Hardiness Zone: 6a
Chanel from Floutown, PA
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has an excellent web resource for finding out where to recycle in your area.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/recycle.htm
The site includes drop down menus that allow you to select your county, township or municipality and then lists various drop-off sites and the materials each site accepts for collection. When I selected Montgomery township, I was directed to 5 listings, including this address for yard and garden waste.
Montgomery Township Drop-off Program
Township Building 1001 Stump Road (Stump road? nice pun!)
Montgomeryville, PA 18936
Materials accepted: Cardboard, leaves, yard waste.
You may want to call ahead and confirm with township authorities that your bamboo will be accepted. Otherwise, it seems there are few willing takers on this site!
For other folks looking for information on recycling programs in their area, start by calling your local solid waste, environment or public works department. Department names vary, but every city, town or county government in your area will be able to provide you with information. Also, visit these sites on the web:
National Recycling Coalition:
http://www.nrc-recycle.org/howto/index.htm
Earth 911:
www.earth911.org
The Internet Consumer Recycling:
http://www.obviously.com/recycle/
The Environmental Protection Agency recycling pages:
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recycle.htm
Ellen
If the stalks are thick and long, offer them to a gardener. They have multiple garden uses--I actually was looking for some this summer. You can also tie pieces together with jute to make trellises for houseplants. School's in here--I'm sure several teachers could find projects to do with them. Do you have a local theater group that may want some for props.
if you have very many rent a chipper and make mulch out of them.
or if they are tall enough. put windsocks on them and sell them at the next craft fair.
are you looking to get rid of some live bamboo? I am in NJ and have been looking for bamboo. It's so expensive to buy at the nurseries. vallford AT aol.com
I have Bamboo already cut down a large amount of it I need to get rid of it as soon as possible I live in Horsham Pennsylvania Montgomery County my phone number is 267-733-5949 please call me I am desperate
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I get rid of green bamboo stalks? They are not like tall tan bamboo. They are growing so abundantly in back of the garage. I would like to plant grass, some flowers, and have a place to sit, sun, and BBQ. I bought some weed killer for other weeds, but didn't think it would take care of bamboo. I tried pulling some up last year, but it keeps growing back! Please help. Any advise will be appreciated. Thank you.
By Karen from Pawtucket, RI
We have bamboo everywhere. We can't use chemicals because it is close to our well. We had the yard cleared with a backhoe and this did not help. I understand the the main root can be miles away.
Cassiemay
About 30 years ago, I saw a few stalks on the border of my property. It's a very rural area, zone 4 and I stupidly thought they were cute. For the next few decades, the bamboo and I have been at war. I have tried my very, very best to kill what is now a 40x80 foot area. I have called in specialists after several non-chemical methods failed. No matter what the weather, they merrily continue to grow babies underground and appearing 3-5 feet away from the group. Now I need a cane and have cried "uncle". They have won and are giggling at me.
Round up will get to any grass- bamboo is grass. Spray on leaves and wait. It might take a season. Round up will flow through the rhizomes of the bamboo.
cut to the ground and pour roundup down into the stalk, continue to cut with a lawnmower if possible, cover with black plastic. it will take a yearly effort. keep sunlight away a new stalk comes up cut and pour on roundup.
My neighbour's garden is filled with bamboo plants, initially it was nice and provided shade, but it has grown very wild and brushy. It kept on shedding its leaves on my carpet grass garden. We had tried trimming it regularly over on our side, but that is very time and energy consuming as we are old retired couples. They also do not want to remove the bamboo plants.
Is it true that it would attract snakes and other reptiles as we are staying near a big canal. Please advise.
By Ho PP
I finally killed mine with vinegar. It took several applications. Cut it short as you can and soak roots with the vinegar (white vinegar) Instructions were for 20% acid. Too hard to get. Used the common white vinegar, i think it is 4%. It worked. Bamboo runners will keep popping up. Do them the same. The other solution is a back hoe. I am not sure if a really strong cultivator would work (and remove bits and pieces because all will grow)Good luck. That is a lot of work.
