A client emailed early this morning and we visited the property that afternoon.
The client recently purchased a home with elegant hardscaping in the front yard. A dwarf variety of a variegated bamboo was planted for color and texture. It appears as if the dwarf and colorful nature of the bamboo was disguising its aggressive habit, and the bamboo has completely filled the spaces and is now forcing its way under and around the hardscaping assets.
The client had already consulted for an estimate of the cost to mitigate the problem, but the information they received involved thinning, cutting back, and placing plastic barriers to prevent further spread of the bamboo.
This process could be disastrous. What many do not understand is that bamboo does not spread capriciously — the spread is strategic and calculated to preserve the life of the plant.
Leaves die, canes die, but the rhizome lives under the ground and is fed by the growth above the ground. If the tops are cut down, the rhizome can become aggressive, even desperate to replace its food delivery system — the stems and leaves.
As you can see in the images, even the concrete block wall, the cement wall, and the gravel below cannot stop the rhizomes under the ground.
The bamboo rhizomes under the ground must be removed, and any stuck between cement cracks and crevices must be rooted out, macerated, then managed over time.
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