Bamboo, a member of the grass family Poaceae, is one of the fastest-growing and most versatile plant resources globally. Its rapid growth cycle and high tensile strength allow it to be utilized in an enormous variety of applications, ranging from landscape screening to structural material. The search for bamboo can refer equally to a living plant intended for cultivation or to a harvested product used for construction or culinary purposes. Understanding the specific form needed is the first step in locating the appropriate source.
Buying Live Bamboo Plants
Specialty nurseries often provide the deepest selection and highest quality stock for planting projects. These dedicated businesses carry a wide range of species and cultivars, many unavailable through general retailers, focusing on both temperate and tropical selections. They are an excellent resource for detailed horticultural information, ensuring the chosen species is appropriate for the climate and specific planting goals.
For those seeking rare or niche varieties, online retailers and mail-order companies are a primary source for live bamboo plants. These businesses use specialized packaging methods to ensure delicate root systems and culms arrive safely after transit, often shipping dormant or smaller specimens to minimize stress. Buyers should be aware that shipping live plants, especially larger specimens, can be expensive and requires careful unboxing and immediate attention upon arrival.
Local garden centers and large big-box home improvement stores also stock bamboo, though the selection is usually limited to the most common, robust, and fast-growing varieties. These retail locations typically offer plants in standard nursery containers, which makes immediate transport and planting convenient for small-scale projects. These sources are good for immediate screening needs where a common species is sufficient, though expert advice is less common.
Live bamboo is most commonly sold as potted plants, which have an established root mass ready for immediate transplanting into the landscape. A less common but more economical option is acquiring bare-root rhizomes, which are sections of the underground stem system harvested during the dormant season. These rhizomes must be planted quickly after acquisition to prevent desiccation, offering a way to start a large grove at a lower initial cost.
Acquiring Harvested Bamboo Products
When utilizing bamboo as a construction or craft material, the source shifts toward suppliers who specialize in harvested timber products. Sources for whole bamboo poles, often called canes, include specialty lumber yards and exotic wood importers focusing on sustainable materials. These suppliers stock culms that have been dried, sometimes treated with boron compounds, and are ready for use in fencing, furniture, or decorative applications.
Fencing suppliers and agricultural retailers are reliable places to find smaller diameter canes used for garden stakes, trellises, or light screening panels. The quality of these poles can vary significantly based on the species, age at harvest, and the post-harvest drying process, with mature culms offering superior strength and durability. International importers are the primary source for large, structural-grade bamboo poles, supplying culms up to six inches in diameter.
For processed materials, such as bamboo flooring, plywood, or composite decking, the search should focus on dedicated flooring retailers and sustainable building material companies. These products are created by milling, slicing, and laminating strips of bamboo culms under high pressure into durable, engineered sheets or planks. Craft stores and hobby shops often carry smaller, pre-cut sections of bamboo for decorative projects, basketry, or model making.
Bamboo is also sought after as a food source, specifically the young, tender shoots that emerge during the growing season. These edible shoots can be found fresh in large Asian grocery stores or specialty food markets during peak seasonal availability in spring. Canned or preserved bamboo shoots are available year-round in most large-scale supermarkets, having been processed to remove naturally occurring cyanogenic glycosides before packaging.
Understanding Growth Habits Before Purchase
Before purchasing a live bamboo plant, determining its specific growth habit is the most important factor for long-term success and landscape management. Bamboo species are categorized into two distinct types based on the structure of their underground rhizomes, which are specialized root-like stems. This classification determines how aggressively the plant will spread away from the initial planting location after establishment.
Running bamboo utilizes leptomorph rhizomes, which are long, slender underground stems that spread horizontally and aggressively away from the parent plant. These rhizomes have sharp growing tips and can travel considerable distances beneath the soil surface before sending up new culms. Such species require substantial containment measures, particularly in temperate climates, to prevent invasion into unwanted garden areas or adjacent properties.
Effective containment barriers, typically made of high-density polyethylene or metal, must be installed 24 to 30 inches deep and angled outward to redirect the upward-growing rhizome tips. Without this restraint, running bamboo can quickly colonize a large area, making species identification before purchase necessary. Knowledge of the specific species’ growth rate and mature size is necessary for proper barrier installation.
In contrast, clumping bamboo grows via pachymorph rhizomes, which are short, thick, and curve upward close to the parent plant. This growth structure causes new culms to emerge immediately adjacent to the existing clump, resulting in a dense, non-invasive stand that slowly expands outward. Clumping species are preferred for smaller residential gardens or when planting near structures, as they naturally maintain a contained footprint without the need for underground barriers.