The Damage Bamboo Plants Can cause

deannagone

Was amazed by this article.., yep it was in the DM but there are pictures, its not a false made up story.  The mass of rhizomes is much bigger than I'd have thought possible - under the house.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10457923/How-neighbours-bamboo-caused-100k-damage-inside-home-shoots-burst-walls.html

Be careful moving to a house with a bamboo in the next garden.

babyblade41

I'll remember that, I knew they were invasive but not that bad !!

[Deleted User]

Yup, there are numerous shrubs and trees that get planted in innocence and create havoc for future homeowners.

Sistergold

I have a neighbor who has been planting bamboos like made. I am not a fan of bamboos as they can even take over at the expense of other plants. Better planted in pots so as to contain them. They are also difficult to get rid of. 

roddydogs

Only certain types are invasive, phyllostakis nigra is fine

newsgroupmonkey_

We're currently fighting a battle against Ivy. We're winning, because we've spent 2 years doing it. Fortunately, most of the problem is also 40 foot away from the house,

Please don't plant ivy. When you're digging up 20 year old roots, they're often around 10-12 inches thick and very difficult to saw through.. I broke a chainsaw blade on one yesterday.

Exodi

I've just pulled up the bamboo from our garden - that the previous owners had put in.

Despite the shoots appearing to be isolated to just a 4 metre long bed, the shoots had gone under the patio and across the lawn/hedges.

I had to effectively take up all the patio and turn the garden into a building site. Most of the roots were taller than me.

Never again.

MaryNB

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

We're currently fighting a battle against Ivy. We're winning, because we've spent 2 years doing it. Fortunately, most of the problem is also 40 foot away from the house,

Please don't plant ivy. When you're digging up 20 year old roots, they're often around 10-12 inches thick and very difficult to saw through.. I broke a chainsaw blade on one yesterday.

I'm always cutting back ivy that creeps under the boundary hedge and over the boundary wall. Then my elderly  neighbour said she purposely planted it so it covers her garden...

Thankfully it's not near the house but all I can do is keep it at bay. 

With regards to the bamboo those photos really unnerved me. I was paranoid about a different neighbour's fast growing tree and it's roots making their way into my foundations and causing the dreaded S-word. Thankfully (so very very thankfully) they cut back the tree of their own accord. I had neighbours from hell growing up and am still terrified of conflict so I hadnt brought myself to ask them about the tree yet.

propertyhunter

I can't believe those photos. It's incredible. I like some varieties of bamboo, especially phyllostakis nigra. I want to plant some in my new garden - it's a clump forming variety, but will now also explore options to contain it within the ground to be extra cautious, like am impermeable membrane. 

GDB2222

We have quite a bit of ivy in our garden, and it’s not too hard to control. If I cut it near the ground, the rest of it just dies. 

Chris_English

We had some issues with bamboo from our neighbour's garden. Notihng as bad as this, but when we had the patio re-dine we also had some pretty heavy-duty concreting done along the boundary to try to stop it coming through. It'd break my heart if the beautiful portland stone ended up with plants coming through it.

I quite like the idea of putting some  bamboo in planters, but am worried even about that.