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Invasive bamboo takes over garden in Walton on Thames

Invasive bamboo takes over garden in Walton on Thames

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Keith Mullins bought a new build home in Walton-on-Thames in 2009. Bamboo had been planted in the beautifully landscaped front garden and grew happily for several years before new shoots began appearing all over the lawn.

He attempted to pull them up himself and began to mow the lawn regularly to inhibit growth, but the bamboo was growing quickly and spreading out of control so he instructed Environet to excavate it.

Once our team started digging, they discovered underground rhizomes of more than 30ft in length extending beneath the lawn towards to the rear of the property and across the border into the neighbouring garden. If it had been left any longer, Keith could have found himself facing legal action from his neighbour for allowing the plant to encroach.

Bamboo is growing in popularity in the UK, yet many homeowners don’t realise how invasive it can be and the problems it could cause in the future if it’s not properly contained.

Keith said: “I had no idea how invasive bamboo could be. You see it planted in front gardens everywhere but people don’t realise the steps they need to take to keep it in check. I tried to stop it taking over my garden but quickly realised that my efforts were futile and heavy machinery would be required to completely remove it. Bamboo can look lovely but I would urge people to be very careful as most types are invasive and it could turn out to be a costly mistake.”

If you have bamboo growing in your garden and you’re starting to see shoots popping up in new locations, it’s probably on the march. You could try to get rid of it yourself using the energy depletion method, which involves cutting the canes to ground level before new leaf appears and repeating the process for many years to try and deplete the plant’s energy reserves.

You’ll be at it a long time though and there’s no guarantee of success, so it may be time to call in the professionals.

Robert Spaceman

“We had a large stand of bamboo removed, thinned, contained and replaced. The customer service has been first class. Joe and Jason were fabulous and kept me well informed at all times”.

5/5