Re: bamboozled by bamboo

**"* B* <l*@msn.com>**

Hi, Colleen!

Welcome to the listserve -- glad to see you made it work.  Now for your bamboo.

This is probably the only time I would recommend using a toxic chemical in the garden, but it's a very controlled approach that can be used with Japanese knotweed, bittersweet, and the like only after all else fails.  

Fill one of those florist vials -- you know those little tubes that come filled with water on the the roses your husband sends you -- with Weed Be Gone full strength.
Cut as many growing tips of the bamboo as you can find with nice long diagonal cuts to expose as much of the cambium layer as you can.  Place those tips deep into the filled vial through the rubber stopper top and insert the vial into the ground (it should have a pointed sealed tip) and walk away.  In 24 hours, when you go back to inspect, you should see the leaves along the length of the cane withering and dying as the poison is being taken up by the plant.    In about a week, if you have enough cane left to work with that's still alive, repeat the procedure.  

The objective is to get the poison to the root and it may take several applications and seasons for this  to happen.  In the Northeast, fall is a much more effective time to take this action since the plant's energies are more root focused than in the growing season.  

I've seen this work on all kinds of nasties, although not the dreaded kudzu which is out of my geography!  Haven't tried it yet on Mile-a-Minute as we've been able to control that with other means.  As I said, this is the method of last resort.

Lorraine 

Lorraine Ballato 
Grow the best plants you can by converting your containers to self-waterers easily and cheaply.  Go to
http://www.successfulselfwateringcontainers.com/<http://www.successfulselfwateringcontainers.com/> to get the full story.
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