Clumping Bamboo aka Bambusa Oldhamii - Anyone growing it?

[The Black Cloud]

Interesting first post.  Hows about heading to the intro forum and posting an intro so we can get to know a bit more about you.

 

[MadMonk]

My Neighbor planted what he says he was told was Clumping bamboo. It has now invaded the whole back property line, up to 30 feet into my yard. It is a major pain in the butt. 
 
It is amazing (and disheartening) how fast it grows. That crap will grow right through a concrete foundation.
 
One thing to see it grow, when you can hear it grow, then you are ready to read Whitman's Leaves of Grass. 

 

[Rod]

 

Good to read it doesn't spread. I one a guy who planted some and now regrets it because they have taken over the entire area.

I've read the same thing.  The stuff must be illiterate, though -- hasn't read the reports about how slow and docile it is.  That stuff is major-league trouble, in my experience.  I've seen it tear up fences, crumble a thick cement sidewalk . . . planting that is like opening a 60-foot tall can of whip-ass.  Maybe it's not as fast as the "running" kind, but it'll pick up your car and lift it up above your house, and then dump it on your other car a lot more often than the running stuff..  The oldhamii is like the giant, beefy, pain-inflicting running backs like Larry Csonka, John Riggins, and Franco Harris, and the running stuff is like Randy Moss or Bob Hayes.  One spreads faster, but the other hurts plenty and does plenty of damage along the way. 
 
 

Good to read it doesn't spread. I one a guy who planted some and now regrets it because they have taken over the entire area.

 

 
 
Obviously you have no experience with Olhamii. Interesting first post indeed.
 
Unfortunately some nurseries will try and sell regular bamboo as clumping bamboo. 

 

[ironpeddler]

Bamboo, of any variety, has been banned in certain towns across NJ (Monmouth County especially) as it's become so over populated and intrusive...initially because of it killing native plants as it spreads. But as it matured and spread, then they noticed it's destructive tendencies around private homes, public roads and buildings...it's not even available in garden centers much anymore around here.
 
It all started in the housing boom in the 90s where landscapers came in to provide 'something different' to their high end customers who had very little experience with the different varieties of bamboo. Their attempts at providing a little 'feng shui' really backfired to the point of it taking over certain areas in a very short time (10 -15yrs) and eventually being eradicated by public and private means...unsuccessfully in many cases. I have a neighbor up the street fighting a losing battle with an area on his property and since the Sandy flooding with the salt water...it's seemed to energize it to the point that this summer it's going into hyperdrive.
 
Problem is, it looks so cool and the sound it makes when we get the ocean & bay breezes really is kind of relaxing.
 

 

[duglynukem]

I too love to watch bamboo grow. Lately though I have been watching paint dry - fantastic!