I found this bamboo growing in my yard. I’m in NY zone 6b. Can anyone help identify the type? Is it the invasive kind, and how do I deal with it if it is?
I had to deal with a big patch of running bamboo, about 25 ft wide and 6 ft deep. It was spreading all over the yard. I dug up all the roots and any runners I could find. Then in the spring, I covered the area with 9 mil black plastic to starve it. It took a lot of effort, but I haven’t seen it come back in three years, and I didn’t use any chemicals.
@Valentine
Where are you located? I’ve heard bamboo can be easier to manage in places with shorter growing seasons.
Leighton said:
@Valentine
Where are you located? I’ve heard bamboo can be easier to manage in places with shorter growing seasons.
I’m in NE Ohio, zone 6b. It definitely helped that the growing season isn’t super long here.
@Valentine
Yeah, clumping bamboo is much easier to manage. The plastic method really works for the running kind, though.
@Valentine
Great job!
It’s the kind straight out of a nightmare.
Phoenix said:
It’s the kind straight out of a nightmare.
This thread is hilarious!
Poe said:
@Caius
Sounds like you need a couple of pandas.
Exactly! A panda can eat about 40 pounds of bamboo a day. They’d probably treat it like spaghetti! 
@Caius
This thread feels like a group therapy session for people traumatized by bamboo.
Definitely invasive.
This is an invasive species. We do have a native bamboo in the U.S., but it has branches that grow at a sharper angle to the stem. Sorry I can’t help more!
It’s totally weed, lol.
It’s your bamboo. /s
We get that yellow-stem bamboo a lot here in DC/Maryland. It’s the typical running bamboo, super hardy, and you need serious equipment to remove it. It spreads in clusters, usually 20 square yards or so in wooded areas. I love bamboo, but it’s better in large pots. In California, clumping bamboo works well because it’s easier to manage, and the dry weather helps. Even with barriers, the running type is tough to keep contained long-term.
Looks like golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea. It’s hardy to zone 6 but is a running bamboo, so it can get invasive. I grow a different type, Phyllostachys aureosulcata, but I keep it under control by mowing around it. I also grow Fargesia robusta, a clumping bamboo that stays around 9-10 feet tall and is way easier to manage. Another one I grow is Arundinaria tecta, a native bamboo that runs but not far. It’s slow-growing in normal soil and makes a nice 6-8 foot barrier, especially in wetter areas.