Stomping out bamboo...

Sorry to be so slow!

The landlord here dug nearly to China, trying to kill off bamboo. It didn't work.

Then, just before snowfall, he dug up all the new shoots, and stomped the soil down hard.

Perhaps the roots became weak from too little growing above ground, or perhaps they won't come up through compacted earth. I don't know, and won't for a few more months.

Like I say, my mom suggests white vinegar if they come up again.


If you want to try compacting the soil near your cherries...remember that the business end of the cherry tree roots is directly underneath the outer ends of their branches.

I wouldn't compact the soil under the tips of the cherry branches, as that may kill the trees.


Readers' Digest put out a gloriously beautiful landscape gardening book.

In that they showed the rooting systems of many popular landscaping trees and bushes...as well as their above-ground branching habits and shapes, and more.

That book is the most comprehensive I have ever seen.


I found a number of copies in a good second-hand bookstore. I guess the books' original owners were no longer gardening, and no one wanted to carry on with the education.

I'll bet you could get the book for a good price, by dickering. Make them an offer, and see.

Dh, a born salesman, likes to flash some money, to someone in the store with authority, and, if refused, smile and talk about something else in a friendly way, while tucking his money back into his wallet.

Usually he talks about something else he might be interested in.

Storekeepers, especially when they have tons of unsold stock on their shelves, can hardly bear to see cash go back into the customer's wallet.

If that doesn't fetch a low price, dh has been known to give storekeepers his card..."Call me when you get some XXX, will you?" That way, the storekeeper can call if and when he changes his mind.

Oh, the stories I could tell of dh's buying cars, and boats, and much more! And, he always knows the fair bargaining price...and what is 'going too far'. It's an art! ...And totally dependant on a likable personality. I wouldn't try it...I don't have his experience.


Good luck with your cherry trees!

F.