How to Kill Bamboo

How to kill bamboo... some species of running bamboo get out of control in the garden you may want to eradicate it to stop it from spreading where it is unwanted. Killing it isn't easy and it is very hard to dig up!

There are two types of bamboo, running bamboo and clumping bamboo. The rhizomes of running bamboo spread out very quickly and it is therefore ideal for creating a windbreak or privacy wall by using it for hedging your garden. Clumping bamboo stays in a tight clump and grows with less speed and therefore makes a better choice for a feature in the garden. However, both types are very resistant to being killed.

If you don't really want to kill your bamboo, but are looking for a way to control bamboo instead, please see my articles on bamboo control and containment and how to transplant these plants.

Methods for Killing Bamboo

If you have a small area of bamboo you can successfully kill it using the following method. You need some herbicide, a brush, and something to cut the bamboo such as a pair of strong shears.

1. The first step would be to paint something like round up directly onto the leaves. Apply it in damp, not raining, weather and give this a week to soak in. The round up will start the process of killing the plant.

2. Cut the stalk approximately six inches from the ground and immediately paint the cut with the herbicide...... by immediately I mean within seconds! Once the bamboo has been cut, the sap flow will retreat downwards and therefore to make sure the herbicide goes with the sap you need to paint it on right away or the bamboo will not die. The sap retreats within 15 seconds so if the treatment does not go down with it you will have wasted your time and have to repeat the process.

Tip: Make sure all the canes are cut and that there are no leaves or shoots left uncut. It is the leaves that will continue feeding the plant if they are left on, and encouraging it to keep growing.

3. If, a couple of weeks after your first attempt to kill bamboo, it starts to sprout again repeat the cut and paint method. Do not give up! Repeat the process a few times if needed. If you don't, it is likely to come back. I recently used this to kill some bamboo in my garden and I managed to get rid of the bamboo after applying the herbicide three times over the course of a month. Provided you keep it up the plant will die eventually but don't expect final results from the first application, this is a very strong plant.

4. If you need to use that piece of ground for anything else you will need to dig up the root system. This is extremely hard work! The rhizomes run horizontally and look like underground canes. These must be completely removed from the ground. The other small root systems coming off the rhizomes can not regenerate on their own so it is not so important to dig every one of them up... thank goodness.

If you don't need the ground for anything I would leave the root system there to rot but keep a really close eye on it. If there are no signs of new shoots after a year I would say that you have been successful in killing your bamboos.

More...

From your interest in how to kill bamboo, you will also find lots of useful information on the following pages