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bamboo
mdbamboo

Do Barriers Work?

mdbamboo
11 years ago

Hello -

I live in Maryland - zone 7 and am about to plant 50 yellow groove to create a living fence. I plan to have trenches dug on both sides of my living fence and to place plastic 60 mil barrier down 2 feet with a flap over the side of the top of the trench. I have been told this will prevent the bamboo from becoming invasive and going into my neighbors' yards. Is this true? Will the barriers prevent unwanted invasion? Does anyone recommend the 80 mil 3 foot barrier?

Advice Appreciated

Featured Answer
  • gardener1
    11 years ago

    Yes for awhile but you will still have to watch for rhizomes jumping the barrier and it must be installed correctly. search installing rhizome barrier on this forum and it will teach you how to do it properly you must follow directions carefully. Only reccommend 80 mil 3 ft if your soil is very loamy or sandy. But it sure wouldnt hurt.

    Comments (44)

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Thanks for the advice. Seems that the bamboo can be controlled with the barrier and mowing on the edge of the living fence that is facing the rest of my yard. However, seems it would be hard to control the bamboo even with a barrier on the edge lining my neighbors' yards. Should one leave several feet between the property line and the bamboo living fence so there is access to maintain the bamboo? Sounds like the barrier will not be enough as I had hoped.

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    • gardener1
      11 years ago

      I would definetly leave the space between you wont regret it. Plus if the boo does escape it gives you time and space to dig it up before it creeps into your neighbors yard. But the maintenance will be very minimal with the barrier installed correctly. Just cutting any rhizomes that try to jump the barrier. I dont use the barrier I just let the canes grow and then I dig them and sell or put them in my blank spots. But I def reccommend the barrier next to a property line.

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Thanks for the advice. A lot of people are telling me not to plant bamboo due to its invasiveness and that nothing will contain it. It seems it is possible to plant it and control it but it is a bit of work. I really don't want issues with neighbors so I hope to be able to contain it along property lines.

    • kudzu9
      11 years ago

      Once you have your barriers in place, you will be fine. The people telling you to not plant bamboo either have never grown it, or planted it and never maintained it. If bamboo we're as much of a problem as some folks would have you believe, it would have taken over the world by now. Don't let their ignorance interfere with your well-thought-out plan.

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Thanks for the reassurance. Do you feel overlap by 4-5 feet and double sided adhesive works on ends of the barrier or do you think the clamps are best?

    • gardener1
      11 years ago

      I agree I grow 34 different species on 3/4 of an acre for 14 years and it hasnt become a problem yet. Absolutely use the metal clamps tape will not hold it. Overlap doesnt matter as much but I would still go as much as 5 ft if I had it. Dont listen to anyone who has never grown it. It is a beautiful plant.

    • stevelau1911
      11 years ago

      If you are afraid of bamboos going into your neighbor's yard, I would simply recommend putting a barrier down at an angle right alongside the entire property line so rhizomes never get onto the other side, but nowhere else because it's pretty easy to control the rhizomes by either having the entire bamboo planted on a raised mound, or you could simply rhizome prune around the bamboos with a pick each fall, and right after shooting season if you missed any rhizomes. Most bamboos don't grow that deep.

      I simply grow all my bamboos without barriers, but with cool summers, rhizomes also don't travel very far each season. Even if you get hot summers, it's still pretty easy to rhizome prune since severed rhizomes without any attachment to a culm will eventually rot. I attached a link to show how my bamboos are all grown.

      Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of my bamboo

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Any recommendations on website to buy the clamps? Not sure the nursery from which i am getting the bamboo sells clamps as they recommended overlapping and tape. Interesting advice to put the barrier at an angle. All good advice, informative and reassuring after being warned not to put up bamboo. I am planting this beautiful plant as a privacy screen against unfriendly neighbors. They wouldn't be very pleased to say the least if the bamboo creeps into their yard. I am really trying to assure my beautiful bamboo stays in my yard. So looking forward to my garden

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      more follow up questions: I am thinking of putting barrier just on side lining my neighbors' yards and having a raised bed and no barrier on the side facing my yard. My thought is from reading sites is the barrier is less likely to fail on the property line side as the rhizomes will go toward the yard side and there will be less likelihood of bamboo becoming root bound and breaking barrier. any thoughts on this? no clamps needed for this method, right?

