Beware of invasive bamboo taking over British gardens
Invasive bamboo is becoming a major problem for British homeowners who may not realise that most species are invasive if left unchecked and can quickly encroach onto neighbouring properties, resulting in costly legal bills, warns Environet UK.
Easy to grow, hardy and tolerating most soil types, bamboo has grown in popularity among UK gardeners in recent years, particularly favoured in urban areas for its screening qualities, creating privacy in overlooked gardens.
But bamboo can also be highly invasive and spread out of control if allowed. There are currently no lending restrictions relating to bamboo and sellers are under no obligation to tell potential buyers if the plant has posed a problem, yet it can cause damage to property, is costly to remove and can cause disputes between neighbours when it encroaches into adjoining properties.
Mark Montaldo, Solicitor and Director at CEL Solicitors, which deals with legal claims relating to invasive plants, said:
“Bamboo is a growing problem, as unlike Japanese knotweed it’s not officially classed as an invasive species and there are currently no restrictions on planting it. Consequently, there has been an increase in the number of neighbourly disputes following encroachment of bamboo across garden borders.
“I have acted for a number of clients who have taken legal action against their neighbour for nuisance caused as a result of a bamboo infestation where the offending party has had to pay significant removal costs and legal bills.
“Due to the increase in nuisance claims it is something that the mortgage companies are closely looking at and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them imposing lending restrictions on properties that suffer with bamboo infestations in the future.”
There are several varieties which can be categorised into the ‘clumping’ and ‘running’ types, all of which have large underground root and rhizome systems. But it’s the running types in particular that cause headaches for homeowners, sending out long lateral rhizomes up to 30ft from the main plant, causing the plant to spread with new shoots unexpectedly appearing in new locations.
Due to the extraordinary distance the roots can travel, running bamboo has the potential to be more damaging to property than Japanese knotweed and has similar abilities to push through brickwork, drains, cavity walls, patios and exploit cracks or weaknesses in concrete. In a recent case, a homeowner in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, had bamboo growing up between the skirting board and the wall in his living room, having encroached from next door’s garden and exploited a weakness in the property’s foundations.
Even clumping bamboos, although preferable to running varieties, can become invasive if left unchecked for a number of years. All bamboo should be planted in containers with root barriers designed to contain bamboo, to ensure they cannot spread.
Nic Seal, MD of Environet UK, which deals with all types of invasive plants including Japanese knotweed and bamboo, said:
“Bamboo is a vigorous and fast-growing plant that has been steadily growing in popularity in the UK over the last decade or so, but it’s very difficult to contain and virtually impossible to kill with herbicide. It’s commonly sold at nurseries and garden centres across the country with little or no warnings about its invasive nature or sensible advice about how to contain it.
“Estate agents and surveyors should look out for signs of the plant growing out of control and alert potential buyers to the problem, which usually requires professional excavation.”
Kindly shared by Environet UK
