We love bamboo here at the yardstead. We have several clumps of bamboo from a couple of different cold hardy varieties growing in our landscape. We are growing the bamboo in one section for a privacy screen and also plan to eat the bamboo shoots, as soon as they are big enough. We also plan to harvest some of the large culms eventually for fencing. We really didn't know too much about growing bamboo before we started with our first two plants, but we found a great deal of helpful information at Florida Bamboo Forum.
At floridabambooforum.com you can search the existing posts about bamboo or post your own question or comment about bamboo. The bamboo forum staff and other users are usually pretty quick to reply and we have always found good answers to our questions there. They also have a list of cold hardy bamboo varieties and information about growing bamboo beyond Florida in other climates.
Below is a list of forums which cover the main bamboo growing topics:
If your question or comment doesn't seem to fit any of the above topics, just post it in the general forum.
Bamboo is a very useful and beautiful plant and fits right in here at the yardstead with our edible landscaping policy. Our plants are only about 4 years old and we have had a little frost damage, so the shoots aren't large enough yet to harvest for food. This coming winter I plan to protect the plants better so hopefully next summer we will have some fresh shoots big enough to eat. We have also found the plants very easy to grow and care for and always recommend bamboo as a good option for an edible landscaping plant.
Some varieties of bamboo are more cold hardy than others, so always do a little research to make sure you select the best variety for your climate. Potted bamboo plants from a nursery can vary widely in price, so it pays to do a little research in advance. Also most varieties can be propagated by several different techniques, so you can start with one plant and grow as many as you like. So check out our friends at Florida Bamboo Forum and as always you can post comments or questions in our forum, here at the yardstead