Gardening: Bamboo Is Not a Good Choice

While many people are attracted to the exotic look of bamboo, it is highly invasive.

“Well, my local nursery sells it,” you say. Yes, but your local nursery probably has better choices for a densely populated urban area like ours.

It may look good in your yard, but without extensive below-ground restraints it will quickly spread onto your neighbor’s property. The neighbor might not be so excited to have it encroaching on their space.

Once established, it is extremely difficult to get rid of and requires extensive digging and application of chemical herbicides that can easily get into the township’s many streams and drainage points leading to the Raritan River. It is the gardening equivalent of taking up an entire row on the airplane when you have only paid for one seat.

One bamboo native to North America is Arudniaria Gigantea, which grows in the southeastern U.S. Its Latin name, Gigantea, is already a clue that it will be large.

Bamboo spreads underground through a dense mass of rhizomes or thick node-like structures. In addition, the rhizomes send out fibrous roots. Buds grow from the rhizomes and emerge quickly as tough sheaths from the ground. When bamboo sprouts from the ground it is already the same diameter it will be throughout its growth. Certain bamboos can reach their full height within two months of growing. 

If you must have it, bamboo is best left to containers where it will need some room to expand. If you are desperate for quicker-growing natural screening, try Leyland Cypress. For something bamboo-like in appearance but not as fast-growing, try Nandina Domestica.