Bamboo removal and root barrier in Henfield, West Sussex

Past project · Bamboo · 4 min read

We spent three days in a garden in Henfield, West Sussex, for our client, who had three different bamboos. One was in a raised bed at the front, one was a golden bamboo along the far boundary, and the third was coming through the fence from next door. We dug out the bamboo on our client's side, put a specialist root barrier along the boundary to stop the neighbour's bamboo coming back, and left the ground level and sown with grass seed.

The problem

When Connor surveyed the garden, he found three separate stands. Each one needed a slightly different approach.

• The front garden: arrow bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica) in a brick raised bed, about 30 cm by 1.8 m. It was young and fairly weak, but arrow bamboo runs. Left alone, it would have kept filling the bed and pushing against the brickwork.
• The far end of the garden: golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) along the southern boundary, across roughly 18 ft (about 5.5 m). It was still young and hadn't spread yet. Golden bamboo is one of the most common running bamboos we remove, and it's far easier to deal with at this stage than after a few more summers.
• The boundary fence: a third bamboo (Pseudosasa 'Blue Pearl') growing in the neighbouring garden had started to come through. Above ground the spread was small. Our client's garden sits about half a metre higher than next door, though, so the rhizomes had worked deeper than you'd normally expect before turning up on their side.

The neighbour's bamboo was the real long-term issue. We could only dig on our client's side, so removal alone wasn't enough. The boundary needed a barrier as well.

What we did

1. Removal

Day one: two of our team started, and the front raised bed was dug out by hand. Day two: a micro excavator and driver came in for the boundary. We used it on the client's side to dig out the golden bamboo and the growth that had come through from next door, following the rhizomes down and out rather than just cutting the canes off at the surface. Day three: the barrier went in and the job was finished.

2. The root barrier

With the bamboo out, we laid 14.5 m of specialist root barrier along the boundary fence in two runs:

• The main run, 12 m: laid to 1.3 m deep, with about 20 cm left above ground to allow for settlement. The barrier needs to sit proud of the soil. Otherwise rhizomes can simply arch over the top.
• A second run, 2.5 m: further up the same line, to about 1 m deep, where there was only juvenile bamboo.

The barrier is installed in a B shape in the ground, so it has a bottom catchment that redirects rhizomes back towards the neighbouring property they came from, instead of letting them slip underneath or round the ends. The bamboo on the neighbour's side is still there. The barrier's job is to keep it there.

3. The finish

We backfilled the trench, levelled the ground and sowed the whole dig area with grass seed. The cut canes and root material went into bags on sheeting on the drive and were collected at the end of day three by a registered waste carrier.

The result

The front raised bed is empty and ready for planting. The boundary strip is clear and level, with just the top edge of the barrier showing along the fence line. The neighbour's bamboo is still on the other side of the fence, and that's where it should stay.

We'll be back in spring for a monitoring inspection, when bamboo starts putting up new shoots. Once there's been no regrowth for two full growing seasons, we'll issue a completion certificate. Connor will add progress photos to this page from his monitoring visits, so you can see how the boundary looks as the grass comes through and the seasons go by.

The guarantee

Every job we do comes with a guarantee of at least 5 years, and it can be extended to up to 20 years. For our client in Henfield, the work is covered by a 10-year company guarantee, which can also be extended to up to 20 years. It covers regrowth and repairs to the barrier, and it stays with the property if the house is sold.

Got bamboo coming through from next door?

If bamboo is spreading in your garden, or creeping under the fence from a neighbour's, send us a photo for a free ID or book a free survey. You can use the enquiry form or message us using the WhatsApp button on this page. To learn more first, read our guide to running vs clumping bamboo and when you need a root barrier or see our bamboo removal service.