Bamboo
Real Bamboo Should NOT Be Confused With "Lucky Bamboo", which is NOT bamboo.
If you are looking for "Lucky Bamboo", we are not the place to look. If you want real bamboo though, read on.
Bamboo, the mostly evergreen grass that "thinks" it's a tree, is becoming increasingly more popular and deservingly so. More people are finding that it's not an invasive monster in the north. It simply requires a little care and some thought about the best place to plant it, as with any other plant.
Bamboo's bad rep has mostly come from people planting the wrong species in the wrong location. Seriously, woul
d you plant a large shade tree such as a sugar maple which can reach a height of about 80 ft. in your small 10'X15' town dwelling back yard? Likewise you would not plant a bamboo that can reach a great spread there either. No matter what you plant, it's important to plant according to your space. There are plenty of small bamboo. Types of bamboo hardy to this area can range in height from just 1 foot to over 20 feet.
However, if your planning to make a large area to fill with a larger bamboo then by all means go for it. This area, once the large bamboo is established, can be under planted to form a high-branched stand, forest, or dry shade garden. In general, bamboo grows thick enough to choke out any weeds. So perennials will need suplimental watering until established. A large sun loving bamboo can be controlled in the following ways: Natural barriers are the best. A sun loving bamboo will not venture far into the shade of a forest, and no bamboo will cross standing water. Also, a 30 ft expanse of lawn surrounding the area you devote to the running bamboo that can be mowed in the spring will controll it. There are also thick plastic barriers, for putting in the ground, on the market. We do not carry those, but can help you find them.
Clumping bamboo is completely non-invasive. Species within the Fargesia genus only reach a spread of about 12 ft. during it's entire life of 60-100 years. This slow growth lends these species well to small gardens where a larger area of bamboo is not desired. However, any Fargesia species requires shade year round. There is no clumping species hardy this far north, zone 5, that can take sun. The sun loving bamboo hardy here will all run slow to moderately.
There is a cold hardy bamboo for nearly any situation, sun or shade, grove use, shrub form, or ground cover. They exist in color patterns varying from dark to light green, even with variegation on the culms and/or leaves. The culms can be for instance green with yellow stripes or viseversa.
All this said, lets get to the bamboo: Species list, pictures, descriptions, and prices.
