Bamboo has gotten a bad rap as an invasive species of plants. We prefer to call its growth “prolific”. Like anything else, it will thrive in certain conditions and won’t do well in others. There are two types of bamboo: running and clumping (leptomorph and pachymorph). There are more than 2,400 different species of bamboo, approximately 60 of which will grow in the Northeast (zone 6). Within this group are several distinct families: Phyllostachys, Fargesia, Pleioblastus, Arundinaria, Sasa, Bambusa, Semiarudinaria, Sinobambusa, Thamnocalamus, Indocalamus, Psuedosasa, Shibataea, Sasaella and Yushania  Bamboo culms: Reprinted from Bamboos , Recht & Wetterwald, Timber Press, Swavesey, Cambridge, UK 2000 Page 33. Bamboo culms: Reprinted from Bamboos , Recht & Wetterwald, Timber Press, Swavesey, Cambridge, UK 2000 Page 33. Unless you are a collector, you needn’t get bogged down in all that stuff. However, what you need to know is the application, i.e. what do you want the bamboo to do for you? Most likely, the answer falls into two categories: ornamental or privacy hedges. For ornamentals, there is a style and color for any individual taste.

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