Bamboo, a member of the grass family, is a fast-growing plant prized for its dense foliage, but many varieties are also known for their aggressive underground growth. The key to successfully removing a bamboo patch lies in the complete physical excavation of its root system, known as rhizomes. These underground stems are the plant’s energy storage and propagation method, making their thorough removal the only reliable path to eradication. This process requires a determined, step-by-step approach focused on eliminating the extensive network beneath the soil.
Preparing the Site and Identifying Bamboo Type
The initial step in bamboo removal involves correctly identifying the plant’s growth habit, which determines the excavation strategy. Bamboo falls into two main categories: running and clumping. Running bamboo sends out long, slender rhizomes horizontally through the soil, often spreading many feet from the parent plant. Clumping bamboo utilizes a sympodial system, where rhizomes are shorter, thicker, and form a tight, gradually expanding root ball that is generally easier to contain and remove.
A running bamboo variety requires a much more extensive excavation, often tracing the rhizomes up to 18 inches deep and well beyond the visible patch perimeter. Before any cutting begins, gather robust personal protective equipment, including heavy-duty gloves and safety glasses. Effective removal tools include a heavy-duty shovel or specialized root-cutting spade, a mattock for chopping, and robust loppers for thick stalks.
Cutting Down the Culms
The first physical action is to clear the above-ground stalks, or culms, to provide clear access to the root zone. Using a powerful tool like a reciprocating saw with a pruning blade, a chainsaw, or heavy-duty loppers, cut all culms as close to the ground as possible. This step is necessary to improve visibility for the excavation and to remove the plant’s primary photosynthetic material.
Reducing the canopy immediately limits the plant’s ability to generate and store energy in its underground rhizomes. Bamboo culms contain a high silica content, which can rapidly dull standard metal blades, so using tools designed for tough, woody material is advisable. Once cut, the culms should be collected and disposed of separately from the rhizomes.
Excavating and Severing the Rhizome Network
This phase is the most labor-intensive and focuses on the precise removal of the entire underground mass. Begin by using a shovel or mattock to loosen the top six to twelve inches of soil around the base of the former culms. This action exposes the main concentration of the rhizome network, which is typically shallow-rooted.
For clumping varieties, the goal is to cut the entire, dense root ball free from the surrounding soil using a sharp spade or mattock to slice through the perimeter. Running bamboo demands a different technique, requiring the excavator to meticulously trace the individual, cord-like rhizomes outward from the main patch. Follow these runners until they terminate or are clearly cut off from the main network, ensuring none are left to sprout new culms.
Tough, woody rhizomes can be severed using a specialized root-cutting spade, which has a sharpened, flat edge, or a heavy-duty mattock. The mattock’s horizontal blade is particularly effective for chopping through the thick, interwoven mass of a mature clump or for slicing through stubborn runners. After severing the rhizomes into manageable sections, use the shovel or a digging bar to pry the root mass out of the ground, working to remove every visible fragment. Any small piece of rhizome left in the soil has the potential to regenerate an entirely new plant, necessitating extreme thoroughness.
Long-Term Monitoring and Regrowth Prevention
Once the physical excavation is complete, the immediate concern is the proper handling and disposal of the removed material. Bamboo rhizomes are tenacious and can sprout even from small fragments, so they must be spread out in a sunny location to dry out completely for at least a week before being disposed of or composted. This ensures they are entirely desiccated and biologically inactive.
The excavated area requires diligent, long-term monitoring for several months following the removal. Any new, small shoots that emerge from missed rhizome fragments must be immediately broken off or cut at ground level. This action starves the remaining underground plant material by preventing photosynthesis and depleting its stored energy reserves.
For areas where running bamboo was removed or where a neighbor’s patch poses a threat, installing a physical root barrier offers the best protection against re-encroachment. This barrier should be made of high-density polyethylene, with a thickness of 40 to 80 mil, and buried to a depth of at least 24 to 36 inches. Critically, the barrier must protrude about two inches above the soil line to deflect any rhizomes that attempt to grow over the surface for easy detection and trimming.