Never trust bamboo

A bamboo stand looks so exotic; there are several in our area and they appear absolutely amazing.  Of course, all gardeners know that it is nearly impossible to contain the non-native varieties.  Asian bamboo is extremely invasive and nearly impossible to kill.  It takes a chainsaw to keep it pruned.  The only gardens that should grow bamboo are professional botanical gardens.

However, there is a native bamboo that grows in woodland borders in Alabama.  The stems are dainty and it tops out at a diminutive  eight feet.  The trees and other natives in the woods and meadows keep the bamboo contained naturally. 

I've admired this native bamboo for years so I decided to carefully give it a try in my own woodland garden.  Understanding that this plant could become invasive in the more fertile setting of a cultivated woodland garden,  I planted my bamboo in a container and then set the container into the ground, keeping the rim well above the soil line so that the rhizomes could not spread into the rest of the garden.  Whenever I worked that section of my backyard,  the plan would be to check that rim to make sure that the bamboo was not spreading.

My plan worked!  The bamboo grew and thrived in its pot and politely remained where it belonged. 

This winter I noticed that the bamboo had filled its container so I planned to divide it and add a second container next to the first one, creating the illusion of a bamboo stand. 

Since the weather was warm this week, it seemed like a good time to pry the bamboo out of the ground.  It was stuck.  After some serious work, I managed to leverage the pot out, only to discover that the reason I experienced so much difficulty was that the bamboo had punched FOUR separate holes through the plastic pot, launching rhizomes that extended as far as three feet beyond the container. 

The only solution was to remove the bamboo.  It had to go into the trash; it was too risky to even toss it into the compost heap.  What frightens me is that the rhizomes broke as I pulled them.  I know there are still sections of bamboo rhizome in the ground.   I will have to spend this spring and summer carefully inspecting my woodland garden so I can remove any bamboo sprouts immediately. 

Never trust bamboo!