[MikeHardman]

I love the rustling sound of bamboo in the breeze; soothing. When I emigrated from the UK to Cyprus, I thought I would have to leave that behind. So I was quite surprised to read about drought tolerant bamboos - http://www.themediterraneangardener.co.uk/drought-tolerant-plants/drought-tolerant-bamboos.

What does the team think about bamboo in a mediterranean garden?

[John]

I would be frightened to try them. We planted Phyllostachys nigra (now no doubt another name) because of it's black stems and it's clumping nature. After about ten years of clumping it decided to run and in one season ran about 2 m in every direction also into our neighbours. We have with great difficulty got rid of most of it but there are still a few bits under other roots which we are trying to paint off!

[ezeiza]

There are several lovely dwarf bamboos that are quite drought resistant in partial shade. One such is the one called Pleioblastus distichus ?Mini', some 10 cm.tall. The others are 30-40 cm.tall.

[Alisdair]

Hear, hear, John!
In SW France our neighbour planted two sorts of clumping bamboo, one tall and one neat and small, ten to twelve years ago. In a few years both started running, first around her garden, and then invading ours, even thrusting straight through an old mortared stone wall and its foundations.  The small-growing one is as persistent and vigorous as the tall.
Painting the cut culms with glyphosate does give fairly good control, but even after three years (the neighbour asked us to eradicate hers as well) the beasts are still alive and poking out vicious new growing points here and there.
Helena quivers with rage when she even hears the word bamboo now!
(We did have P. nigra here in the UK many years ago, but never realised its potential for aggressive spread as a few years after we planted it there was a world-wide flowering and it died....)

[John]

I believe that one of the reasons certain bamboo were considered none invasive in the UK was our climate. P. nigra being an example. It now seems that our climate has changed sufficiently (having become that bit milder) for these to now misbehave and run!

[ezeiza]

Have you heard "if it is a pest, eat it"? During our 90 day utterly dry spell, mentioned in weather we were desperately in search of extra mulching material and along this used all new growth and soft green Phyllostachys stems, cut to 10 cm lenghts. Surprisingly they make a great looking mulch and all available "invaders" were used. Next year we will be waiting for them to appear with knife and fork! Those stems that have lignified could not be used, too tough.
 

And goodbye to glyphosate and otehr herbicides.

[Duncan]

I would like to remove a clump of unidentified bamboo from a planting trough at the end of my swimming pool which has escaped into the garden of the Mairie on the other side of the wall.

It is planted in a trough about 30 cm wide and 4m long.  The practical difficulty is that the working area is the 25cm of the swimming pool edge !!

I wish to remove the bamboo as I am concerned about it causing a problem to the structure of the pool and, politically, as I have complained about the Mairie planting 50 Phyll. Nigra along the entire length of the boundary wall - it would seem to be prudent to show willing on my part.

The method of destruction is the problem for me - given the tiny working area and that I have not used any non-bio chemicals in the garden for over 5 years.  My thought was that we would jsut dig it out and then make a new lined trench before starting new planting.  Is this dig out method realistic ?

[MikeHardman]

First try to figure out where the pool services go, eg:
- there could be a connector pipe between skimmers
- there could be conduit or armoured cable between poolside lights (though that's usually in the concrete)
Hopefully you will actually know where these go.

Sounds like you'll have to come at it from one end - then your working area becomes the 30cm of the trench you'll be digging. You'll need to experiment with:
- crow bars - to break the roots into pieces (plunge in and use both lever and fulcrum modes to exert force) and to plunge underneath (once you've got more working space) to lift chunks up
- spade - to slice down the edges (but does the soil go underneath poolside paving/concrete - probably - makes it harder - don't undermine that too much)
- loppers - to shorten the canes (but leave enough to get hold of to help extract clumps)
- big angle grinder with stone blade - might help chomp the root mass into pieces (but be wary of the dangers, wear protective specs, etc.)
- garden forks - to prise clumps of root apart (prising along the length of the trench, in the same manner as you would for dividing perennials)
- helicopter - to lift the lot out on a rope!

I'd be tempted to suggest creosote to kill remaining roots, but I don't like the idea of that soaking into the concrete.

[David Bracey]

Planting bamboo in a mediterranean garden is not worth the risk.  Even if its dwarfish.  By all means have bamboo if you have an enormous garden. ie La Bambouserie close to Nimes.

[David Bracey]

If you end up chopping-up the bamboo rhizomes you will end up with a veritable forest of young bamboo.

I would swallow your green credentials and paint the offending bamboo with glyphostae. Creosote by the way is a chemical..........what happens to it in the soil?  Not to be recommended.

[Alisdair]

Creosote has been banned for amateur use in European Union countries since 2003, to protect human health (it's carcinogenic) and the environment.
Just back from France, I can give a one-year update on my earlier post on this!
Glyphosate used carefully in strict accordance with the instructions is about as "safe" as any non-green chemical can be. We have found it the only way of eliminating a really virulent bamboo stand, which invaded us from a neighbour in France, penetrating stone and concrete as well as the ground itself. (The neighbour was very grateful to see the last of it in her own garden, too.) We cut down the culms to a height of a few centimetres then painted them with a strong solution. It did need more than one treatment, though even just the first treatment left the bamboo reeling. Finally, after four annual treatments, there is now no living remnant of the plant.

[ritamax]

Various bamboo can well be planted in a very large container, but has to be watered regurarly. After some years though you will have the container full of roots and rhizomes.

[Speedy]

The term 'Bamboo' covers such a wide and varied species of plants that are suited to a wide variety of climates of Africa, Asia, Central and Sth America, Pacific Is. and Nthn Australia.
Most peoples idea of Bamboo extends at most to the temperate climate genera Phyllostachys , Pleiblastus, Sasa,  all runners, and when planted in inappropriate sites,
 are responsible for most of the bad reputation given to Bamboos in general.
there are however clumping bamboos which are predominantly of tropical and sub-tropical origin.
some of them are quite hardy and wil take temperatures below freezing for some time.

Bambusa multiplex (syn. B.glaucescens) with it's many cultivars , though not my favorite, will grow very well in mediteranean and cooler climates.
IMO, better choices would be the likes of Bambusa oldhamii, B.textilis, B.tuldoides and other hardy , erect growing species.
for frost-free climates, even some  Dendrocalamus spp. may do ok, so long as ther is enough humidity during the growing season.

Fargesia spp. , Drepanostachyum spp. from cool hymalayan regions are also clumping types,
 but dont handle heat or strong sunlight so well.


I do have a fairly extensive collection of SE Asian species at a friends farm in a sub-tropical wet climate,
 but i don't bother trying to grow them here as it is too dry and hot
in summer here for them to be at their best.
Some will grow ok depending on local conditions.

As far as Phyllostachys spp. goes, I'd only grow it in  a tub or
.... in the ground on a large piece of land only with the ideal conditions for it to grow,
 for big edible shoots and building material rather than a useless nuisance.

I just stick to growing Arundo donax here as a more climate appropriate bamboo substitute
and as a source of canes for trellises etc in the vege garden

[Alisdair]

Thanks very much for that, Speedy - particularly the reminder about Arundo donax as a bamboo-substitute. In our area of southern Greece there are extensive stands of this in the riverside coastal flatlands on the edge of Kalamata, but though the plant is naturally a riverside one it is remarkably tolerant and can survive long summers without water. And none of those aggressive hordes of advancing rhizomes (though you do have to keep an eye out for "escapees", which have been a problem in some areas).
And a big welcome to Speedy, joining the growing Australian contingent on our forum!

[MikeHardman]

Quality posting, Speedy - thanks and welcome