If you’re looking for a fast-growing plant that adds a stunning vertical element to your garden, consider growing Bamboo! These vigorous grass-like plants get a bad rep for their invasive nature, but with good maintenance and regular check-ups, they can be a stunning addition to your garden.
Bambusoideae is a family of tall, tree-like grasses known as Bamboo. It contains over 1400 species, making it one of the biggest that we know of. Each variety of Bamboo can reach different heights, and the tallest variety, ‘Dendrocalamus giganteus’, can reach 100 feet (30 meters) in height! The plant grows narrow and hollow stems known as ‘clums,’ which can grow incredibly fast. Some species can even develop a few feet in a single day!
We know 2 types of the plant – running and clumping. Running Bamboo has rhizomes that ‘shoot’ away from the plant, causing it to spread horizontally very fast. On the other hand, clumping Bamboo tends to create rhizome ‘clumps’ close to the mother plant, keeping the plant more compact and less fast-spreading. Due to their incredibly rapid growth rate, these plants can soon overtake gardens and native vegetation in a matter of weeks. However, since the plants don’t spread via seeds, they can be easily tamed by pruning the rhizomes back.