    • gardener1
      11 years ago

      It will not get rootbound if left open on one side,but you'll still have to keep an eye on it from jumping the barrier. Wont need clamps this way. Shiny side of the barrier goes on the inside facing bamboo. Leave 2 inches above ground so you can see when bamboo jumps it. and definetly put it at and angle so the rhizomes go up not down. Good Luck and enjoy your privacy.

    • kudzu9
      11 years ago

      Here is a link that will help you:

      Here is a link that might be useful: Barrier

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Thanks so much for all of the advice. In the picture there isn't a lot of space between the barrier and the fence - is that because there is less risk of rhizome going toward neighbors' yards with the one sided barrier? Previously I was advised to leave several feet between fence and barrier so that I could go behind bamboo to maintain rhizomes before they get to neighbors' yards

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Seeing Gardener1's response as well. Seems still need space between barrier and fence as still risk of rhizomes going toward neighbor with one sided barrier......thought that bamboo would take path of least resistance toward my yard instead of barrier near neighbors' yard. Will need to maintain both sides of living fence....

    • stevelau1911
      11 years ago

      Here's an even simpler method of growing bamboo.

      If you are in zone 7, you could simply grow some tall fargesia robustas, chusqeaus,thamnocalamus, or any of the other hardy clumping species which will only spread a few inches each year without the threat of running into the neighbor's yard.

      The only draw back to them is that these species are typically under 20ft tall, and you have to buy multiple plants since you can't pamper a clumper to grow in certain directions and fill out a screen. Zone 7 along the east coast sounds like an ideal climate for cold hardy clumpers.

    • mdbamboo
      Original Author
      11 years ago

      Thanks for the suggestion, but I decided on running bamboo because of the potential for fastest growth and greater height. I'll put in barrier with either the closed loop barrier on an angle with clamps or the one sided barrierat an angle with a raised bed. Either way seems I need to maintain the rhizomes - but the beauty of the yellow groove and spectabilius along with the privacy it provides should make up for the maintenance.

    • kudzu9
      11 years ago

      I don't necessarily believe that a one-sided barrier encourages the plant to grow in the opposite direction. But there are other reasons to leave room.

      I always leave several feet free on the back side so I can work along a property line. It makes it easier to get on all sides of the plant and clear out dead culms, and it makes it easier to see if a rhizome has jumped over a barrier (although this is not a common occurrence). The thing to remember with any barrier is that it's not the end of the world if a rhizome escapes...you just deal with it. when you remove a rhizome from the ground that is going where you don't want it to go, it's just necessary to get the main part of the root out; fragments left in the ground do not re-grow, unlike many invasive plants.

      Finally, remember that any growth that hangs over the property line can be legally trimmed by your neighbor. At some point you will have culms right up to the barrier and foliage that arches over. If you do not have a good relationship with the neighbor, you don't want to plant your bamboo in a way that will allow him the opportunity to prune growth that may be over the property line.

    • onebuccaneer
      9 years ago

      I do not believe barriers work for long. We had a 75 foot, steel reinforced, concrete, barrier installed to keep our neighbor's bamboo off of our property in 2011 at a cost of 3,000 dollars. This Spring (2014) the bamboo grew past the end of the barrier. We dug a 6 foot rhizome out of our yard in April and another was growing in its place not 2 days later. If you are a victim of the bamboo you will have to barrier your entire property.

    • tuscanseed
      9 years ago

      No, in the longrun. I just removed a 70 foot strip by 5 feet wide of Phy. Aurea which escaped a concrete barrier. The grove was truly beautiful and it was hard to see it go. I'm pruning new growth to deplete the rhizomes of energy for evential dieout. I would need a backhoe to get this stuff out of the ground. The rhizomes are like concrete. Running bamboo is both the beauty and the beast

    • emmek
      9 years ago

      I live on Long Island, NY and have a bamboo wall which I love and is a haven for wildlife, especially the birds. It is, however, invading the gardens and lawn , and I would like to put in a barrier to help control the runners. Can you please let me know where I can buy the grade plastic that will be useful? It was suggested I get grade 5 construction plastic...but no local nursery's carry it. Recommendations appreciated. Thank you

    • kudzu9
      9 years ago

      emmek-
      Whoever gave you the advice about grade 5 construction plastic...ignore them. That would be about as useful as tissue paper.

