Putting down roots: How a neighbour’s bamboo plant caused £100,000 damage inside home when shoots burst through walls
- Family in Hampshire were forced out of home after bamboo grew through walls
- Plant grown by neighbour caused £100k of damage as it spread under property
- Floor had to be broken up and walls, kitchen and bathroom had to be removed
- Experts say bamboo plants can be worse for properties than Japanese knotweed
Homeowners have long been warned of the threat posed by bamboo.
And one family found out just how destructive it could be when shoots started bursting from the walls of their house.
The plant, which had been growing in a neighbour’s garden, had spread underground and came up from under the concrete floor of the £700,000 four-bedroom home.
A family in Hampshire has been forced out of their home after their neighbour’s bamboo plant began growing through the walls and floor of their property. Pictured: Scenes of the damage
The destructive plant has caused £100,000 worth of damage since mid 2019 (pictured)
The bamboo caused £100,000 of damage. Unseen, it had built a huge network of rhizomes – underground plant stems – beneath the fence and towards the house.
In mid-2019 it began bursting through the walls. Shoots thrust up into the living room, study, hall and kitchen through gaps between the wall and the floor.
The floor had to be broken up to take out hundreds of metres of bamboo. Internal walls had to be removed along with the kitchen and bathroom.
The plant had also begun to grow up into the cavity walls, meaning it could eventually have forced them apart.
Once the homeowners’ insurers agreed to pay, it took workers a week to remove the rhizomes.
The family have had to move out for some six months for the works to be carried out and have still not moved back into the house in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Pictured: One expert said this case was the worst he had seen and warned that growing bamboo can be more hazardous than Japanese Knotweed for properties if not contained
Nic Seal, of invasive plant specialists Environet UK, said: ‘This is the worst case of bamboo encroachment and damage to property I’ve ever seen in this country.
‘It’s unfortunate that bamboo is still sold at garden centres and plant nurseries with little or no warning about the risks.
‘I would urge anyone considering planting bamboo to think twice and, if you already have it growing in your garden, take action now to ensure it’s properly contained. It can be worse than Japanese knotweed.’
Despite its reputation, bamboo remains popular for its ability to quickly create hedges and screens.
Gardeners are advised to choose a clumping variety instead of a spreading one and plant it in a strong pot, never directly into the ground.
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