Service Options and Pricing

Thinning:

In order for bamboo to be healthy and beautiful, it needs to be thinned out as seasonal maintenance. Poles (also known as canes or scientifically as culms) that are dead, dying, scrawny, too close together, or just someplace you don't want them, are cut as close to the ground as possible to avoid leaving stumps.

The price for this service depends on the square footage and the relative density of your bamboo.

Level 1 density: ($2.70/square foot) For running bamboo, this means up to 12 poles per square yard. This doesn’t necessarily need much thinning, but some of the poles may be old or scrawny. For clumping bamboo, this means the space between the poles is equal to or greater than the diameter of the thicker poles.

Level 2:($5.40/square foot) For running bamboo, 13 - 24 poles per square yard. For clumping bamboo, the space between the poles is about 1/2 the diameter of the thicker poles. This may become an unhealthy situation for the bamboo if it isn’t maintained. It’s acceptable for a trail/maze wall, otherwise it should be thinned up to 1/2 of the poles.

Level 3:($9.46/square foot) For running bamboo, 25+ poles per square yard. For clumping bamboo, the space between the poles is about 1/4-1/3 the diameter of the thicker poles.This isn’t healthy for the bamboo! It’s competing with itself for light and air. Around 2/3 of the poles need to be removed.

Level 4:($13.50/square foot) There is no space between most of the poles. Usually half or more of the inner poles are dead. 80-90% needs to be removed.

Level 5:($17.55/square foot) No room between the poles and the root mass is mounded up. The plant is using the old leaf litter as soil and growing new roots and tubers on top of itself. We must cut into the root mass while removing poles.

* Certain species have twisted, intertwined, or zig-zagging poles or branches. This increases the difficulty in clearing them, forcing us to rate them as one density level higher.

Hauling Fee: 25% or $65/trailer load

Clear Cutting/Surface Removal

Eliminating bamboo starts with clearing out all of the poles. We cut as close to the ground as possible to avoid leaving stumps. If you clip or mow any shoots that come up every 1-2 weeks, the roots should starve to death in about 3-6 months.

The price for this service depends on the square footage and the relative density of your bamboo.

Level 1 density: ($3.26/square foot) For running bamboo, this means up to 12 poles per square yard. This doesn’t necessarily need much thinning, but some of the poles may be old or scrawny. For clumping bamboo, this means the space between the poles is equal to or greater than the diameter of the thicker poles.

Level 2:($6.52/square foot) For running bamboo, 13 - 24 poles per square yard. For clumping bamboo, the space between the poles is about 1/2 the diameter of the thicker poles. This may become an unhealthy situation for the bamboo if it isn’t maintained. It’s acceptable for a trail/maze wall, otherwise it should be thinned up to 1/2 of the poles.

Level 3:($11.43/square foot) For running bamboo, 25+ poles per square yard. For clumping bamboo, the space between the poles is about 1/4-1/3 the diameter of the thicker poles.This isn’t healthy for the bamboo! It’s competing with itself for light and air. Around 2/3 of the poles need to be removed.

Level 4:($16.32/square foot) There is no space between most of the poles. Usually half or more of the inner poles are dead. 80-90% needs to be removed.

Level 5:($32.67/square foot) No room between the poles and the root mass is mounded up. The plant is using the old leaf litter as soil and growing new roots and tubers on top of itself. We must cut into the root mass while removing poles.

Hauling Fee: 25% or $65/trailer load.

Digging:

Root Removal:

Do to the expense, and the effectiveness of weekly clipping/mowing, this isn't recommended for large areas.

The price for this service depends on the square footage and the relative density of your bamboo roots.

Level 1-3 Running Bamboo (Down to 9" max.):
$7.82/ft2
Level 1-3 Clumping/Level 4-5 Running Bamboo:
(Down to 12" max.) $15.65/ft2
Level 4-5 Clumping Bamboo (Down to 18'):
$31.32/ft2

Trench and barrier

Running bamboo is said to sleep, creep, and leap. That is to say, it has dormant periods (usually winter and most of the summer) when it's accumulating energy and resources, it creeps underground (usually in the fall as the running rhizomes reach out almost as far as the poles are tall), and the new shoots leap up to full height (usually in the spring) over a period of 2-3 months.

It rarely blooms so if you contain the root structure (Rhizomes travel in the top 3 inches and poles can anchor 6-8" deep) you can contain the entire plant. A trench and thick plastic barrier can be used to intercept incoming runners, and while many landscapers like the vertical barrier system that can be dug with a trenching machine, bamboo rhizomes can dive 26" deep to go around a vertical barrier. There are many parts of the Austin area, and other parts of Texas, where there is enough rock and thick tree roots to make that depth unmanageable without heavy equipment that would destroy many people's fences and yards.

A better solution and the one we employ, is a diagonal barrier that leans away from the incoming bamboo. This forces incoming rhizomes to the surface where they can be cut during seasonal maintenance with a knife or pair of shears, and the trench only needs to be 9-12" deep. Alternately, the trench can be filled with sand or gravel which will show the path of the running rhizomes as it pushes through, and they can be cut with a shovel.

Trench: $14/linear foot.
Plastic barrier and installation:$7/linear foot.

Installing Root Balls:

Down to 9": $7.82/ft2

Down to 12": $15.65/ft2

Seasonal Maintenance:

If you get behind on controlling the shoots or roots with seasonal weekly maintenance, you can hire us to take care of it for $65/man hour or $300/month.