      You need real bamboo barrier: 60 mil or 80 mil. I am on the West Coast, so I don't know sources where you are. Typically you will only find it at a bamboo nursery or online. The place I get mine is in Oregon, and they will ship anywhere in the U.S. Their price is pretty reasonable, but I don't know how much shipping will be. Below is a link to the vendor I use, and there is also useful info on options for how to install it. Talk to them...they're friendly and they can tell you how much for shipping.

      Here is a link that might be useful: Bamboo Gardens

    • battling
      9 years ago

      I also live on LI, NY. Planted running bamboo uncontrolled for about 30 years. Loved the visual barrier and visual beauty. Had no idea about how it ran, but I found out. Culms kept getting closer to the yard year after year. Lots of growth went into the woods behind the house. I made a decision to try and control it about 3 summers ago, when shoots came up under a slab into a sunroom and under the tongue and groove siding.
      I began by cutting culms with lopers back toward the property line (100's). I bought a 10 hp steel chipper/ shredder to deal with them (hard work). Last summer, I decided to rip out all the rhizomes from the back and side lawn (estimated over 2500 running feet of rhizomes). I cut them into smaller pieces and bagged them for trash pickup. The hard part of removing the rhizomes was when they went under black locust roots. I thought that was a hard job (being in my 60's), replanted the lawn and have been cutting out small shoots from pieces of rhizomes left in the ground. I always thought that mowing would control the running rhizomes, but I was over 2500 feet wrong. To prevent reoccurrences, I just finished putting in a 100 foot root barrier (40 mil, about 22 inches in the ground and 2 inches exposed). I would have put in thicker plastic if I had read posts here earlier. I got the barrier through Amazon (no shipping with Prime). Next year I will continue the barrier farther. Hand digging the trench with pickaxing root masses from cut culms was harder than removing the rhizomes from the lawn areas. I am in the process of pickaxing about 4/5 feet of root masses back beyond the barrier (tougher work still) and will keep it soft so I can rhizome prune new growth more easily. I know this work will never be completely finished, but I have made big strides in controlling what should have been done over 30 years ago!
      New growers should follow the advice of others here.

    • kudzu9
      9 years ago

      battling-
      Thanks for sharing. Very interesting account. You have my admiration. I am always fighting with some of my runners that I don't have contained, so I am empathetic.

    • battling
      9 years ago

      Thanks or the kind words kudzu.
      As far as using Roundup or any other preparation that is similar, I have tried several. When I started cutting culms with lopers, I would spray weed killer immediately into each cut stem. When I dug the rhizomes out of my lawn, I immediately (again) sprayed onto the cut rhizome which went under my pachysandras and into the woods. I got this idea from watching utube videos, etc.
      When I started this summer ripping out those rhizomes under the pachysandras and root masses under the previously cut culms, I noticed that they were not affected by the weed killers...seemingly a waste of time and money.
      Now I know, digging is the only way to remove the unwanted growth underground, not weed killers. The only value I can see with the weed killer is spraying small plants in the woods where the rhizomes are sending up survival shoots. I would probably do just as well to just use a shovel to cut those shoots in the future.
      I must mention again, removing rhizomes from a lawn or area where there are no mature culms is relatively easy, except where tree roots over grow the rhizomes. The lawn gets chewed up, but that is easy to repair. However, removing mature cut culm root masses is quite a tough job. Previously, I have often wondered why in hurricanes, trees fall and uproot, but while bamboo cullms might break 5-10 feet up, they never uproot...now I know why.

    • PRO
      J-Bond
      9 years ago

      When installing the barrier be sure to leave a couple inches at the top of the barrier so jumping rhizomes can be spotted. I have seen some installations where the installer even digs an open trench in front of the bamboo in order to spot the rhizomes. Another good source for barrier is: www.rhizomebarrier.com They offer free shipping over $3,000 (for large jobs)

    • kudzu9
      9 years ago
      last modified: 9 years ago

      J-Bond-
      Thanks for the link...it looks like they have a nice selection of different sizes. However, I will point out the link I posted above for Bamboo Gardens has better prices for the two sizes they stock. They carry 30" wide barrier in 60 and 80 mil, and currently charge $2.00/lineal ft and $3.25/lineal ft, respectively, plus shipping. They typically ship rolls of 130', but will cut and ship any length you need shorter than that. The source you posted charges $2.27/lineal ft and $4.46/lineal ft for the same product, plus shipping. The source you linked to has 10 different distribution centers around the country, while mine is located in only one area (Portland, OR). I'm posting this response simply to suggest to people that they should check out both sources, compare total cost for barrier plus shipping for the quantity they need, and then decide where to get it.

