Hello. Can anyone help me with suggestions for lifting and dividing an old clump of bamboo - it's about 20 years old. I have attached a few photos - the clump is about 5' x 5' x 5', right next to a garage and between two small ponds. The customer ideally wants it lifted and divided into 5 smaller clumps to be replanted. Plan B would be to cut out small clumps to replant and then kill what remains in place before then removing it.
I spent a full day yesterday trying to undercut from the edges, then attempting to cut down through the clump to section some off to remove it. I was using a steel ditching spit with the handle removed and a small steel plate welded to the top instead, for pounding. Also an old spade with the wooden handle removed, again for pounding. both tools also had a sharp edge ground onto them.
After digging under to about 18" - 24" then trying to cut down through the clump to remove some, all I have to show for the effort are two cut up hands, torn waterproofs, torn leather gloves and a broken steel spit (it snapped low down near top of the blade, which is still stuck in the clump. The bamboo is still there, looking like it has barely been touched and I am in danger of having wasted at least a day without pay - no pay without results!
Does anyone have any ideas? I have read through a few other bamboo related posts and have seen the big 'bamboo buster' pounder which appears in some US videos online, but I cannot find anything like that tool in the UK and suspect that it would not work on this particular well established plant.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
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Hi Austin, sorry to say last one Bamboo job I got involved in we got a plant hire firm in (plant and driver) - ended up taking the fence down to get the digger in too. Took them about 3 hours to rip it out and destroy it with the mini digger and little bucket, was in a very enclosed space down the edge of a patio and a fence.
Went down a hell of a long way too, he just about got the last bits before he ran out of depth on the digger.
Personally I try and avoid the 'bamboo jobs' now, if I do get asked, then I am straight on the phone to the plant hire firm again - their guy said he enjoyed the job, made a change from digging trenches he said!
I too would use a digger if possible.
Looks like the bamboo is bordered by a path and an adjacent pond with the potential for damage.
Is there ant way of lassoing the root-ball at ground level and attaching a winch to the base of a tree?
I would forget the idea of digging it out and saving clumps - destroy it and buy the customer 5 new, more suitable bamboo! Leaving the top on makes life too difficult, cut it back, contact your local friendly Tree surgeon and ask him to nip round with his stump grinder - it will be gone in an hour for £60. That will get rid of the bulk then attack what's left with a sharp mattock. Good luck - otherwise it's a patient, back breaking job with the mattock.
i have been told that you can kill it with a mix of round up and grazon not sure if thats a recomend mix but was told it was effective last one i did was taken out with felling axes and alot of very hard work .
I'd cut everything down to pretty much flush with the ground and smash the ends up a bit before applying chemicals. Then buy new plants.
Sorry, it's not what you want to hear after spending so long at it.
I've attacked several bamboos this year with a view to salvaging clumps for my own use, bloody nightmare. I'd either destroy it, as the guys say use a digger or more likely skip it altogether.
Works well I found. We had two on the go with two of us.
I normally remove this sort of plant with a stump grinder, very quick and much easier than digging out by hand and then buy new plants and start afresh!
Thanks for all the advice. The digger isn't really an option - access is too restricted and even if we could get one in, the potential for damage to the garage, ponds, or the digger and driver is too great!
I'm not licensed to apply chemicals that would be down to the customer if he decided to go down that route.
I quite like the sound of the stump grinder. The stubborn part of me quite fancies having a go with that post-hole tool as well - it looks a bit like a rabbiting spade. But I'm reluctant to buy more tools for the job seeing as I just bought a new spit and had it destroyed!
I'm seeing a tree surgeon tomorrow about another job so I'll ask him about a stump grinder then talk to the customer again.
I'll report back. Thanks again everyone.