What is the best bamboo to grow for harvesting canes?

elderberry · February 2021

They'd have to be clump-forming of course, to prevent invasion.

Silver surfer · February 2021

One that is taking over in someone else's garden!
Be careful what you wish for.
Bamboos are invasive.

Dovefromabove · February 2021

Silver surfer said:

One that is taking over in someone else's garden!
Be careful what you wish for.
Bamboos are invasive.

I agree ... even the clump forming ones eventually send out runners and form more clumps ... and more ...

Buttercupdays · February 2021

Christopher Lloyd said to be sure to buy in bamboo canes from abroad, , as British ones do not ripen sufficiently.

(The Well Tempered Garden, 1970)

Maybe climate change since has altered this for those who live in southern areas, but I suspect its still far too damp and chilly where I am!

elderberry · February 2021

Buttercupdays said:

Christopher Lloyd said to be sure to buy in bamboo canes from abroad, , as British ones do not ripen sufficiently.
(The Well Tempered Garden, 1970)
Maybe climate change since has altered this for those who live in southern areas,

Thanks for that information, very interesting. I'm in one of the sunniest parts of the uk, on the south coast, so I might be lucky. His garden isn't too far from me though. It might still be worth trying, if I can avoid them spreading.

Silver surfer · February 2021

elderberry said:

if I can avoid them spreading.

Hmm! Membrane, very deep.
Even then they may escape.

D0rdogne_Damsel · February 2021

I spend way too long in the garden dealing with wayward bamboo, it's the bane of my life (planted by previous owners).

Honestly, it's really not worth it, unless possibly in a concrete pot or some such thing.

nick615 · February 2021

Just out of interest, what are the canes to be used for? I ask, because one can often find salvaged items that are free and last far longer.

Blue Onion · February 2021

I had them growing wild through the woods across from my rental property in Surrey near Dorking (also landlords property).. and would cut them green for bean poles and any other job they were needed for.. then threw them in a brush pile at the end of the season to shelter insects and rot down gradually. They worked just fine, but were never as tall or as thick as the purchased ones. So only bother if it's not for something too tall or robust. Worked fine for runner beans and the such though.

I'm with @Silver surfer on this.. best grown in someone else’s garden. Nothing grown in a pot will be of any useable size, I expect. Consider a stock water tank that you lined with rubber or plastic to help protect the roots, adding drainage holes, and keeping it raised off the surface so it can drain AND won't spread.

TreePretty · February 2021

Agree with someone else's garden. We spent the first year in our house clearing around a 1000 square meters of overgrown bamboo that had been left to go wild by previous owners. Even with a mini digger and monthly spraying we still haven't got it all 🙈

And we didn't even get any useful canes. They were all bent and misshapen.

Loxley · February 2021

I think you will have a much better crop of canes (with a much smaller outlay) from coppicing hazel. Perfect time to buy them bare root now. They look nicer too IMO (both as canes with runner beans growing up them, and as shrubs). No reason why you can't coppice purple or golden leaved varieties (obviously not the contorted types though...)

What is the best bamboo to grow for harvesting canes?

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