Bamboo???
 

Has anyone planted Bamboo in their yards? We're looking for something that grows tall, bushy, is maintenance free, cold tolerant, stays green all year, and is cheap !! I saw some Bamboo growing along Bacall Rec Center and it looks great. Does anyone know anything about this?

Beware!
 

Bamboo can be HIGHLY invasive :eek: - there are 2 major types of bamboo, clumping and runners. The clumping type will only "travel" a few inches a year, but the type which has runners can travel several feet from the original planting. Down there in FL, with a more or less year round growing season, you (and any neighbors!) will be up to your eyeballs in the stuff in very little time at all. I'd talk to a knowledgable person at one of the local nurseries to get some alternative ideas for a nice tall native non-invasive. If you really have to have some bamboo, plant it in a pot! :thumbup:

Here is a link you might want to read:http://gardening.about.com/od/perennials/a/Bamboo.htm

I've had bamboo in Californa -- it was truly one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. As was said, it is highly invasive and next to impossible to remove. It will happily take over the entire yard and pretty much destroy any other landscaping over time.

I have had Bamboo in both Fl and Ca. I have to agree with Redwitch. Was not fun trying to control it. I would not even think of it to be honest.

Ka Boom!
 

In Pennsylvania (which has a lot shorter growing season than Florida) we lived next to a woman who had bamboo and I admired it until until the Spring when I saw it send up new growth throughout her lawn that came up as hard sharp spikes.

In less than a week these things would grow six to eight inches high. She would cut try to them down with a riding mower only to have them back again the next week. It looked like if you stepped on one, or worse yet fell on one, it would have been a trip to the hospital at a minimum.

We moved, but the last I knew she had resorted to gasoline to try to control it... Don't know if she ever lit the gas or not... Yikes!!! :22yikes:

Oh wow...glad I asked!! I certainly don't want to cause a neighborhood problem!! Like I said, I saw it and thought it would definitely do what we need done. We will contact a local landscaper. If you are knowledgeable in this area and have any suggestions, please let us know. Thanks.

There may be a way...
 

Thinking that there has to be a way it is controlled in certain areas I went looking and quickly found this link. All may not be lost, if you really want bamboo... looks like you can get a type that does not "run".

http://bamboo.home.texas.net/control.html

I would be careful though, I have had more than one landscape nursery give me bad information about the properties of the plantings I was buying. :ohdear:

P.S. The article states that the shoots are "fragile"... the ones my neighbor had were not, they were dangerous!

Thanks for the info...I think we'll skip the bamboo idea.