Bamboo is very beautiful but invasive. It doesn't so much as attract snakes as anything that grows in highly acidic soil. It seems to grow no matter what the weather, extremely hot or rainy etc. I've found mowing over the shoots that come up several feet from the plant helps and finding the shoots by hand (cutting it off) helps but this is a never ending adventure.
Help. I need to get rid of, and keep away bamboo. It just keeps coming up. My neighbor has it and it comes into my space.
Char from Edgewood, MD
This Seattle area Bamboo supplier make it VERY clear on their web site that making sure Bamboo does NOT escape is every bamboo planters responsibility.
Here's what they say about their Rhizome Barriers (from the URL below)
www.bamboogardener.com/
No man made barrier will ever be 100% effective. Mother nature and it's child "Bamboo" will always in the end find a way to out smart humans. Maintenance on a continuous twice yearly care of all bamboo plantings is highly recommended and an important part of the containment system. Without proper maintenance the bamboo will escape. With proper maintenance of a rhizome barrier containment system eventually even the 60 mil barrier will eventually fail.
Here's their e-mail address do you can ask questions:
E-mail Bamboo Gardener at
james AT bamboogardener.com
They also reference: THE AMERICAN BAMBOO SOCIETY
www.americanbamboo.org/
I searched the American Bamboo Society's web site under "Bamboo Escape" & got their FAQ: (it's worth reading!) americanbamboo.org/
AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER:
Q. My bamboo is growing where I don't want it. What can I do?
The long answer, with more information, is here.
If bamboo has been planted without root barrier and is now growing where you don't want it, you have several choices. The choices all start out with digging a trench about 3 feet deep around the area where you want the bamboo to grow. You can then install root barrier, pour concrete at least three inches thick or fill the trench with loose gravel. You can rent trench digging machines at equipment rental stores. Root barriers available from larger nurseries. It comes in very long rolls, should be at least 0.040 inch thick and about three feet high. Expect it to cost between $1 and $2 per foot.
If you choose root barrier or concrete, you should leave an inch or two above ground level to make it easier to find the roots that try to escape over the top of the barrier. If you choose the loose rock fill, you will have to use a sharp spade at the beginning of every growing season to cut down into the trench and sever any new roots that try to cross the trench. Rhizomes that have already extended outside their area can be dug up. If that isn't practical, continue to knock over all new shoots you see for the next few seasons, once the rhizomes are severed from the main plant, and the rhizomes will eventually die.
Sometimes a local grower will be interested in digging it up if it is something a little unusual. You may be able to find a local grower by asking a nursery where they get theirs or from the ABS Species Source List, which has a section on bamboo suppliers across the country. He or she can give you more specific information about containing it further.
---> I myself, would recommend sheets of galvanized roof flashing... That's the only thing that will hold up for the long run, but that Seattle area Bamboo Supplier (above) says you can save money by buying thick density plastic. But as they say, it'll eventually fail. You sure do have a mess on you hands! Last year I WAS thinking about planting a bamboo privacy screen when my partner warned me. "Sheesh! Cyinda. Think of the neighbors. That stuff TRAVELS!". So I changed my mind & am planting hedges & vines on lattice instead.
My irresponsible neighbor planted bamboo years ago without a root barrier. I just bought and installed 14" roof flashing along the 40 feet of fence where the bamboo is growing into my yard. Dug up lots of roots. But the idea of roof flashing proposed here was a real money saver, about $50 for 50 feet. The project wasn''t that hard. I just attached the flashing to the fence posts after digging a 14" trench. Thanks for the tip.
I saw the recipe for vinegar and salt weed killer, will this solution work on bamboo as well?
In my experience with bamboo you basically have to dig out the roots of the plant. Bamboo will grow back easily after it is cut. In the tropics bamboo grows wild here and that is one reason we use a lot of bamboo in our home.
What is an earth friendly way to get rid of bamboo plants in your yard?
By RJM
