Identification/Advice Please

[becky250970]

Hi, I take over an allotment in a couple of weeks and need some help/advice on the tall grassy plants in the attached pictures. I never took a direct picture - sorry. These plants are taking up a lot of space and unless the current plotholder transfers them to her new allotment I will be digging them up. Does anyone know what these are and how deep rooted they are going to be/best way to be tackled? Thank in advance

[kentvegplot]

From your photos, looks like there might be a pampas grass, a miscanthus and a bamboo, none of which is going to be easy to remove, sorry!

(Hope I'm wrong - what do other people think ?)

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't dig them up (yet) unless you desperately need the space.

they might have been planted as a useful shelter belt, protecting the plot from wind.

Tidy them up though, compost the dead leaves.

[Snadger]

They certainly add a bit of height to the plot and don't seem to be taking up a phenominal amount of room?

If you deffo want rid, chop em down and build a bonfire over the remaining clump.

[becky250970]

Thanks all, bad news about them being a pain to remove. I was hoping they would be shallow rooted and it would be a case of just pulling them up LOL.

The pictures aren't that good, they are taking up a huge amount of room considering it's only half a plot and I think about what I could replace them with. I don't think they are anything to do with being a wind break as it's in a row of 5 plots and no-one else has anything similar. The biggest is taking up a metre and when I only have 15 x 8 m to play with... I'm kind of hoping the current plot holder will remove them but I think that may be wishful thinking.

[zazen999]

@ the current plot holder

Aah, you'll be wanting to take these lovely bamboos then, won't you. I'd hate to have to burn the lot down.

If they don't take them, freecycle/freegle them...once you identify them, I'm sure someone would take them away from you.

Personally, I'd chop them down to half size and set fire to them; if the above two things didn't happen, to try and get as many roots destroyed as possible.

[terrier]

Keep them as a crop and sell the bamboo canes to the other plot holders to pay the rent on your half plot

[becky250970]

Keep them as a crop and sell the bamboo canes to the other plot holders to pay the rent on your half plot

LOL Terrier, I think the current plot holder did plant with the intention of using the canes but the site secretary who showed me round said she had no luck as they aren't strong enough, I would have kept them otherwise

[Nicos]

The smaller one certainly looks like pampas.
The larger one looks like bamboo, although I'd have expected leaves all the way down. It may seem a bit bizzare- but have you thought of sugar cane?- it has been a hot summer!
http://img2.photographersdirect.com/.../pd1505381.jpg

....stranger plants have been known to have grown on lotties!

[becky250970]

LOL Nicos, that's uncanny...

Whatever they are they are going to have to be moved or go all together as they are taking up valuable space. If the lady doesn't take them I will spread the word that I want rid - someone must want to give them a good home.

[Lovage]

Taller one is almost certainly Miscanthus which is grown for bio-fuel and as a shelter belt. It should not be so difficult to dig out.

Other looks like pampas grass which is more difficult to dig out with added danger of sharp edges to leaves - I might build a bonfire around it then tackle the root with a mattock

Good luck

[becky250970]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

[nick the grief]

If you deffo want rid, chop em down and build a bonfire over the remaining clump.

Unless they are pampas in which case they will come back with 10x the vigour

I'd spray em with Glyphosphate after all they're only grasses just bloody big