Would you buy a house with bamboo in the backyard?

[Anonymous]

Huge deal, hence why it's illegal now to plant it pretty much everywhere in Mid-Atlantic. The rhizomes go down 20 inches and then shoot up, damaging foundations and pipes. It can break galvanized metal. There have been several lawsuits regarding bamboo - see one below. We got rid of ours, coming from a neighbor 4 houses away, by getting a backhoe in the winter, excavating deep enough and installing barriers. Budget accordingly.

https://sgrlaw.com/articles/much-legal-ado-about-running-bamboo-on-shelter-island-were-kings-liable-to-sultans-for-nuisance-trespass-negligence/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10457923/How-neighbours-bamboo-caused-100k-damage-inside-home-shoots-burst-walls.html

[Anonymous]

Our house had bamboo in the backyard, along with two adjoining yards (side and back). We cleared ours out the first year. Every year after that, we'd go out once a year and clear whatever shoots were coming up from the neighbors' yards. They eventually cleared theirs out too, so it looks like there is no bamboo ... And yet, we still get new shoots up every now and then. Not as many as when there was still a big patch in the neighbor's yard, but it takes a little work every spring to keep it clear. It's no more work than the rest of the weeding, mulching, etc.

[Anonymous]

If it was the perfect house, yes I would.
We had a 40+ year stand of bamboo across the back fence of our property when we bought it. I'm guessing it was 12-50 feet deep and some of the stems were 30 feet tall when we cut them down. About 10 years ago we chopped it all down and took a chemical warfare approach. We sprayed Round Up down every stalk that we cut. Every year we need to go out and kill the new shoots that come up.
The neighboring property still has their bamboo so unless we invest a ton of money we will always have the issue. We have ivy and vinca growing in that part of the yard. If we wanted grass it would have been a much bigger job.

One thing to note, if the bamboo stand is really old, all the soil will be completely depleted. It was basically sand. It took years of allowing leaves to compost over the winter to get it back.

[Anonymous]

What if it was a house in your dream
Neighborhood at your price range, would
You then put up with the bamboo?

[Anonymous]

Nope.

[Anonymous]

It can be good privacy so, yes.

[Anonymous]

I like bamboo. It looks pretty, stays green. But it depends on how it blends in with other trees/foliage. I would still buy for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these people saying NEVER NOPE are the same people that come here crying that they can't find a house to buy. This is the dumbest reason to not a buy a house. The DMV is chock full of bamboo, so good luck avoiding it unless you buy a new build. Trust me, it will be ok.....

Nah, keep telling yourself that. Nicely maintained properties do not have bamboo and yes, also all the new houses don't have bamboo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if it was a house in your dream
Neighborhood at your price range, would
You then put up with the bamboo?

No, because I'd need 40K to get rid of it. It also looks so cheap and tacky. People who planted bamboo didn't have $ for real landscaping, so it screams budget and poverty to me.

This is how you do privacy screening when you are at least 4 generations removed from the trailer.

[Anonymous]

No. Run

[Anonymous]

We did. Paid to have it dug out by the root balls, then spent about 18 months getting out all the remaining shoots/rhizomes (dig them all the way out). We also put a 3 foot corregated steel barrier between us and the neighbors (who were not as diligent as us at pulling out the rhizomes).

Over 20 years in the house, did that all around years 3-5, we are still happily ever after in our home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if it was a house in your dream
Neighborhood at your price range, would
You then put up with the bamboo?

No, because I'd need 40K to get rid of it. It also looks so cheap and tacky. People who planted bamboo didn't have $ for real landscaping, so it screams budget and poverty to me.

This is how you do privacy screening when you are at least 4 generations removed from the trailer.

You are such a snot.

[Anonymous]

We have rapidly spreading bamboo behind our house on county property. The privacy it provides is great. For about a month every spring (right about now), it grows like crazy, and I am spending an hour or so every week chopping back the new shoots, which pop up all over our the part of our property adjacent to the county land. Then for the rest of the year, its pretty much not an issue.

[Anonymous]

No I would not purchase a home w/bamboo anywhere because it likely would cause a panda infestation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if it was a house in your dream
Neighborhood at your price range, would
You then put up with the bamboo?

No, because I'd need 40K to get rid of it. It also looks so cheap and tacky. People who planted bamboo didn't have $ for real landscaping, so it screams budget and poverty to me.

This is how you do privacy screening when you are at least 4 generations removed from the trailer.

Your comment is cheap and tacky.