QUESTION: Can you plant bamboo in Virginia?
ANSWER: Bamboo can be planted in Virginia, but it is on the state’s invasive plants list. During the 2017 General Assembly session, a bill was passed that “authorizes any locality to adopt an ordinance requiring proper upkeep of running bamboo and prohibiting the spread of running bamboo from a landowner’s property.”
I never encourage planting or growing bamboo because it quickly gets out of control and is hard to kill once established.
During my years with Virginia Cooperative Extension, I worked with many landowners who either bought property with bamboo already there or lived adjacent to property with bamboo. In every case, getting rid of the bamboo or even getting it under control was a major issue.
QUESTION: In the fall, I left the leaves that fell in my shrubbery and backyard flower garden areas. Because of the snow and rain, they have settled into natural mulch. If I put a light layer of mulch over them in the spring, will that be a problem? Then how do I handle those areas next fall?
ANSWER: Those leaves will continue to decompose, adding rich organic matter to your soil. The mulch you add, for extra depth or appearance, will simply cover those leaves and gradually decompose as well. Look at the leaf cover in the forest, as an example. Every year, the leaves fall and are left to cover the soil. During the year, they gradually break down and create a rich leaf mold that enriches the soil under the trees. When the leaves drop the following fall, the process starts over again. In my yard, I consider it a free delivery of organic mulch.
QUESTION: My neighbor and I had buttonweed infest our backyards last summer. There were two large clumps about 10 feet square and a few smaller clumps in my front yard. We would like to come up with a plan to eradicate it permanently this spring. Would you please suggest a program for when and how to remove it?
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