The World’s Tallest Grass Grows in My Yard —— Yours, too?

So far, no one’s called me to mow their bamboo, but it could happen. Bamboo, as you may know, is a member of the grass family. A really tall member. And in my backyard (and maybe yours?), some of these tall grasses make their home.

This four-inch tall bamboo shoot needs a swift kick before it hardens and grows tall.

May is Control Bamboo Month as soft shoots, like this one, get the boot.

Bambusa vulgaris, also known as Golden Bamboo, grows along my back fence, forming a wall about 25 feet long and high and four feet deep. The tall stems, or culms, droop in large arcs during rain storms. In heavy snow, the tips of the arching culms get stuck, forming a tunnel that will last until the snow and ice melt. In spring and summer, flocks of birds (starlings and robins mostly) roost in the thick foliage.

All good, except it’s not. Bamboo is extremely invasive. If not for our springtime stomping tradition, the neat green wall would easily overtake our .33 acre.

Hundreds of bamboo shoots spring(!) up each May from a network of underground stems called rhizomes. The shoots are watery and soft and with a slight kick, I can knock them flat. If I don’t catch a shoot in its first few days, however, it hardens and getting rid of it may require a hand saw.

If you think your grass grows fast, consider this: A bamboo shoot can grow more than two inches in a day. Most reach their full height, 15-30 feet, in a single growing season.

Weighed down by snow, bamboo stems, or culms, form a lovely arch.

The evergreen stems, or culms, form a lovely arch after a heavy snow.

Getting rid of bamboo involves lots of digging and even herbicides, so I’ve learned to live with this evergreen wall. I would never advise planting bamboo, but with annual diligence, it can be contained. For more info, including eradication options, check out the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas.