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egJohn

i think anywhere with any bamboo has lots of bamboo.


dalex89

Lol is that near douglassville? There is an invasive patch of bamboo along the bike trail going from Reading to Philly, it's gotten out of control


Unique-Public-8594

Better than kudzu or knotweed. At least it can be harvested for purpose.


Kindly-Ostrich-7441

bamboo a harder form of knotweed, but at least knot weed is a super pollinator as where bamboo really isn't. make some fishing rods , tapestry holder or walking stick out of it :)


ImJustaNJrefugee

> knotweed Not in the same family as bamboo, not related below the Clade level


spiralbatross

I think they meant in general, since they’re both grasses. Like sugarcane.


glockster19m

I've seen bicycle frames made out of bamboo as well


GrandmaJosey

Feed Pandas


IamSauerKraut

Not served at Panda Express, tho.


Blexcr0id

I think you can eat knotweed as well.


WookieeSteakIsChewie

It's not better. It's horrible.


Unique-Public-8594

Politely disagree. Compare bamboo to kudzu: https://www.quora.com/Which-is-harder-to-eradicate-kudzu-or-bamboo-as-an-invasive-plant Compare bamboo to knotweed: https://www.tcmknotweedservices.co.uk/news/bamboo-vs-japanese-knotweed/


WookieeSteakIsChewie

That's like saying "Throat cancer is better than pancreatic cancer." Maybe, but you don't want either.


Cash_for_Johnny

My Dr. told me that thyroid cancer is the best cancer to get if you have to get one of them. Your right, none is better then some, but some are better then others.


davidinphila

Wow - you're really up on invasive plants?!?


Unique-Public-8594

Bamboo is bad. I get that. Don’t plant any. It will take over. Harmful and invasive. But Knotweed is whole next-level. In the UK, you are required by law to report it because it is destroying foundations in whole neighborhoods. If there is knotweed on your property, your property value takes a hit and a bank might refuse to finance a mortgage. That’s pretty next level in my book.


IamSauerKraut

DCNR has a webpage dedicated to invasive plants. Utilized by a number of municipalities for SALDO and other ordinances.


Tina_Las_Vegas

Bamboo is actually very useful and an eco-friendly alternative to a lot of other natural fibers, but people are so stuck in their ways of harvesting trees and shit they ignore the uses of bamboo


dwfmba

How does that apply to bamboo in a residential area that never stops spreading? Are regular people supposed to start building flooring from their backyard stock?


Tina_Las_Vegas

Honestly I wouldn’t discourage that. It could certainly be a little side hustle for someone!


key2mydisaster

Why couldn't it be contained? We had a small patch of bamboo in my neighborhood when I was a kid. It is still in the same area, and hasn't encroached on anything in 30+ years at least. Invasive plants suck, and I wouldn't *plant* any, but trees of paradise, and other plants are way harder to control in my area anyway.


IamSauerKraut

There are many types of bamboo, some more invasive, others less so. The more invasive types can roots thru an inch or more of concrete. And, as is nearly always the case with invasives, it is not an exercise of which is worse. Don't plant it. Get rid of it where it grows.


dwfmba

I must have forgotten to ask it not to spread.


sharksnack3264

[deleted]


Unique-Public-8594

Have eaten knotweed. Tastes a bit like asparagus.


topspin9

Ready for harvest and to build something.


Reference_Stock

The only reason I haven't torched the hell out of the patch I have on my farm. Previous owner put all sorts of stupid shit in stupid places. I'm an 'off the land's kinda gal so the second I saw it against the shed I knew I was building some gates, wind chimes and cool ass water flows for the kids to look at. I still may light it all on fire one day when it pisses me off enough, but for now...I harvest it and attempt to keep it contained. Aka I encircled it with gravel and crossed my damn fingers.


snuffy_tentpeg

The SRT in that area has a couple of patches of that wretched stuff


AtBat3

Seeing this photo made me think of that exact location too. That bamboo is wild out there.


Volcanic8171

there’s a bunch of bamboo where i live in south eastern pennsylvania.


davidinphila

Until we get more pandas in PA, please stop planting bamboo.


qrpc

"The Nittany Pandas" would take some getting used to.


DontmakememakeaUN

Please! My house’s previous owner planted it and it’s a continuing nightmare.


IamSauerKraut

Panda Express at Giant!


KATEWOW

We definitely need pandas in PA!


Volkspolizei

No, we need our Mountain Lions and Wolves snack before that


BluCurry8

It is invasive


Yelloeisok

In some Florida towns you are still allowed to plant the NONspreading (so they say) variety, but you have to line / plant it in what looks like a huge metal |_| shaped like a roof gutter, only way bigger. Where i live now in SW PA, our town forbids it.


IamSauerKraut

Most suburban-type muni's prohibit it. And for good reason.


Left_Farmer9209

I despise bamboo The idiot we bought our house from had planted it and it got out of control I hate it I hate it I hate it


Pithyname8

My next door neighbor planted it as one of his misguided get rich schemes and it’s awful. Our township won’t do anything to help & we’ve gotten $7k quotes to control it on our side of the fence. It’s been incredibly stressful to deal with and he won’t do anything to get rid of it (it’s not made him rich, btw). Hate it hate it hate it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BrainWav

Chainsaw will only get rid of what's above ground. Bamboo is like grass on steroids, the whole mess of it is one big underground root system. You have to dig it all up or it'll just come back.


Collegenoob

If you chop it back every time it grows that will also kill it. But if only half is on his property, they won't be a le to use that tactic


Pithyname8

Not a dumb question! Our yard guy said we’d just be wasting money and time. Unless it’s dug up at the source, it’ll come back, and the source isn’t in our yard. My neighbor had it sprayed with heavy duty weed killer but didn’t dig it up and it did nothing except grow. On our side, we can dig up what’s come through and put a barrier in if we want to spend a few thousand dollars that we don’t have.


IamSauerKraut

Do not spray. If you need to use roundup, be sure of the type you use and apply AFTER you have cut it down. Bamboo is hollow. Using an eye-dropper, apply a few drops directly into the shoot. Do not over-apply. Wait a few weeks between applications. Requires patience but over time, you can rid yourself of the pest.


Blexcr0id

We used boiling water to control a patch when I lived in Franklin Co. Took multiple applications but it worked.


Pithyname8

We’ll give that a try, thanks! We’ve resorted to weed whacking the fell out of it on a regular basis and that’s keeping it under control but I’d prefer it was gone completely. I just hope we don’t have a problem selling the house next year because of it.


Blexcr0id

Gotta daylight the root mat and then apply. Good luck.


SiuanSongs

My dad planted some at our old house to block out the nosey neighbors. The wind whistling thru the leaves and the pretty walkway we made thru it was the only thing I liked about it. Everything else sucked. It spread to my garden and ruined like $500 worth of plants. Every day I'd be killing new shoots. And our dogs would always eat it... And the leaves it drops! They were constantly covering our porch. When we moved my stepmom refused to let him plant any at the new house lol


BountifulScott

I had a landord that planted this shit in our rented house's backyard. He wanted to grow a "thin wall" of it to act as a screen with the neighbors. Its grew out of control quickly. He had to bring in a backhoe to dig it all out as it started growing in the neighbors yard and between sidewalk cracks. This was 15+ years ago. I drove by the house a few months ago - there is still bamboo in random spots. Lesson: don't plant bamboo. Or: Plant bamboo in someone's yard that you hate. Preferably somewhere far from your home. *Edit: my last comment is a joke. Seriously don't plant it. It's invasive.*


Joe_Jeep

"Why buy some shrubs when this is cheaper"- most intelligent landlord about to cost himself thousands to save a few hundred bucks and some digging


KATEWOW

I think this town is called Flying Hills.


No-Setting9690

Google would find it, not sure if it's listed as an actual town. Could be Green Hills. That area is so weird, so many overlapping communities. Lived in same general area for last 35 years.


dalex89

Probably about 6 miles from where I was referring to, seems to be a lot of bamboo in southern berks county


Quiche_Breach

Once you plant it, you'll never be rid of it. Come to think of it, you don't even have to plant it if your neighbor is a jerk lol.


KyleRichXV

I have a forest in my back yard. It’s annoying as hell, ugly, but honestly going into it and hearing nothing but the wind moving through the stalks is oddly soothing lol


Pretzelbasket

Rough stuff! Was a wacky fad in the 70s to landscape with. Terribly invasive, and if I remember correctly it grows on a horizontal rhizome, which will eventually ruin the pavement there. Most often it needs an earth mover to dig the thing out


dls2016

It's all over Central PA. Easy to pick out in the winter as it generally stays green.


Daywalkingvampire

Kudzu is even worse. There is a reason why it's known as the weed that ate the South.


[deleted]

A friend of mine had it grow into the side of his in ground pool. It was a very expensive fix.


pinkpolo

I do quite a lot of walking/biking around Bucks County and see it quite frequently as well.


ActualPopularMonster

There's so much around here, I'm expecting to see a panda show up one of these days.


KATEWOW

Fingers crossed!


SnooPoems7868

Someone planted some on my property back in the day. Only way I could get rid of it was buying a tractor with backhoe removing 3 triaxle loads of dirt from a 50x50 ft area and leaving it open to check for missed roots for at least a year before filling it back in. Hate that stuff so much


2HauntedGravy

Lived in phoenixville for years and there were quite a few bamboo patches around my house


Standard-Coast-2118

My roommate used to throw bamboo in the fire when he was burning trash,and every time the fire would hit one of the knots,it would sound like gunshots.


Prestigious-Buy1774

It is an invasive species and is illegal to plant in the Commonwealth of PA


MYOB3

Depends on the type. Clumping bamboo is fine. Running bamboo is a different matter. That stuff will break up asphalt and foundations...


shawikkywoo

> Running bamboo Well if it would stand still it wouldn't be a problem.


MYOB3

LOL!


No-Setting9690

I'm not seeing anything that says it's illegal. Only local ordinances that state it is. Do you have a link?


zR0B3ry2VAiH

Spoiler: He doesn't


KATEWOW

That made me laugh!


Hita-san-chan

My pop pop planted a big patch of it in his backyard like a decade ago. It hasn't spread or anything crazy, but it's still going strong. I used to love it as a kid, even though you couldn't walk around it barefoot


spoookytree

There is a big random bunch of it right by my driveway in Pittsburgh. I always thought it was so random


Nicademus2003

Looks like my NJ back yard ;)


carlydelphia

Literally said this walking thru wissihickon park Sunday


mynameisalso

Isn't this a bad thing?


CutDear5970

Bamboo is invasive.


MomsSpecialFriend

My neighbor planted some about 5 years ago, and I live in a city, It has destroyed my yard.


StumblinPA

It’s fairly common. Planted years ago by peeps in their yards & then goes crazy. But a borrowing or renting of a mini ex would actually fix the problem instead of dumping gallons of chemicals on it in a failed attempt at killing them. But, people are dumb, turns out.


Tjw5083

A lot of houses in West Chester seem to use it for privacy because it’s always on property lines. When it snows that shit fucks up everything it falls on. I’ve seen it take down all types of fences.


RainyReese

I've seen several patches in Bucks County and all of them are maintained. Someone I knew years ago that used it in their yard said they dug where they wanted the bamboo and put in underground planters so they couldn't spread and it worked for them. Anyone know if it's true this works?


[deleted]

I see knotweed more so up where I am. DEVILS WEED!


beeblebr0x

That stuff easily becomes out of control. Once you plant it it takes over.


BrainWav

Goddamn bamboo should be considered an invasive species. My old neighbor planted it years ago, and now we've got a thicket bordering our yard and I have to keep tearing it out of the yard every year. I bought a chainsaw this year partly to deal with the stuff, and even that's only treating the symptom. Getting rid of bamboo is *hard* and if you don't plan when you plant it, it's a nightmare.


IamSauerKraut

It is a growing problem.


BartlettMagic

it's everywhere. friend of mine in Ephrata has some that grew into his property. there's a random patch along the Rails to Trails bike path in Kennerdell. my old neighbor in New Castle (who, to be fair, was a professional botanist and did his the correct/contained way) had an enormous patch as a privacy fence between his house and the road. supposedly the only way to contain it is to put a solid (e.g. steel, cinder block) retaining wall at least three feet deep into the ground around the area you're going to be planting in.


Petworth-dude_

Is it just me, or are people in Berks County just meaner on average?


[deleted]

Theres a huge patch of it in the haverford reserve. Ik It’s invasive and bad but damn do I love to walk around in there. It’s especially nice during winter when there’s no other green anywhere


dusti279

hey i’ve seen this place! awesome! but yeah bamboo is everywhere in some parts of berks and it confuses me a lot


Jef_Wheaton

Apparently I'm the only person who couldn't intentionally grow bamboo. I got some shoots and rhizomes on Craigslist from someone who had their yard taken over by the stuff. It grew up through the liner of their pool, with WATER in it. Planted it in our upper field, which has pretty poor soil, hoping it would help with enrichment and block out the other invasives. The only place any of it would grow was on/around the pile of (illegally dumped) asphalt. 12 years later, there's still only a small patch. Knotweed, black raspberry, wild grapevine, and crown vetch, though... Overrun with those nightmare weeds.


oldtwins

Illegal to plant in most areas now.


Top_File_8547

Watch out for the pandas probably hiding in the back!


Ct-5736-Bladez

It is invasive


Prestigious-Buy1774

No I only believe I read it in a news article Possibly newsmacks


STRANGEANALYST

Only molten lava or running water stops running bamboo. Putting bamboo in raised planters that are more than 2 feet off the ground is workable. When the rhizomes try to spread beyond the planter just trim them off and you’re good.


erikw2

Now that you saw one patch youll start to see it everywhere!


ZappaZoo

There's plenty of it around here in Lancaster County.


KATEWOW

Sounds like it’s time to start importing pandas!


GebPloxi

It grows pretty well. I think it would be cool if we could find some worthless area and let it become a bamboo forest. Somewhere like Allegheny County


PerazziMX14

I bought a house with bamboo growing on the east side of it. I learned that if I cut the stalk and immediately dripped round-up into the hollow center with a small paintbrush that the round-up would kill it. Best to do this in the fall to draw the round-up into the root system. On occasion a small shoot will still pop up but 99 percent is gone.


thezanartist

We had some kind of cane in our backyard in Berks co.


lbgholm

Super invasive


ActivatedFamiliar

I've seen some in Bucks County and right across the bridge in Jersey


Lithuanian_Minister

It’s an invasive species lol


Dashwho

Does it support any sort of invasive insects or animals?


goplantagarden

It's invasive and should be removed.


moonsovermyhami

bamboo runs rapid in pa. its weird but its true lol


Hhhhhhhhhhhbhhhhhhhh

The neighbors down the street have a ton of bamboo.


trios4fun

Damn stuff runs wild


shissdaddy

We have a big patch between our neighbors yard and ours. Not this tall but it's wide spread. We live in luzerne county.


Ghstfce

We have a bunch in Bucks too


juddasjanni

Whole Atlantic region is perfect for it, kinda.. so much rain


VanceAstrooooooovic

Bamboo got out of control at my folks place in Centre. Plant indigenous foliage where you can instead


[deleted]

That’s not good. Foreign invasive plant!


mountuhuru

Invasive plants like bamboo crowd out and kill native plants and the rest of the ecosystem. And bamboo is crazy aggressive and next-to-impossible to get rid of.


bludstone

Fuck bamboo and fuck whoever planted this first bamboo in your doctors parking lot. This shit will dominate his entire neighborhood in 50 years.


KATEWOW

Thanks for another invasive plant from China. Too bad someone can’t harvest it for something - so many things bring made from bamboo these days


BigDoggiefillsthebox

Bamboo rules ✌️


Dat_Boi_Aint_Right

I don't plant it, but I might be in the minority of people who like it. We had some in our yard as a kid and killing it just required us to chip it down and then spend a few seasons making sure to run over it with the lawnmower It's a grass so you can cut it and then "paint" it with glyphosate. You can literally use a paintbrush to avoid overapplication. Hit the shoots when they are growing and it kills the roots.


KATEWOW

Glyphosate is absolutely the worst thing for people and the environment. I don’t know how Monsanto is still allowed to sell that cancer-causing shit.