Removing 1.5 Acres of Bamboo in Towson, MD (2023 Update)

[Kay Lancaster]

[Kay Lancaster]

This came through after I found the initial statement... should have known you'd know when you stopped to think about it!

Kay

[David E. Ross]

Both Wikipedia and Sunset's "Western Garden Book" indicate that Japanese knotweed is Persicaria capitata. This is a ground cover that, in my garden, forms a mat about 6 inches thick. Through most (sometimes all) of the year, it has small clusters of pink flowers that resemble the flowers of white clover. For that reason, P. capitata is also called pink clover although it is definitely not a clover at all.

However, Wikipedia also indicates that Japanese knotweed is also Fallopia japonica (aka, Polygonum cuspidatum or Reynoutria japonica). This indeed grows like a bamboo to 10 or more feet high. If this is really what Elliott P has, a grass-specific herbicide will not work because Fallopia japonica is not at all a grass.

All this illustrates the fact that many different, unlike plants often share the same common name. This is why I try to use botanical names when possible. This also illustrates why the plant should be positively identified before any attempt to eradicate it. If a neighbor was correct in reporting that this was cut for feeding pandas at a nearby zoo, however, this must be a bamboo and not F. japonica.

[Elliott P]

David and others,

I uploaded several pictures I happen to have of the questionable plants to my Dropbox account. You can see the gallery here:

I took these before posting this, therefore I don't have any close ups of the leaves really. The first shows a fox I found running in there. The next four are various angles, where you can see how massive these are. There are also some in the snow, and then one showing how a large tree has fallen among the bamboo causing some damage.

I'll take more when time and daylight allows.

[bob haller]

ahh you admit a fox in the area. thus you have a wildlife preserve. and will require federal state local government approval. must catch and relocate all the wildlife. and meet EPA and other requirements. plus post bonds and get inspections to prove the standards were met

why not just leave this island of whatever alone?

what ae you planning on doing with it? planting grass?

thats just more grass to cut:(

[Brooklyn1]

Your property looks completely overgrown with all kinds of vegetation. To get rid of that bamboo you are going to have to till deep and rake out the roots. I suggest you obtain a dozer, bamboo stumps will pierce tractor tires. You have a lot of work to do over the next few years... you are not going to get rid of that bamboo in one season, probably take five years of constant attention. Consider yourself lucky it's not on a slope. After cutting it to the ground the first thing I'd do is hire someone with a backhoe to dig a trench around the entire perimeter, deep and wide. Once the bamboo is eradicated I suggest seriously considering installing a 2 acre pond. Anyone who plants bamboo, any kind, is an imbecile.

[bob haller]

i guess you missed where the OP said theres utility lines and a septic tank in the bamboo area.

Whats wrong with just leaving it grow?

[Brooklyn1]

  quoted text -

I guess you missed where the OP said there MIGHT BE utility lines and a septic in the bamboo area.

[Kay Lancaster]

No, you've got a real bamboo there; my guess from the photos is a Phyllostachys. Control methods here:

Watch carefully for spray drift. Desirable plants that get hit with Roundup/Rodeo can be rescued by immediate treatment with muddy water to bind glyphosate.

My first inclination, seeing those photos, would be to consider brush hogging the area and then hand application of glyphosate to the new sprouts. I'm pretty sure that will work, but will require constant vigilance and respray for a couple of years.

And yes, I will consider using carefully chosen chemicals, preferably applied in the most directed manner possible, for control of large weed infestations.

Kay

[Ron]

[dpb]

On 2/9/2012 10:17 PM, Ron wrote: ...

Not sure if tongue-in-cheek or not; w/ Haller, probably not. :(

Next we'll be hearing how the K&T wiring must come out... :)

[Evan]

@Nate:

It might not be "native" to Maryland, but it is growing there on its own over a 1.5 acre area -- which makes it something that might require permission of/supervision from the AHJ or environmental/conservation authorities before you go about removing it on your own...

