Plenty of Tredegar gardens have a patch of bamboo that has grown far bigger than anyone intended. We remove it by cutting the canes down and digging out the rhizomes, the underground stems that let the plant spread, and we take everything away afterwards so you can start again with a clean plot.
Gardens in the Sirhowy valley often slope up or down from the house, so we plan each job around the gradient. We also cover Ebbw Vale, Rhymney, Sirhowy and Georgetown, and in each case we try to leave the ground tidy and easy to work with once the bamboo is gone.
The usual signs are canes appearing in the lawn or beside a path, a clump that gets wider every year, or hard stems pushing under a fence. Running bamboo is the culprit in most cases, because its rhizomes travel quickly and quietly. Clumping bamboo can be a nuisance too, but it spreads more slowly. Spotting it early saves a great deal of digging.
On the hillsides around Tredegar, the soil behind garden walls is often loose and easy for roots to follow. A few canes by a retaining wall can mean a good deal of rhizome beneath the neighbouring ground, so we like to understand how far things have gone before we put a spade in. Photographs from your side of the wall help us a lot.
In Tredegar we cut the canes first, then dig out the crown and work along each rhizome until it ends. For garden walls and steps we dig by hand to avoid disturbing the structure. Where there is room and the ground is not too steep, a small machine speeds up the lifting of big clumps considerably. Each section is finished before we move on.
Bamboo can come back from tiny fragments, so we sift and pick over the soil. The cut canes and roots are loaded and removed from site. If you would like, we can come back later in the year to check for any stray shoots, which are quick to deal with if caught early. You are then left with a clear picture of progress.
Once the ground in your Tredegar garden is clear, you can lay turf, plant a border or put down a patio. We suggest waiting until we have checked for regrowth before building over the area. If you would like a root barrier or a different kind of planting in future, we can talk that through, but we only fit what is needed.
A few jobs we have completed. We also work in and around Tredegar.
We work across South Wales. Pick your town to see how bamboo removal works locally.
Running bamboo spreads through underground stems called rhizomes, and stopping it means digging them out thoroughly rather than just cutting down the canes.
Read the guide →Spreading bamboo can lift paving, push into wall joints and block drains, so it helps to know which type you have and when to act.
Read the guide →
Tree surgery is priced job by job rather than from a fixed list, so this guide explains what moves the cost up or down and how to get a firm figure.
Read the guide →In most cases yes, because the bigger a patch gets, the more soil has to be dug and the more likely it is to reach a wall or drain. Removing it while it is still modest makes the job simpler for everyone involved.
We can. The slope affects how we dig, so we work in sections and use hand tools near walls and steps. We will look at the gradient and any retaining walls first so the soil stays stable while the roots come out.
It should not, if every rhizome has been removed. Small fragments can still sprout, so we sift the soil and offer a return visit. Any shoots that appear are normally few and easy to pull while they are young.
Tell us what needs doing and where. We will come back to you, or call 07766 919630 if it is urgent.
