I have black stemmed bamboo I am looking to get rid of. The original owner did not pot it properly and it is wanting to take over. Is anyone interested in it? Does anyone have any tips for removal? I am not able to pay professionals to remove it and they will likely not provide guarantees anyways. Please help (it's beautiful bamboo if put in properly!)
I've removed lots of bamboo by hand from my yard and know that it's a difficult task, unless you hire a backhoe or excavator. However, the difficulty depends on the size of the clump. If it's not too big, you can dig all around and under the clump and remove it one piece. The rhizomes stay near the surface, and they are the difficult part to break up; so you don't have to dig very deep to get under them. If you have to break up the clump, it's useful to have a large, heavy axe with a blade that you can expect to be nicked by stones in the soil. I removed part of a large clump of bamboo using a heavy-duty, flat-bladed shovel to cut up the rhizomes; but that took a long time, and it was helpful to be retired and wanting physical exercise. Cutting off the canes first facilitates rhizome removal but is not difficult. Standard loppers will do the job. Information about the size of the clump would be useful to anyone interested in removing it for their own use.
