Bamboo is a grass that forms woody canes, and several kinds come through the winter without protection in most of the UK and northern Europe. Whether the planting turns out well or becomes a lasting problem is decided by the type you buy. Running bamboo sends out rhizomes that cross the boundary, clumping bamboo stays where you put it. The difference is not visible on the plant in the shop, only in the Latin name.
Running and clumping bamboo are two different growth habits
All bamboo spreads by rhizomes below ground, but in two ways. Clumping bamboo has short rhizomes that turn upwards almost at once. New canes come up 5 to 15 cm from the edge of the clump, and the clump widens by 30 to 60 cm a year. In practice, clumping means the genus Fargesia, and to some extent Thamnocalamus.
Running bamboo has long rhizomes that run horizontally only 5 to 13 cm below the surface. In loose soil they travel 1 to 1.5 metres a year, and new shoots can come up several metres away, under a fence or in the middle of a gravel path. The genera to recognise are Phyllostachys, Sasa, Sasaella and Pleioblastus. The shoot in your neighbour's border is still your plant. It turns into a dispute and an expensive clearance job, and keeping the plant on your side is your responsibility.
| Feature | Clumping bamboo | Running bamboo |
|---|---|---|
| Genera | Fargesia, Thamnocalamus | Phyllostachys, Sasa, Sasaella, Pleioblastus |
| Growth habit | Short rhizomes, new canes 5-15 cm from the clump | Long rhizomes 5-13 cm below the surface |
| Spread per year | Clump widens by 30-60 cm | Rhizomes travel 1-1.5 m, shoots several metres away |
| Root barrier | Not needed | Always required |
| Hardiness | Nurseries usually state -15 to -25 °C | Varies. P. aureosulcata dies back above ground after longer spells colder than -18 °C |
| Position | Sun to shade, does best in partial shade | At least five hours of sun a day, sheltered |
| Height | 2-6 m depending on variety | 3-12 m in a mild climate |
Choose clumping unless you have a definite reason to do otherwise. The label rarely says which type it is, so read the Latin name. If it says Fargesia, you plant straight into the ground. If it says any of the other four genera, the root barrier goes in before the plant does.
A root barrier that holds
A root barrier is a rigid HDPE sheet set on edge in a trench around the planting. The measurements matter, because the rhizomes find every weak point.
Thickness: 2 mm HDPE. A thinner 1 mm sheet and ordinary landscape fabric are not enough against Phyllostachys.
Depth: bury the barrier 60 to 70 cm. The rhizomes run shallow, but go deeper when they meet resistance.
Above ground: leave 5 to 10 cm standing above the soil surface. This is the detail most often forgotten. A rhizome that goes over the top edge becomes visible instead of slipping past hidden under the lawn.
Angle: tilt the barrier so that the top edge points outwards, away from the bamboo. A rhizome that meets the sheet is then steered upwards instead of down underneath the barrier.
The join: overlap the ends by at least 20 cm and lock them together with a metal clamping rail. The join is where barriers most often let something through.
Checking: walk the edge once or twice a year, in late summer and early autumn, and cut off anything lying against the sheet. A barrier left unchecked builds up pressure from the inside and gives way after a few years.
Lay 5 to 8 cm of mulch inside the barrier. It keeps the rhizomes near the surface where you can see them and cut them with a spade.
Running bamboo is hard to get rid of
Cutting the canes down does nothing about the problem. The rhizomes live on and push up new shoots the following spring. The only method that works is digging out the whole root system, and the smallest piece of rhizome left behind can form a new plant. The pattern is familiar from our text on Japanese knotweed and how to control it: a plant that stores its strength in rhizomes does not go away because it disappears above ground. Bamboo is not invasive in the same sense and does not spread by seed, but the digging is just as slow.
Hardiness and evergreen leaves
Nurseries usually state -15 to -25 °C for Fargesia, which is the hardiest genus in the trade. Among the running kinds, Phyllostachys aureosulcata is the toughest. If it dies back above ground, it sends up new, lower canes from the rhizomes in spring.
Bamboo is evergreen, and that is why it needs shelter from wind. The leaves transpire all winter while frozen ground stops the roots taking up new water. In an open position with winter sun and dry wind, the leaves turn brown at the edges even when the plant comes through the cold.
Leaves that roll up into narrow tubes on a cold day are not a disease. The leaves carry rows of large, water filled cells on the upper side, called bulliform cells. When they lose water, the leaf folds up lengthways and reduces the area facing sun and wind. Leaves that are rolled in the morning and flatten out in the afternoon are normal. If they stay rolled all day in the middle of the growing season, the plant is dry and needs watering.
Position, soil and watering
The soil should be rich in organic matter, evenly moist and drained at the same time. Bamboo wants neither wet clay nor drought.
Watering is usually what decides whether a newly planted bamboo survives. It needs water twice a week in cool weather and three to four times a week during warm spells, until it has rooted in, which takes a full season. Set the plant with the top of the root ball level with the ground and dig the hole 1.5 to 2 times as wide as the ball. If the bamboo is to be a screen, space the plants 90 to 150 cm apart.
Care year by year
Early spring: give a nitrogen rich feed when growth starts. Bamboo is a grass and responds to nitrogen the way a grass does.
Spring and early summer: the new canes come up and reach full height in 6 to 8 weeks. A cane emerges at its final thickness and never becomes taller or thicker. It only sets new leaves each year.
Summer: water evenly and feed once more. Leave fallen bamboo leaves lying around the clump. They return silica to the soil.
Late summer: root prune along the inside of the root barrier and thin out the oldest canes at ground level, after this year's canes have hardened.
Autumn: expect leaf fall. Fargesia murielae drops some leaves and sets new ones in spring.
Bamboo in a pot
A pot is the simplest root barrier and the only sensible way to keep a running variety on a balcony. The pot should be at least 45 cm deep, and the plant reaches 50 to 75 percent of the height it would make in open ground. The small volume of soil dries out fast, so in a warm summer week the bamboo can need water every day. Nutrients also run out sooner, so give liquid plant feed three times during the season instead of twice.
In the ground the roots are protected by the mass of the soil, in a pot the whole root ball freezes through. Stand the pot against a wall, sheltered from winter sun and northerly wind, and insulate the container on the outside. Bamboo in a pot needs fresh soil every five to ten years.
Alternatives to bamboo
Clump forming ornamental grasses such as fountain grass (Pennisetum) and Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) give the same narrow foliage without rhizomes, and in the text on growing ornamental grasses we go through the care. If you need a screen all year round, a clipped hedge is more predictable, and in our rundown of hedging plants we compare the commonest.
Author: Emma Vogiatzi
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2026-09-15