Why Cutting Bamboo Makes It Worse (And What Actually Stops It)

Can continually Cutting Bamboo actually make the problem worse?

One of the most common pieces of advice homeowners hear when bamboo starts spreading is:

“Just keep cutting it.”

While that advice sounds reasonable, it’s also one of the main reasons bamboo problems get worse over time.

After more than 15 years specializing exclusively in bamboo removal throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we’ve seen the same pattern again and again:
continual cutting may slow bamboo temporarily, but it usually accelerates underground spread and makes eventual removal more expensive.

Understanding why requires understanding how bamboo actually grows.

Why Cutting Bamboo Doesn’t Kill the Plant

Running bamboo spreads through an underground system called rhizomes. These rhizomes are not feeder roots, they are thick, energy-storing stems designed to:

Travel horizontally underground
Branch in multiple directions
Produce new canes far from the original planting

When bamboo canes are cut above ground, the rhizome system does not die. Instead, it responds by redirecting stored energy underground.

This is where the problem begins.

Cutting Bamboo Often Increases Underground Spread

When bamboo is repeatedly cut:

The plant loses photosynthesis above ground
Stored energy in the rhizomes remains intact
The rhizomes respond by expanding outward
New growth appears farther from the original area

This is why homeowners often say:

“It used to only be back there, now it’s popping up everywhere.”

From the bamboo’s perspective, cutting is a stress response. Many times it exposes where the bamboo has already spread but your only seeing it now.
From the homeowner’s perspective, it looks like the bamboo is “running away.”

Why Bamboo Keeps Coming Back After Cutting

Even a small rhizome fragment, sometimes just a few inches long, can regenerate.

When cutting is the only strategy:

Rhizomes remain intact
New shoots keep forming each spring
Growth appears in new locations
The infestation becomes more spread out and harder to trace

This is especially true with common NJ and PA species like:

Both are aggressive running bamboos that respond poorly to surface-only control.

When Cutting Bamboo Can Work (The Rare Exception)

To be fair, continual cutting can work in very limited situations.

It may be effective when:

The bamboo area is very small
The bamboo is immature
Rhizomes have not spread far
The homeowner cuts every new shoot immediately
Vigilance is maintained for multiple years

Even then, success depends on:

Never missing a growth cycle, or the out of season stress growth
Never allowing a cane to leaf out
Accepting that results are slow and uncertain

For most homeowners, this level of consistency is unrealistic, especially once bamboo spreads into planting beds, fence lines, property lines, or near structures.

Why Cutting Fails on Mature Bamboo

Once bamboo is established, cutting alone fails because:

Rhizomes have spread far beyond visible canes
Branching has already occurred underground
Cutting does nothing to remove stored energy
Missed shoots reset progress
The bamboo may have started from a handful a plants. Its one large interconnected system. If one area still has canes with leafs, its still putting energy into the rest of the connected root system.

At this stage, bamboo removal becomes a subsurface problem, not a maintenance issue.

The Difference Between “Control” and “Removal”

This distinction matters.

Cutting Bamboo = Temporary Control

Slows visible growth
Requires constant effort
Does not stop underground spread
Often leads to expansion elsewhere

Professional Bamboo Removal = Permanent Solution

Rhizomes are traced and removed
Underground energy is eliminated
Regrowth risk is minimized
Follow-up becomes simple, not ongoing

This is why professional bamboo removal services focus on targeted excavation, not cutting.

Why Many Landscaping Approaches Make Bamboo Worse

General landscapers often:

Cut canes flush to the ground
Dig randomly without tracing rhizomes
Break rhizomes into fragments
Regrade and bury live pieces

This can spread bamboo even further. And worse make the area completely unusable. While it may look like the bamboo is gone. Those large underground root bases make replanting impossible and then you will have to contend with the bamboo overwhelming any new plantings!

Once the rhizome system is fractured and dispersed, removal becomes more complex and costly — something we address regularly when homeowners call us after a failed attempt.

What Actually Stops Bamboo From Spreading

There are only two proven long-term solutions for running bamboo:

1️⃣ Complete Bamboo Removal

Full rhizome excavation
Root Raking and Sifting Techniques
Careful tracing to endpoints
Proper disposal
Site restoration

This is the most effective option for mature bamboo infestations.

2️⃣ Properly Installed Bamboo Containment

Continuous root barrier
Correct depth and overlap
Regular inspection

Containment can work in specific situations but must be installed correctly to be effective.

Why Cutting Bamboo First Can Increases Total Cost

To be fair, having a landscaping company come in and cut down and haul of the canes can be more cost effective. As long as you plan on having the area excavated shortly after by a professional. Homeowners who start with cutting often, and are not setup for the excavation right after often end up paying more because:

Bamboo spreads further underground
Overtime Removal scope increases
More excavation is required later
Regrowth becomes widespread
Stress regrowth can quickly blanket the area and produce more debris.

What might have been a contained removal becomes a multi-area excavation. While the bamboo will not grow into new areas the next day, it can seem like it over the next few weeks. This is because when the bamboo is cut the root system goes into a stress mode. This survival mechanism causes the bamboo to put up smaller “stress growth” almost everywhere a rhizome is present. This is to try and put more energy back into the root system so it can find a new place to grow. When this happens areas you didn’t know the bamboo had already spread become very apparent. And if its near a property line, your neighbors will quickly become overwhelmed.

This is different than the typical spring growth that gets cut and does not continue to grow. Stress growth is smaller, bushier, and much more persistent!

The Bottom Line for NJ & PA Homeowners

Cutting bamboo may seem like the simplest solution, but for most properties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it:

Delays the inevitable
Increases underground spread
Can Raises long-term costs
Makes professional removal harder later, especially after a failed excavation attempt.

If bamboo is already spreading beyond its original area, the most effective solution is to address the rhizome system directly, not just the canes you can see.