Reclaiming fields with japanese bamboo encroaching-Can I mow it?

Piston · Jul 15, 2013

Is there any reason NOT to mow Japanese Bamboo? I am trying to reclaim some old family land and there are a few places where Japanese Bamboo (so I'm told) is growing. My grandmother has been trying for years to eradicate it to no real success, unfortunately.

I know that mowing it won't get rid of it, and it will still grow back, but I can continue to mow it in the future. My worry is that if I mow it, will I spread MORE seeds around and cause the problem to get worse?
I don't want to cause more damage than good.

As of now, it really isn't a large area, only about 50'x50' or so, and hasn't gotten any bigger in the last 25+ years.

Gunny · Jul 16, 2013

Japanese bamboo spreads through root suckers, not seeds, and it's a bugger to get rid off because of that. You can mow it, but new sprouts will pop up rather quickly. Glyphosate will also kill the sprouts, but doesn't stop regrowth. Even if you dig it up, you rarely get rid of all the root pieces, so it keeps coming back.

I'd just mow it down, and keep it mowed. I have had some success in small areas using a soil sterilizer, but even in the small areas, I've never been able to get rid of it in a single application.

Good luck

Loadstar · Jul 16, 2013

The guy we got ours from had an excavator dig a hole, dig it up, burn, and bary. He had zero regrowth it's all grass pasture. I am in the process of tearing ours out. When done I will just continuously mow so if it keeps sending chutes up it doesn't matter.

forgeblast · Jul 16, 2013

There are different types of bamboo. If you have whats common around here in PA, its called Japanese Knotweed. If you are going to do chemical control expect about 3 years of work. The rhizomes will keep it spreading, any part you miss will kick up another plant. The seeds are not going to shoot up new plants only the roots.
This is how I control it, still have not beat it but I am a lot closer. 1. Roundup in the spring when everything is just coming up. Wait a week and then weedwack it. The second growth will push up spray again, weed wack if able. once it gets too big wait until after it has flowered (the bees love it so watch spraying them). The next couple of years are done doing the same thing. Spray and wack them back. What happen with me is the road crew moved dirt down from another place bringing some back which started my process all over again.

MotorSeven · Jul 16, 2013

Horses cows and goats love the stuff. Fence it off and put some animals in there.

bbhuey71 · Jul 16, 2013

If You can send me your 411 or better yet, send me some of your plants or all of them, I will take them... I would like to take the problem plants off of your hands to use on my fence line... How big will they get?
Brian 816-for too oh-00 fore 5

CajunRider · Jul 16, 2013

I grew up with these bamboos all around me. Getting rid of them is actually not that hard. If you have a box blade with scarifier teeth, tilt the box blade to the max and put the teeth to the ground as deep as you can. Run your box blade over the affected area. The roots will collect on the teeth fast. Collect all the roots and burn them. That would take care of 80+% of the bamboo growth. Keep the area mowed regularly. As soon as you see the shoots come up, mow before it gets any leaves so it can not collect the sun energy to propagate. After a while, the energy from the roots are depleted and the bamboos die.

Loadstar · Jul 16, 2013

Oh yea... And if it's like mine pack it tight and burn it green. If you let it burn loose and dry it will be a massive fire.

Tollster · Jul 16, 2013

As Gunny said, they spread through the roots ( I believe the term is rhizomes), so mowing won't help. Besides what other have proven, the only real method I know to contain it is in concrete.

Piston · Jul 16, 2013

That's good to know that I can mow it without the fear of spreading it more, thanks for the information.

I do have a box blade with scarifiers and I may try the method of ripping/burning. however, I'm planning on keeping the area mowed at least a few times a year, and more if the bamboo starts to grow too much, basically whenever it needs it I'll mow it. I'd like to get rid of it completely but I may just see how mowing works out.

Is it one of those things where I could continue to mow it, plant grass, keep mowing the grass weekly, and eventually will the grass 'choke out' the bamboo?

My grandmother has tried for years to get rid of the stuff using roundup, or something like roundup, I don't know the name. She was told to spray it in the dry season around August. It does work to kill it, but that's all it does, as you guys have pointed out, it comes back year after year.

I remember as a young kid, playing in the bamboo, I thought it was cool at the time, now....not so much.:laughing: