Never Underestimate Bamboo !

Who would of thought that four small clumps of bamboo clould be unleasing their huge potential in such a way.

With a quick glance, these bamboo clumps seem prefectly fine, small, seemingly inder control, providing good privacy screening. That is till you take a closer look.

They have already encroached into a neighbouring garden, with the rhizomes already one metre into the lawn. An increasing number of rhizomes spreading into our clients lawn by a distance of over two metres.

However most worrying of all, extensive rhizomes now very much under the recently created raised decking.

Canes sprouting with diametres of up to approximately 25mm these have the potential to cause significant physical damage to the decking.

If this had been left any longer it is fairly safe to say that the decking area would have needed removing to enable the rhizome removal.

Leave bamboo at your peril, each year it is left, the removal costs will increase.

The photographs show how the rhizome mass expands out under the grass, increasing in size invisibly.

Your first awareness will be when canes start sprouting up through the lawn.

From that point forward matters will just get worse.

A mature colony of “Clumping Bamboo” that had spread and encroached into a neighbouring property.

The rhizomes had spread under the fence and were now spreading over an increasingly large area of the neighbouring properties shrub filled raised boundary border.

Time was now of great importance, if allowed to spread further and become more established the shrubs would have been put at risk, with them needing removal for an effective rhizome removal. This clearly would have increased costs greatly for our client.

You must always remember, if you bamboo encroaches into a neighbouring property it is highly likely that you can be found liable for any removal costs and associated damage and reinstatement costs.

Working with the management committee of the neighbouring property the rhizome expansion was removed, their planted border area left in a condition as close as possible to before works started.

The rhizomes had spread the entire width of the neighbouring boundary and had spread laterally a distance of approximately nine metres.

It is absolutely vital when removing bamboo to be extremely thorough in the work practices and to ensure complete removal.

The bamboo at this property was growing amongst the shrubs that were growing in the adjacent border, these needed to be removed to ensure complete bamboo removal.

Our client had acted just in time. The rhizomes had reached the mature conifer boundary hedge. If these had not been removed they would have this growing season produced new growth into the hedge, with further rhizomes. This would have made removal virtually impossible without removing sections of the hedge.

It must also be remembered that if bamboo from your property encroaches into a neighbouring property it is likely that you are responsible for its removal and any damage that it causes.

Devon Arborists are the areas bamboo removal specialists.

Call our friendly team who will be able to help you. 07485 411618

This property was a fairly recent development in the centre of Exeter, the town houses overlooking each others gardens.
Bamboo screening throughout the development seems to be common, perhaps planted by the developers when constructed, or possible just a copy cat measure from neighbours.
The grove was made up from around six originally planted “Clumping Bamboo plants”
The bamboo had done a great job, however no thought had been given to stop its spread. Rhizomes were starting to escape through the fence rearwards towards the adjacent property.
With the way clumping bamboo expands the raised bed had become one completely solid mass of woody rhizome with runners expanding the colonisation.

Whilst this was certainly not a large colonisation, the fact that this was in a raised walled bed and no access for machinery meant the removal was far from easy.

If you have bamboo in a similar setting we can certainly help.

Call the Devon Arborists friendly and professional team – 07485 411618

The rhizomes can be seen starting to run under the new path lifting the surface and causing cracking. At this stage the encroachment was relatively minimal but with the rapidly expanding nature of running type rhizomes, and the culms that will emerge from them damge will get much worse very rapidly.

The bamboo appeared to have originated from we believe three pieces of “Clumping Bamboo” these are often planted under the misconception that they do not spread, whilst not at fast as “Running Bamboo” they certainly do spread.

They produce very dense woody clumps of rhizome, in fact quite similar to a tree stump, this dense lump over time gets larger, this in its self can cause significant damge when close to fences, walls or similar. However over time you still get break away running rhizomes that spread laterally, potentially causing damage along the way, but also creating new clumping colonies located remotely.

It would appear that when planted some thought had been given to the fact that it may possibly spread, the clumps were surrounded on the boundary and oil tank side by concrete blocks, the rhizomes had simply gone under, over and around these blocks.

Without significant defences you can not stop bamboo spreading.

The longer bamboo is left to establish the more prolific it grows, more foliage means greater energy to produce larger rhizome mass.
Each year the new culms produced are larger in diameter and taller, until the bamboo reaches maturity.
The photographs show the significant quanity of canes removed along with its foliage, along with the length of one of the canes, many were between seven and eight metres in length, the largest with a diameter of approximately forty millimetres.

Devon Arborists your local specialist company.

Call our friendly and helpful team today 07485 411618