- Prevent spreading
- plant bamboo
- depth and diameter
- Suitable materials
- manual
- Apply root barrier later
- frequently asked Questions
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Planting bamboo is easy if you choose the right root barrier. A rhizome barrier is essential to prevent excessive spreading. Appropriate material, depth and diameter are just as important as instructions.
In a nutshell
- Dimensions must be adjusted
- Bamboo spreads very quickly
- suitable materials are available in large selection
- correct depth is crucial
- Root barrier must also be present on the surface
Prevent spreading
Bamboo is one of the fast-growing plants that can spread very far in a short time. On the one hand, this is a great advantage. This is because the following factors are fulfilled:
- Spaces between the plants are filled in a short time
- quick protection
- low maintenance despite rapid growth
- Wind is effectively braked
In addition to these advantages, there are also some disadvantages due to the growth. For example, the bamboo can spread very far undesirably. This also applies if lawn edging stones, paths or even walls and walls represent boundaries. Because the roots can also spread through cracks or joints and even damage the walls.
plant bamboo
The process itself is very simple as the bamboo is easy to care for. It can be planted from spring to early autumn and is also undemanding to the substrate. The soil should not tend to compaction, otherwise it is prone to waterlogging. The bamboo does not tolerate this.
It is important to pay attention to the dimensions when digging out the substrate. Depending on the desired spread of the growth, the pit and thus the root barrier must be correspondingly large. As a privacy screen on the garden fence, for example, only a narrow strip is necessary. A little more may be required for the border of the natural pool, while a rounded section is sufficient for the Asian garden.
depth and diameter
The rhizome barrier should be used 65 centimeters deep. This prevents the roots from spreading underground. In addition, a drainage layer can be placed under the bamboo, which prevents waterlogging.
Given the distance to the roots, a surprising amount of space is required. It should be one and a half to two meters. This gives the plants enough space to spread out. In addition, a comparatively large amount of substrate is available.
This offers various advantages. Among other things:
- less maintenance
- larger water storage
- more nutrients
Nevertheless, watering has to be done occasionally and excess plants or offshoots have to be removed.
Suitable materials
The barrier should be made of durable plastic. A well suited material is, for example, polyethylene. This should have a particularly high density. The abbreviation on the product is HDPE. The advantages of the material are numerous. The most important factors are:
- easy to attach
- flexible and therefore adaptable
- easy and quick exchange
- comparatively low price
This film is available in hardware stores and online. It is offered under different names. Like for example:
- cover fleece
- ground tissue
- root barrier
- root foil
- root stop
Tip: The foil should have a thickness of at least two millimeters. The width should be at least 70 centimeters.
manual
If you want to plant bamboo and prevent it from spreading, it only takes a few steps. The following guide shows how to do it.
- Dig planting hole: It should be at least 65 centimeters deep and one and a half to two meters wider than the plants. Loosening and enriching the soil is also useful during this measure.
- compact earth: The earth must be compacted so that the foil has a flat and firm surface to support it. For example, laying and weighing down boards or a vibrating plate is suitable for this.
- Lay out the foil: Since bamboo is a shallow root, the roots spread laterally. It is therefore sufficient to spread the film upright along the edges. It is stretched five to ten centimeters wide on the surface and fastened. This prevents the bamboo roots from spreading beyond this edge. The two ends of the film are then connected with an aluminum rail so that no growth can take place here either.
- Insert drainage: Bamboo is often planted near ponds. A drainage layer should then be installed to ensure water drainage. This can consist of coarse gravel and crushed stone.
- Fill up soil: When all these preparations are complete, enough substrate is poured in so that the plant can finish with the surface as before. Under no circumstances should the shoots be covered higher than necessary.
- Plant bamboo: The plants are used. The soil is compacted and watered to encourage growth.
Tip: Depending on how big the planting hole should be, the use of a mini excavator can be useful. Such can often be borrowed free of charge in hardware stores.
Apply root barrier later
It is not always known that bamboo can spread quickly and very far after planting. Therefore, the lock is not always present from the start. One possibility of modification is the subsequent introduction of the foil.
For this purpose, a trench is dug around the bamboo. This should be 20 to 40 centimeters wide. Otherwise it will be difficult to lay out the rhizome barrier to the appropriate depth.
Once the sheeting is laid out and the ends tied together, the trench can be backfilled with soil.
frequently asked Questions
Is there an alternative to the root foil?Yes, there are alternatives in the form of pot culture or rigid barriers. In the bucket, the maintenance effort is higher. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that no waterlogging occurs. With rigid demarcations there is a risk that the material will become brittle and cracks will appear. In addition, the use is often more restrictive.
Will any other care be necessary after the installation of the barrier?Since the roots are limited to a smaller volume of soil, it must be watered more frequently and, if necessary, fertilized or fresh soil added. It also makes sense to blend the old and dead shoots.
Does a radical pruning prevent the spread?The spread is only reduced to a limited extent by pruning. Because the bamboo spreads through its roots. It is therefore necessary to cut off the foothills.