Clumping Bamboo Varieties

Clumping bamboo can create privacy and beauty in just a few growing seasons.

They’ll reach their full height and produce beautiful canopies to rival any shade tree. In comparison, an oak tree can take 40 years to reach its full potential.

Palmco has been providing the highest quality selection of field grown?Florida Fancy (FF) palms to the wholesale market for 30 years.

We added stunning species of bamboo to our product line in 2011.

Currently, we offer 14 varieties of tropical and subtropical clumping bamboo (the non-invasive kind) and are one of the largest palm and bamboo plantations in North America with over 600 acres in production

We nurture every plant in our warm, fertile environment on Pine Island, Florida to produce only the healthiest, strongest palms and bamboos. There are two general types of bamboo that are best described by the way they grow – the running varieties and the clumping varieties.

Why We Love Clumping Bamboos

Clumping bamboos spread very slowly.??

Each new rhizome produces only one culm, located very close to its mother culm.?

They turn upward and become canes immediately, grow within a fairly tight, contained circle, and are easily maintained.

Clumping bamboos won’t creep more than a few inches per year. Running bamboos, in comparison, send shoots out underground, traveling as far as 15 to 20 feet from the main plant, producing new culms all along the way. Running bamboos can easily grow out of control.

Bamboo Is The World’s Fastest Growing Plant.

Some species of clumping bamboo can grow up to 2 inches per hour in optimal weather and reach their mature height in as little as 4 years.

Non-invasive clumping bamboos are native to tropical and semi-tropical regions of the world and can grow in a variety of conditions. They can grow in wetland areas, high mountain elevations, and in dry regions where droughts cause other crops to fail.

Bamboo does not need agricultural chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides) to thrive. Therefore, no chemicals leach into the soil or get into the environment.

Are Clumping Bamboos Cold Hardy?

The clumping bamboos we grow at Palmco are cold hardy from 15-20°F and are perfect for Florida’s subtropical winters.

They suffer little or no damage when exposed to low temperatures for short periods of time, and will grow more cold-hardy as they mature. If they are too cold for long, they may lose their leaves and the culms may die back, but the root mass will survive, sending up healthy new shoots in the spring.

Prolonged wind may cause more damage to culms and foliage than cold.

Does Clumping Bamboo Require Pruning?

Clumping bamboo is may need a little pruning to look its best.

After the third growing season, remove older, less productive culms to make way for healthy new growth. Cut off any unwanted shoots as close as possible to ground level, but don’t prune out more than one third of the canes in a given year.

If you want a manicured hedge, prune new shoots to the desired height in late summer and late fall

If you have a new project underway or want to add a touch of the tropics to a client’s existing landscape, try one of Palmco’s spectacular varieties of cold hardy clumping bamboo.

Call us today at (239) 283-1329 or (855) GOPALMCO to find out why we’ve earned a reputation for the strongest, healthiest plants and the best customer service.