The nativity of a species of plant doesn't impact its vital role as a means of erosion control and as a water absorber...

Making major changes which effect erosion and water flow properties of most lands requires oversight -- it is the size of the area in which the OP seeks to modify that is really at issue...

~~ Evan

[bob haller]

well my post was a joke, but one never knows, and using herbicides likely make it worse.

i have some new K&T info but thats for another day........

[dpb]

On 2/10/2012 11:13 AM, Evan wrote: ...

...

I'd think it far more likely to be on a noxious weed list _requiring_ control than the converse...

[Brooklyn1]

Were it protected land; water shed, riparian, wetlands, etc, the owner would know by perusing the property survey or simply phoning the town clerk. Such information is generally on line too as it's public record... they'd be able to say if there is a septic or utility line buried. Absent a body of water on that piece of land I seriously doubt that stand of bamboo is in any way protected... I have a 1/2 pond that I mow right to the edge each fall and cut out most of the catails. I'd just hack that basmboo down and do whatever it takes within legality (chems/fire) to be rid of it. With the right equipment it shouldn't take very long to cut, chip, plow, and rake that small plot, no more than 4 eight hour days and like 40 gallons of diesel. If kept closely mowed whatever roots remain will die off within a couple three seasons, I seriously doubt any defolient is necessary, just keep mowing, even if twice a week... with my 7' mower I can mow an acre in 20 minutes. I mow 10 acres of lawn every week, when weather is dry I can do it all in one day, and I have several separate areas, and lots of edging, miles of edging. With my brush hog I can chop down a 4 acre wildflower meadow in about four hours, typically 4'-6' tall:

problem with my finish mower either: clearing wild turkeys have a feast: can guarantee I'd have that bamboo gone in three days, all while in total A/C, dust-free comfort, with music blasting, wouldn't even work up a sweat.

[HeyBub]

You could spray it. With Roundup. Or Napalm.

Attack it with a bush-hog, or, if too big, a stump grinder. My local power company hired a crew with what looked like a stump-grinder on the end of a

60' cherry-picker. It turned large trees to sawdust on their right of way.

Put an ad on Craigslist: "Free Bamboo - You cut it you can have it" to cull the herd to a manageable size.

One pass with a bulldozer ought to knock it to the ground. Then treat the area with a herbicide or ground sterilizer.

[Elliott P]

Hello all. I've been in talks with the local government (whom I work for) about the legal necessities and ramifications of this job.

I've located the septic tank well within the bamboo. So looks like I'll be using a chainsaw around there.

I got an email from a local government forester who referred me to the Home Horticulture & Master Gardener Coordinator at University of MD, Carroll County Extension. He gave me two links, one of which I've seen already posted. The first one is by Frank Gouin (retired MD Agronomist, who was the Bamboo guru).

I am leaning towards some means of chopping it down to ground level (brush hog/saws), disposing the bamboo however (chipper?), and then applying Roundup in the Fall, as described in the first link.

Also for the friends of nature here, even if we clear cut the whole bamboo, there's still three acres of old growth deciduous trees behind it to harbor plenty of animals and what not. One of the main reasons for wanting to clear the bamboo is to prevent it from taking over the giant trees back there. I think killing off an invasive forest for the benefit of an old one, is a good trade off. But that's not the point of this post.

Thank you all for all the tips thus far. I think this post will find its way into Google searches and benefit many more people than just me.

[christlet]

If you're still trying to remove bamboo, we might be able to help you out i= n making a small dent in your acreage. I'd be willing to take 2-3 loads (u= haul size truck). We can be clean about it, would not leave a mess behind.= You're local to us so it would not be out of our way. You can shoot me an= email if you'd like at [e-mail] If anyone else has problems with their overgrowth of bamboo, please feel fr= ee to email me. thanks! (near montgomery county, MD)

[banbamboonow]

Did you manage to eradicate your bamboo?

[harryagain]

Cut it all down and burn, wait for it to regrow and spray with a good weedkiller.