Saturday, February 27, 2016

Bamboo Eradication

Underneath our large black walnut tree (Juglans nigra), we had a large, and steadily expanding, clump of black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra). We decided it was time for the bamboo to go to provide a little more space and light in this part of the yard. Jeff had a buddy come by to help harvest the stalks and tackle the root balls.


The harvesting was easy enough. We'll leave the leaves on for about four weeks to help dry out the stalks, then trim them off. They're all stacked up in the back (on concrete so they won't root). 
After using almost every tool in the garage including a chain saw and power washer, we managed to get the root ball dug out. We'll fill the divets with dirt and cover with black plastic to block shoots. And probably move the compost piles here. Now we can start tracking down some of those few plants that do well under a black walnut.

4 comments:

  1. Good luck with finding plants that do well under black walnut trees. My yard is full of them and I am having a difficult time growing a lot of things in my yard even away from the b walnuts. Hopefully since you are in a different hardiness zone you will have better luck. My neighbor does grow iris and hostas under her black walnut. I think the only plants that grown under mine are hosta, daylilies, and monarda. Absolutely no tomatoes, peppers, peach or cherry trees.

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    1. Yeah, we know all about planting under black walnuts. We've had them as our primary shade giving tree for something like 30 years now. It's a challenge, but there are some plants that do fine. Ferns come to mind, and they're my favorite. There are actually tons of plants that can do well under there so we'll try some of them later this fall, after we spend the summer fighting new bamboo shoots.

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  2. Ferns...that is good to know because they are very hardy here. I've lost so many plants that were barely under the drip edge of the tree.

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    1. This is probably the most extensive list of plants I've found: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/trees-shrubs/landscaping-and-gardening-around-walnuts-and-other-juglone-producing-plants. There is a link to download the list.

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