A gardener standing face to face with a stand of running bamboo can easily feel intimidated.
"Lot of gardeners have unknowingly planted running bamboos, only to have it take over their entire landscape, and I'm one of those people," master gardener Paul James admits. "Three years ago, I planted a dwarf variety of this bamboo in the narrow strip that leads up to my front door. Now at the time, I knew the bamboo was a runner and an aggressive one at that, but I thought it would be contained by the sidewalk and adjacent raised bed planter. But I was wrong. It wound up growing where I never intended it to grow, so I spent the better part of a day digging it out by hand."
To successfully remove bamboo, James suggests stabbing a small shovel around the base of the plant. Gently lift the shovel to remove as much of the plant as possible. Then thoroughly inspect the soil to a depth of about a foot, and remove any roots that remain. "If you leave behind even the tiniest bit of root or rhizome, you'll have more bamboo," says James.
If a neighboring bamboo is infiltrating your yard, there are several ways to treat the problem. Keep in mind that the rhizomes are like underground stems and can travel long distances as well as under fences. Rhizomes must be removed with a sharp tool. You can mow the young shoots to maintain some control, but you'll have to mow often.
Withholding water is another method that works fairly well, but often the most aggressive bamboos may not be deterred and may simply grow at a slower pace.
And there's one more technique you may or may not want to try. "You can always eat your bamboo shoots if they are among the number of bamboo that produce a great tasting shoot," James laughs. "But first you have to painstakingly peel the shoots and then boil them to remove the bitter taste and somewhat dangerous alkaloid. So as for me, I'll continue to grow all the bamboo I can but I'll get my shoots out of a can."
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