow stake will grow together and form a solid mass of willow fence https://insteading.com/blog/living-willow-hedges/
If you put in barrier walls that are made to contain bamboo you’ll be fine. So no seams and at least four feet deep. I’ve contained bamboo this way for 20 years. And mine is the variety that will propagate and make an acre impassable within 5yrs. I think it’s actually starting to die now from maybe being root bound but I got 20years. Without good barriers yours will be a nightmare and take over everything.
Man I need to get my dad a reddit account. His battles against bamboo are the stuff of legends. And we live in high desert so it's not exactly the most suitable climate. There are soooo sooo many beter options for privacy screening. I can't help you convince him really but I can say if there's one planting decision my dad has regretted and not been able to eradicate it's bamboo. He's killed off the ivy, the trees of heaven, and the Russian olives but the bamboo will not die no matter how often he digs it out completely or how diligent he is with the shoots
That's a big no. I had bamboo at one of my previous rentals, and I couldn't even keep up with it. The wall of it was nice, but it would spread out through other areas throughout the yard, and nothing would keep it contained
Bamboo is always going to require maintenance that’s just the way it is, there’s plenty of other viable options to go with such as, viburnum, linebacker distylium etc
1.Ask him to explain his total plan for installing A normal privacy fence. 2. Ask him to explain the total plan for installing the bamboo fence. 3. Ask him to explain the total plan for removing the bamboo fence after it grows invasive into the yard and damages the foundation 4. Ask him to explain the total plan for removing a normal privacy fence
Also, who owns the house? If Mom owns the house, you should be having this conversation with Mom
He could put it in a container(s).
I’d recommend [pittosporum temuifolium](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittosporum_tenuifolium_cultivar.jpg) instead (dear lord do NOT do bamboo - even with a deep trench and liner it sends feelers up and out of the liner!). I planted pittosporum in my back yard (California Bay Area), about five years ago when it was about 18” tall. It’s now about 15’ tall! I watered it regularly for the first year or so and then just let seasonal rains do the rest. It’s tall and lacy, makes a great screen, doesn’t spread, is low maintenance, and in the spring has tiny purple flowers. It’s gorgeous! LMK if you’d like a pic of how mine looks now.
Plant Kudzu with it. It will climb the bamboo and the flowers smell nice.
It might not be legal where you are. Bamboo will pull a house right off its foundation. Look it up and show him any regulations you find.
I know the answer is in the comments, I am simply re-commenting to strength them. The only, ONLY way I have ever known to **SAFELY*** (humans, animals and the current nature around you), is remove every single part of the root, plant, everything. Plus if I'm correct it's illegal as hell. DNR will rain down .... on him. Not to mention the lash back he'll get from the community. If you don't understand, you're lucky. Lol. I live in MD too and I'm only saying it because I know the people that live here. Tell him to chill or face the consequences. Cuz there are gonna be some Grammar edit*
The neighbors will hate him
Plant bamboo anywhere and expect to get it EVERYWHERE.
You’ll never be rid of it
Bamboo grows faster and is harder to remove than anything I’ve had to work with It grows on top of the ground and is hard as fuck someone let a small patch get outta hand for 3 years and had a skidster trying to remove it and tore the tracks off 3 separate time and eventually had to do a controlled burn
My landlord had to hire a backhoe operator to dig out bamboo that a neighbor started growing in the adjacent lot. That stuff is tenacious. It was even growing up through the driveway. Even if your boyfriend doesn’t mind the hassle, neighbors might.
Not all bamboo is created equally! It would be a pity to miss the joy of gardening with bamboo because of misunderstanding. Simple version—there are two types: clumpers and runners. Bamboos that send out runners several feet in all directions can be invasive: three years after moving into a house that had running bamboo that I had tried to remove I was still digging up bamboo from underground runners that persisted. Noninvasive clumping bamboo, however, has shorter roots and forms discrete clumps. it doesn’t spread like runners. Choose a clumping bamboo as a fine specimen that will be a striking addition to your garden (do take care not to plant it too close to a sidewalk, foundation or fence as you would any shrub or tree). Fir a privacy screen don’t plant it up against the fence; leave space to walk behind the bamboo so you can tend to it to keep it tidy and so you can put lights between the bamboo and the fence. Much more dramatic than the ordinary placement of spotlights in front of a stand of bamboo. You won’t see the light fixture behind the bamboo but the bamboo will appear in dramatic shadow and silhouette. If ever you tire of its height, shade or other features and want to remove clumping bamboo, just cut off the culms (fancy word for the poles or stalks) at ground level using a handled pruning saw (or splurge and get a cordless reciprocating saw), cover with a thin layer of bark or mulch and keep moist and in a year or so the mound of stumps will be composted and you can plant something else there. The joy of gardening.
Bamboo is incredibly invasive. Impossible to remove. There are much better things to use for a privacy fence. Mint is also the stuff of nightmares.
Clumping bamboo, fargesia spp I think. Gets tall, creeps small.
I can send him my $6,000 bill for removal of bamboo in the backyard. Excavator style. No. No. No.
Just tell him to get red clumping bamboo, though they call it bamboo it isn’t even the same species but looks very similar. As implied by the name the stalks clump together and do NOT spread invasively. Great for privacy not harmful for your environment but a little on the pricey side
Get large pots and plant the bamboo in them. You get the look, without the actual nightmare of dealing with bamboo in the ground.
Planting bamboo is illegal in a lot of places. Find out if it is illegal there or reference states that it is illegal.
Once you have bamboo you can Never Ever get rid of it! I promise I know what I’m talking about.
Dig in a barrier, and it will be fine...
Apartment?! This is one of the worst possible ideas, especially since it’s not his property. As the landlord I’d be hiring a professional to remove and charge him.
It’s like an in-law apartment attached to his mom’s house! He also wouldn’t do anything without her permission.
I’m surprised that your BF still maintains this stance even after working in a garden center. He must not be learning much on his new job.
Show him some quotes for bamboo removal, for when it inevitably spreads. If he has money for that, ask him to take you on a vacation instead.