How do I get rid of a patch of bamboo?

[Glen Gilchrist]

Hi all

I have cut it back to the ground - now, failing getting a pick axe, how can I remove the roots/rhizomes??

Cheers
Glen

[scrap]

...tricky.

A herbicide like Roundup can kill it,but my guess is that it would take a lot.
New young shoots should come up anytime now.
You can try it with copper screws and vinegar.
...I've killed plenty of unwanted stuff that way.
Takes time though.

[Ellendra]

If I lived closer I'd say send me a clump of those roots! I've been trying to grow bamboo on my land for a few years now, but every bamboo plant that I've ordered has been dead on arrival. I plant them anyway hoping maybe the roots might have some spark left, but nothing happens.

[frozenthunderbolt]

Hi all

I have cut it back to the ground - now, failing getting a pick axe, how can I remove the roots/rhizomes??

Cheers
Glen

build a fire on top of them then split any that are left with a pry bar so water leaks in to make them rot. When they sprout again anyway, rinse and repeat the steps above.

[Green Aura]

Can you eat the shoots? I'm sure if you pick them regularly enough it'll eventually kill the plant - and free veg to boot.

[hedgewizard]

Dug mine out the hard way, by digging a moat round it and getting underneath with a crowbar. Even then some little fragments regrew - I persecuted them and finally won the day. The I learned I could have eaten the buggers :-(

[cocobelle]

I hear that vinegar soaked onto the chopped stalks is quite effective in killing bamboo. May take a few attempts though. Best of luck

[Glen Gilchrist]

If I lived closer I'd say send me a clump of those roots!

Hey -- if I send botanicals to the USA, don't men in suits come for me in the night? Am I even allowed to say that? lol

Cheers
G

[Glen Gilchrist]

Hi all

Copper Sulphate "borrowed" from school -- saturated solution should kill just about everything.....

Thanks all
G

[scrap]

Yup,same idea as my copper and vinegar ''therapy'',just a lot more concentrated.
You can knock up a batch of that stuff with some copper rods and a car battery.
If you add a sulphur-based (80%) fungicide to the vinegar the copper corrodes a lot faster.

But nickin' it is also an option...

[Glen Gilchrist]

But nickin' it is also an option...

Surely its a valid home-school experiment, one which my Year 10 / 11 class would appreciate. Evaluate this hypothesis - "Does copper sulphate kill bamboo".

Cheers
G

[scrap]

... + ?

!

[Glen Gilchrist]

That reminds me of the joke .... "Why are Pirates called Pirates?" "Cause they arrrrrrrrrrgh"

[Mabu]

Get a panda.