Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

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Alan_L
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Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by Alan_L »

I'd like to put a groundcover or other low-growing type of running bamboo next to my mailbox and let it fill in the strip of ground between the sidewalk and street. My biggest concern is salt that gets applied to the road a few times each winter. I've read that most bamboos are not salt-tolerant, but what does that mean in a practical sense? Will the plants die immediately from salt exposure? Will they just not be as vigorous? I'll most likely be mowing the plants down each Spring anyway, so if the damage is only to exposed leaves/culms I'm not concerned.

Does anybody have experience with bamboo in a similar location that may get road salt on it?
ghmerrill
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by ghmerrill »

I dont think mowing would solve the problem, as once salt is in the soil, it kills the plant from the roots up. However, if grass or anything else is growing there now, then boo would be fine. That being said, call your highway dept. and ask about the de-icer they use. I dont think salt (sodium chloride) is used any more, or at least not by most places. I know that there is a potasium based ice melter, I think its Potasium Chloride, you can get that bagged for use on your steps and sidewalks, and the highway depts use either that or some other chemical now.

my two cents anyway! Call em and find out for sure.
Alan_L
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by Alan_L »

Good point -- I should have said "road de-icer". There is grass growing there, and a hosta (well, it's barely growing because of rabbit and slug attacks each year). I guess I'll give it a go and see what happens.
Jonviolin
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by Jonviolin »

So GHMerrill, are you saying that sodium chloride is bad for boo but other de-ices such as potassium chloride are not?
I would like to try some fargesias up by the road which is slightly above grade, so any de-icee applied to the road washes down into my property without any curb to deter it. Should I not even bother trying?
dependable
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by dependable »

Somewhat old thread,... I'd plant a runner by the road, anyaway,.

If the plant is not in direct contact with "salt" from spreader (whatever the chemical, it probably will kill most plants with a moderate amount applied), or in a low spot where road run off collects, you should be OK.

Some Fargesas are not that hardy, so be careful before you invest in a big screen. On the other hand, maybe try a few, and see how they do..
wolfedg
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by wolfedg »

dependable wrote:Somewhat old thread,...
At least at this point we might find out what the outcome was.
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johnw
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by johnw »

Urea is what airports use to melt runway snow. Works very well.

john
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
dependable
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Re: Growing bamboo near street (road salt concern)

Post by dependable »

Here they use the old road salt, which is mostly potassium chloride, but with lots of impurities. Used to drive an old Mack on contract for Mass Highway. The stuff ate truck parts at an alarming rate. Sometimes if ice conditions were bad, and it was not snowing anymore, they would load up the salt to sand ratio, you could almost see the ice melt in the rear view mirror.

I also live by the State highway, some kind of course grass along the road can take it, also my P aureosulcata sends up shoots in the shoulder zone every spring that I knock over as it comes up so the grove won't invest much in area the state is going to mow.
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