How Fast Can Bamboo Grow?

Bamboo's fast growth can pose an ecological hazard.

The broad classification of bamboo covers several perennial, woody-stemmed grass species. An extremely fast-growing evergreen, bamboo is propagated commercially for sale and privately for landscape. Three varieties, including river cane, grow wildly in states throughout the American southeast and Kentucky, and more than 100 bamboo cultivars have been introduced for growth in the U.S.

About

Bamboo is categorized into three primary types, clumpers, runners and reeds; within these broad categories are several different bamboo species. Certain bamboo species can grow as fast as 3 feet a day or one-third more rapidly than the fastest growing tree.

Clumpers

Clumper varieties, such as green stripestem and hedge bamboo, are non-invasive; you do not need to worry about them overtaking your landscape. Clumping bamboo spreads just 3 inches or so yearly by producing new culms near the original plant. Species in this category only grow up to an inch in diameter each year with average heights between 8 and 25 feet, but can mature to heights of 35 feet or more, depending on the species.

Runners

Running bamboo species are most frequently characterized as ground cover, although certain species in this grouping, like the giant Japanese timber, can reach 72 feet tall. Running bamboo varieties have extensive underground root systems with numerous rhizomes or underground stems, which enable them to multiply and spread-out across the ground surface. Rhizomes have been known to grow up to 5 feet in length annually. Most runners have invasive growth patterns that cause them to be mistaken for weeds.

Reeds

Reed is a category of bamboo that includes the giant reed, bamboo reed, giant cane, river cane and arundo species. Varieties of reed can reach heights of 10 feet or taller and typically grow in dense green patches. The Invasive Species Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union considers the giant reed as one of the world's top 100 worst invaders for its wild, unwieldy growth pattern. In the right conditions of moisture and sun, the bamboo can complete photosynthesis so rapidly that it can grow up to 4 inches per day.

References

• University of Georgia Cooperative Extension; Growing Bamboo in Georgia; David Linvill, et al.; September 2009
• University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service; Bamboo; Tim Phillips, et al.; 2005
• Alabama Invasive Plant Council; Review of Giant Reed; Nancy J. Loewenstein
• Bamboo Garden: Hardy Clumping Bamboo