I see some bamboo trees down the road and I would like to get them in my yard. Can you transfer them or their seeds or would it be easier to just buy some seeds?

Thanks.

 

Hi Coopns,

Not sure if it's just terminology, but bamboo isn't a tree, it's a grass so I'm wondering just what it is that you are seeing. If it truly is bamboo you could be in for a nasty surprise if you dig up the roots. Some bamboo grow in clumps and and some are runners. They can be VERY invasive, so without knowing exactly what it is you are seeing, it would be very risky to dig it up and transplant it.

I would suggest you ask the owner of the property if it's bamboo, and if so, exactly which one so you can research it and know for certain if you want it on your property. If that's not possible, how about some pictures?

Newt

 

Newt's right, if it is truly bamboo, you don't want it in your lawn! The only way we can contain it here is drive 8" wide steel plates into the ground to contain the root system, thereby limiting its growth pattern to a garden designated just for bamboo.

 

Bamboo does seed though not very often (like once every 50 years) and it often dies after seeding. The easiest way to start a patch of your own is to dig up some of the roots and plant them in your yard or buy some from a nusery.

Ways of getting rid of bamboo once established in your yard:
1. Sell the house and move.
2. Bring in an excavator and dig up every piece of it's root system.
3. Dig a trench around the bamboo and burry a thick plastic or steel barrier 36" deep to stop the roots from spreading.

OK, joking aside many varieties are highly invasive (they spready quickly and are hard to kill). Do your homework before planting. Bamboo is a grass. It will grow where grass grows so it is not as scary as it may sound. A paved driveway or forest will stop it's spread and it can be mowed over when young. If you go on vacation for two weeks in the spring... be ready for some very tall, tough grass that will be difficult to control without hard work or some diesel powered equipment. Or, you can also plant it in a pot or some other container.
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You have to be carefull discussing bamboo around me. I love it and have two stands planted on my propery, but I have lots of room and diesel powered mowers and other equipment to keep it under control. A truly amazing plant.

 

while bamboo is a grass, there are varieties that are very "tree like" like in 40 to 100 feet tall and 6" or more in diameter (referred to as "timber bamboo). There are hundreds of varieties and range to a bush like plant to the aforementioned tree type.

 

We have a "forest" of bamboo near one of the water authority properties near us, and they allow us to cut it with impunity to use for garden supports, etc. Some of the bamboo in this forest approaches 4" in diameter, and who knows how tall. BUT, nothing, absolutely nothing grows under the bamboo. You will think you are in another country while browsing through it.

 

I own a rental property where the back half of the lot is covered by a bamboo forest. Once a year I go cut some for making garden trellis, tomatoe stakes... With those long canes sticking out of my truck I can not drive through town without at least one person pulling up beside me honking their horn asking if they can have some for a fishing pole.

 

Yeah, last year at church, the kids had a program where the background was a Hawaiian design. I cut about a cord of bamboo and stacked it on the back of my dually flatbed. Like you, going through town, dragging the tips everywhere (it actually swept the roadway for the road crew), people would comment about my "fishing poles". Once the program was finished, I had no problem breaking down the set. Everyone wanted the bamboo for their gardens!!