    • PRO
      G&G Fencing & Landscape Supplies
      9 years ago
      last modified: 9 years ago

      we have them in the uk and the ones we have put in seem to work ok. we have installed them to some big landscaping jobs

    • PicoAzores
      8 years ago

      I'm building concrete planters into the ground. The planter will be 10 ft. long, 25 inches wide inside, with 6 inch thick concrete walls all around. The depth will be over 60 inches, but the planter will be in the soil on one side and sticking above about 10 inches, but on the other side it will be all open (terrace) and its bottom 4 inches in the ground then tied up into a concrete slab. Do you think a running bamboo may escape this kind of prison? And if it will, which way will it be heading first? Cracking the 6 inch thick concrete wall?

    • kudzu9
      8 years ago

      The usual depth for rhizomes is about a foot (I've never seen anything deeper than about 16"). Bamboo will do nothing to concrete...nothing. However, I want to clarify your dimensions. Are you saying that, on the open side, next to the slab, the concrete walls only go into the ground 4"? If you are planting it next to a slab, with no barrier between the container sides and the slab, it's entirely possible that the rhizomes will travel under the slab and come out the other side.

    • PicoAzores
      8 years ago

      The slab connects to the concrete wall of the permanent container. Also, the depth of the entire container (part of the outdoor garden steps) is over 60 inches, will bamboo reach down that deep? The slab next to it is long and wide. Perhaps the bamboo roots can penetrate 6 inch concrete wall? Can the roots reach down say 65 inches deep? That is over 1,5 meter deep.

    • kudzu9
      8 years ago
      last modified: 8 years ago

      If the concrete barrier wall is over 60" deep on all sides, that is nuclear overkill. Re-read what I said: bamboo would not and cannot crack cement (unless it's, say, 1/2" thick). You've been listening to too many urban horror stories. As I also said, in my experience, bamboo rhizomes don't go down much over a foot to a foot-and-a-half, and I've grown over 80 kinds of bamboo. If anyone tells you they found a rhizome 5' down, or they've seen it penetrate a concrete wall, they've been smoking something. Bamboo roots like warmth, which is why they stay near the ground surface instead of diving deep. You can contain bamboo with hard plastic bamboo barrier that's 60 mil (60/1000") thick. Six inch concrete is not going to be affected.

    • mark_shull3
      6 years ago

      We have a neighbor who planted bamboo next to your house. They put in a 2 ft barrier, and the previous owner put in a 3 ft barrier. And, there is a 30 ft concrete patio next to it. The bamboo has emerged on the other side of the patio.

      Drive anywhere around DC, and you will see case after case where bamboo has gone completely out of control.

      Planting any kind of running bamboo is completely irresponsible.

    • kudzu9
      6 years ago
      last modified: 6 years ago

      mark-

      Hard to draw any conclusions about what you are asserting. For instance, if barrier wasn't placed next to the patio, bamboo rhizomes, like many other roots, could easily have passed under the patio slab.

      Further, when people plant running bamboo and do no maintenance for years, there can be problems. But I grow about 60-70 kinds of bamboo -- most of them running -- and use 20" deep barrier with many of them. I have never had a barrier failure in 10 years. Rhizomes like warmth, so they tend to not dive deep; I've never found a rhizome deeper than 16", and most of them are about 6"-10" deep. If someone is having a failure with 2'-3' barrier, they likely didn't install it properly. If bamboo were as big a problem as you believe, most of Japan would be uninhabitable.

      Many people who are anti-bamboo are also not very experienced with it, or had a bad experience because they didn't practice basic maintenance procedures. I'd be curious to know if you have actually grown bamboo yourself, or if your viewpoint is based solely on conclusions about other people's situations.

    • ryan m
      3 years ago

      The thickness of barrier or Mil (thousands of an inch) is typically in the 60 Mil 24" deep range. 60 Mil can be visualized as two standard credit cards stacked on top of another. This thickness does a good job for most bamboo barrier installation scenarios, however, if you have a REALLY aggressive running rhizome bamboo or are concerned that it might not be enough then you can go up to 80 or even 100 Mil.


