Many people are reluctant to plant bamboo because they are afraid it will spread like wildfire and have the entire neighborhood up in arms against them. But there’s a simple solution to this problem — plant the right kind of bamboo — the “clumping” kind. The invasive kind is the “running” bamboo which probably should never touch foot in your garden.
Victor Cusak is an Australian expert in clumping bamboo, he is the author of Bamboo World, a book which explores some of the 1500 different species of bamboo in the world. He says:
The problem is that many countries, Australia amongst them, have inherited these originally northern Asian, cold-climate, monpodial bamboo species from European settlers who didn’t know the existence of the clumping species. The spreading habit of running bamboo has caused a strong prejudice to develop against all bamboos.
Cusak explains, with obviously enthusiasm, which clumping bamboos can be grown in cold climates, which bamboos are great for eating, and which species produce great windbreaks or “walls”. Bamboo World has many photographs of unusual, colorful species such as black bamboos and striped bamboos.
Available from: Amazon
