Ask any landscaper how they feel about bamboo, and they'll all say the same thing: Run.
Yet that doesn't stop homeowners, unaware of its invasive nature, from wanting to plant it in their yards. And in one such case, a landscaper found themselves stuck with no good options.
They posted about their dilemma on Reddit, explaining, "I am a landscaper who offered to do some work for my neighbor. Turns out they want to plant a bamboo hedge along their front fence line. … I CANNOT convince him to not plant it. I have tried. Also," they added, "if I don't do it, I'm sure he will find a guy who will and do it badly."
And while some areas have specific laws barring invasive species, OP clarified, "No laws whatsoever where we are — I WISH there were."
One commenter sympathized with the predicament. "Planting bamboo should not be allowed if you have neighbors anywhere near you," they said. "My neighbor has a bunch in his front yard and I have rhizomes in my yard 20-30 feet away. I've spent the last 2 summers cutting down shoots."
Bamboo is legendary for its ability to grow anywhere and everywhere, not stopping for any sort of barrier — be it wooden, plastic, metal, or even cement.
"You will not stop their roots," one commenter wrote. "I planted some as a privacy screen. The planter was concrete on all sides and concrete base. It was a literal concrete planter bed. They broke through."
Not only can bamboo destroy everything from buildings to sidewalks, but as it takes over an ecosystem, the native flora and fauna suffer tremendously. After all, the more sunlight, water, and soil that goes toward nourishing the bamboo, the less that remains to help cultivate the species that help the ecosystem thrive.
"Invasive bamboo is no joke," another person commented. "I planted black bamboo at a rental I was in, and five years later it had popped up forty feet away from my yard in a planter on the far side of a parking lot behind my fence."
Fortunately, OP shared that they were finally able to convince their neighbor to accept potted bamboo, which can be more easily maintained and managed than ground-planted bamboo — particularly under their expert oversight. Although, as many people emphasized, landscaping with native plants is even better than using bamboo — whether potted or not.
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