      I would not really recommend digging down 36" inches as its a pain, and rhizomes don't typically go below 18" deep (though some can).


      The Standard bamboo barrier sizing for both Clumping and Running Rhizome bamboo varieties is 24" deep and 60 Mil thickness.


      For a helpful illustrated step by step installation guide along with a bamboo selector tool go to Rhizomebarrier .com http://www.rhizomebarrier.com/how-to-contain-bamboo-a-helpful-illustrated-guide/


    • maiwyck1
      3 years ago

      I want to cut a hole in a cement slab to create a container of sorts for bamboo. The location is a side of my yard that is completely paved over with concrete from the house edge to the property line block wall. On the neighbors side of the block wall is also a paved driveway. And in the East and west directions are even more concrete formed stairs, in and out of the property. If I cut a hole near the block wall and plant bamboo, will rhizomes run under the slab toward the house? And if they do, what damage could they do?
      I presume the block wall foundation will stop it and the steps on each side are at least 20 feet away in each direction and probably too much footing to matter as well. But the house would be 9 feet away from the hole so I’m worried about that. The house is a slab foundation though so yeah, more concrete! It’s a concrete paradise! (That’s why I need to soften the place up with bamboo)
      Also there is some plumbing and a sewer clean out on that side of the house so I wonder if the rhizomes could infiltrate them and do some damage?

    • kudzu9
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      Bamboo rhizomes can travel quite a way under a slab: I’ve seen them travel as much as 15’-35’. However, they do nothing to damage foundations or invade sewer lines. They can come up through cracks, but they won’t make cracks in, concrete. So your only concern should be: If the rhizomes travel a great distance (not guaranteed), will you be concerned with shoots coming up if they get to someplace beyond the concrete perimeter?

    • battling
      3 years ago

      I had rhizomes travel under a slab and come up through the basement window well and also under the tongue and groove siding that was against the house where the slab met the foundation. If you do cut a hole in the concrete for a bamboo planting, I would contain it in a pot or container that would keep the rhizomes from spreading except for out over the top of the container. My personal "war" with bamboo that spread uncontrolled over approximately an acre took years to control with lots of hard work. Yet, I still get a few sprouts coming up in the woods every summer.

    • maiwyck1
      3 years ago

      Oh thanks Battling and Kudzu9! Great info. Even though I have paved cement everywhere there are still cracks in areas and control divisions as well. I better avoid the bamboo because of those. I bet the rhizomes will be desperate to get out through those cracks! I think I better put something else there like Silver sheen shrub. It will still get tall and a soft look too. Thanks for your help!

    • HU-319922396
      3 years ago

      When installing the 60 mil barrier, how do you deal with undulations in the ground surface?

    • kudzu9
      3 years ago

      HU-

      You make the bottom of the trench flat (or at a uniform depth below the surface if it's on a flat slope). Then you install the barrier in the trench, backfill, and use a razor knife to cut the excess barrier off, leaving several inches sticking up all around. I typically go down about 20" and put in 24" tall barrier, and then trim a bit off the barrier that sticks up so that it has a uniform reveal above ground surface regardless of undulations. Does that make sense?

    • Kate S
      2 years ago

      I'm so happy I found this post, what you said reassured me so much, thank you kudzu9 your sharing is so helpful! I planted some bamboos near the property line, and I plan on putting in 2 barriers that are 15 inches apart on the side facing the property line. I was wondering if 2 barriers are more effective than one barrier? Is it worth it?

    • kudzu9
      2 years ago

      If you put in one barrier properly, that should be sufficient. In the last 10-15 years, I've had rhizomes escape a couple of times where one managed to sneak through the overlap of the two ends of a circular barrier. But that's not a big deal. I just dig the rhizome out all the way back to the escape point, and cut it off. Sometimes I'll then take a scrap of barrier -- maybe 12"-18" long --and form it into a 180 degree loop that I slip into place at the overlap. That way, if the rhizome starts re-growing it will bump up against this dead end loop.

    • Kate S
      2 years ago

      Thank you so much kudzu9!

    • battling
      2 years ago

      Never had the rhizomes cross my barrier. But then, i have cleared out the culms throughout the woods. Still get a few survivor shoots. Not a problem.

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