Q: I’m planting some running bamboo and I want to be a good neighbor by ensuring it won’t spread out of control. Can I bury a type of fencing that’s like chicken wire but the holes are the size of a pencil point?

A: The diameter of a bamboo root hair is measured in ten-thousandths of an inch, so anything that has visible holes in it can be invaded by a bamboo root. There is no substitute for a solid root barrier, buried at least 22 inches with two inches aboveground. Save your money and install that or you, and your neighbors, will eventually be sorry.