My understanding is that some bamboo is horribly invasive and can grow thru anything. I would tesr it out. I have seen, on TV, people who plant it use 12" sheets of aluminum buried around it to contain it and it still runs under that. It will tear up your pond! Good Luck!

omg i might have to tear up the bamboo i just planted by my pond in pots

If the roots are actually tearing thru the rubber you have a real control problem. The cinder block is no surprise. Check with your local Extension Service for legal control methods. On the other hand you could invite me for a visit. I have been trying to get bamboo to grow for the past ten years and it dies fast when I'm around. Sandy

I have boo planted about 6-10 feet from my pond and have been lucky so far and caught it as it neared my pond or popped up right at its edge.. if yours is now breaking through your liner I am sorry to say you are screwed.. I will most likely suffer the same fate someday but am actively working to make a better border and keep away from my pond.. the only good thing is boo wont grow in standing water.. so when it breaks through your liner it will die off and stop.. but it will continue to keep poking holes from new roots.. my suggestion is to rip out all the boo.. and if you want to keep boo buy a rhimzone barrier and place it around your pond.. sorry this happened but again I am most likely going to have the same problem one day and I am dreading it.. I only put in a small concrete barrier with my boo.. and it has broken it and grown over and under it this past year... first two years it behaved but the last year it found a way to get through.. keep me posted on what you do as like I said I will mostly likely have the same issue some day.. and my boo is dulcis which is alot bigger than what you have.. and it grows deeper..

How big is the pond? If it's small maybe a fiberglass preformed pond would work.

The pond is 1400 gallons and reinforced with concrete and several tons of boulders. It's not going anywhere! Surprisingly, it appears to be new shoots, the tips of the bamboo stalks pushing through at a horizontal angle under the waterfall, not the roots. I also have my septic tank nearby which is another concern now. I don't even know how I would begin to rip it all out since the roots apparently are going everywhere and new shoots are coming up as much as 20 feet away from where they were planted. Short of excavating my entire yard, or pouring Round-up on the problem (which would also poison all of my other beautiful, exotic plants) is there anything else I can do?????

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It may take a couple years for it to die off, but just start cutting it off. Every time it pops up somewhere else or again in the same place, just keep cutting it.
I don't know what it is about stuff from Japan, but it seems to always be aggressive here. The guy we bought this property from planted a couple rows of Japanese honeysuckle. Now, 35 years later, it covers our property. Its absolutely horrible, and shades out anything native. Bummer.
don't use chemicals. Just be patient and start cutting, cutting, cutting. It needs to have the tops to make energy, in order to expand. Once to cut back the tops, the roots will slowly die. But it may take a couple years of consistent cutting. Good luck!

i have to go pull up my bamboos i recently planted now >.

Just to let you know, Roundup doesn't work...We tried it...We made the mistake of planting bamboo about 8 years ago and just last year decided to "spread"...We thought we lucked out and got the clumping kind..WRONG..Just keep cutting like catherinet said...That's what we are doing.

Good luck!!

I'm so sorry you're having this problem. I would start eraticating as much as possible. I have heard that cutting the culms then injected them with Round Up or a simlar product can be effective. I also have a pond and bamboo. I bought Budda Belly bamboo, which is a clumping bamboo. I plan to keep it in large containers to see how it behaves. I also got 6 other little bamboos from a friend and after research, they are the running kind and I'm definitely not putting that directly in the ground.

You may want to contact your local bamboo society, if you have one, and see if they have any answers for you. Again, sorry this is happening to you. You have a beautiful pond.

You could also buy a Panda Bear. They only eat bamboo, so it would be a win-win for both of you. Sort of like the goats on the roofs of the cottages in Door County Wisconson. Quaint, yet tinged with a hint of danger.

LOL groundbeef! That's a great idea. hahaha

I think I'd call in a professional as this sounds like a lot of work. I posted a link you might find informative. Spreading bamboo is extremely aggressive and almost impossible to get rid of entirely because anything left in the ground will sprout. As gorgeous as bamboo is, for that reason I have never planted it. Good luck to you. I hope it works out. (I love the Panda Bear idea!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Getting Rid of Bamboo

Here's another link for you. Sounds like you're going to have to sacrifice your privacy for your pond. This technique doesn't sound too bad - a lot of work and patience though.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Bamboo Society - Controlling Bamboo

akid'

Your pond is beautiful. I'm so sorry you're having bamboo problems! My Dad is having the same problem with spreading bamboo. I warned him when he first put it in, but to no avail. He recently asked me what he should do. I advised that he sell the house and hope that the new owner knows nothing about bamboo!

Clumping bamboo can be wonderful, but you have to be sure that you're getting it from a very, very reputable source so that you can be sure that it's really the clumping kind and not the spreading kind. Unfortunately, some less reputable growers will mislabel plants because they're easier to propogate and sell than plants that are the real deal and true to their name. Even if you trust the seller/grower, it's not such a bad idea to monitor any kind of bamboo for a while, like some have recommended.

I wish you the best of luck!

whats a good way to plant bamboo around your pond without it spreading?

Plant it in a cast iron wash pot and every time you see a runner start over the edge of the pot whack it off. Glenda

infernokoi asked: "whats a good way to plant bamboo around your pond without it spreading?"

A: Make sure it is not alive when you plant it.

Or, get a Panda Bear.

On our property we have a bamboo vine that grows very large, sometimes as big around as your thumb. With big thorns almost as big. It grows from a tuber and goes out in every direction under ground and when it decides to grow out of the ground it will climb trees and covers everything. Sometimes I have dug up tubers as big as 2 regulation size footballs. The best way to get rid of it is turn a bunch of hogs loose in the field and they will root it up and eat it. Otherwise we just use the bushhog on the tractor and keep it cut down. Eventually it will die back, but you have to keep after it or it will come back. So you could get some hogs to root it up if you don't want to get a Panda. Glenda

As I posted above, I have 2 kinds of bamboo, some running and some clumping. So far I have not put any directly into the ground. Call me chicken! I noticed 2 days ago a a new clum coming up on the good clumping bamboo. It was about 1/2 inch tall, last night, within 2 days time it had grown 2 more inches. I can't wait to measure tonight.

I'm actually afraid to even have the running kind in pots in my yard now. I may just get rid of them and secretly plant them in my boss's yard some night.

The guy I got my bamboo said there were two ways to kill bamboo, either too much water, or not enough water. I don't believe him.

The guy is kinda right.. too much water does kill boo.. I have a divet in my lawn in my backyard where water gathers after storms and such and all my running boo stopped growing when it hit this place.. the boo all rotted.. so it is true about the overwatering.. but its really more like standing water than overwatering.. as for underwatering.. well not sure I buy that one as once it does get water it will come back.. I am hoping on the cutting and breaking of roots and culms will eventually kill off what I have.. so far its a toss up.. as I had to dig my yard up twice in two months.. will have to see how successful that is next season.. anyway goodluck and hope you find a solution.. I liked the cast iron pot idea from Glenda.. that would work pretty good I think..

You can put a commercial bamboo barrier down to block it from your liner. You'll have to dig deep and wedge it in between the liner and the bamboo.

Sadly, running bamboos are cheaper than clumping so when you see bamboo at Home Depot etc. It is almost always the running stuff.