# Bamboo **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 30, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358 "2006-11-30T18:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/1 "2006-11-30T18:32:43Z")
How far north ,in the US, does bamboo grow naturally? I’m looking to make a couple of long fishing poles. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/2 "2006-11-30T18:46:32Z")
[QUOTE=justwannano] How far north ,in the US, does bamboo grow naturally? I’m looking to make a couple of long fishing poles. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about the distribution of bamboo, but rather long bamboo poles can be purchased very cheaply (just a few dollars) from most of the big fishing retailers. Unless it’s just a project you have your heart set on (and which would be very cool) it may not prove to be worth your time and money to grow, cure, and lacquer your own poles. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/3 "2006-11-30T18:48:38Z")
There are some cold hardy bamboos that will survive down to zero degrees, which would be Zone 6. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/4 "2006-11-30T18:50:38Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] lacquer your own poles. [/QUOTE] Hey, some of us don’t get out much, so lacquering our own poles is pretty much our only choice. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/5 "2006-11-30T19:09:25Z")
Oddly enough I have a bamboo fact sheet right here (my uncle grows it, here in NE Ohio. No idea what variety) The sheet lists these varieties as “hardy clumpers (10-15 feet tall)”: Fargesia Nitida (to -20 degrees F) Fargesia Muriale (to -20 degrees F) Fargesia Dracocephala (to -10 degrees F) Chusquea (to 0 degrees F) Fargesia Rufa (just says zones 7-10) The sheet is, I think, from a catalog from [www.raintreenursery.com](http://www.raintreenursery.com) Let me warn you that while bamboo will grow up north here, you MUST take precautions to be sure it doesn’t spread too far. You need to use an underground barrier (google bamboo barrier) if you are planting, say, next to a neighbor’s fence. It will spread and your neighbors will want to kill you (cite: my uncle’s neighbors) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/6 "2006-11-30T19:21:26Z")
Bamboo grows like a MF in Oregon. I wonder why it isn’t planted and used to make paper and other products instead of trees. BTW, making a quality bamboo fishing rod is very involved. You need to split it into long “staves” and glue it back together. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/7 "2006-11-30T20:16:47Z")
If you’re going to grow bamboo (also used to make fences, trellises etc.), make sure you know whether the variety you have is a “clumper” (as noted in the list above) or a spreader. The latter can be a real plague, though some people take care of the less aggressive kinds by mowing whatever grows out of bounds. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/8 "2006-11-30T20:21:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Bamboo grows like a MF in Oregon. And, indeed, everwhere that it grows. You know those segments that bamboo gets? Each of those is one day’s growth. I’m told that, on a quiet day, you can actually hear it growing. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/9 "2006-11-30T20:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Hey, some of us don’t get out much, so lacquering our own poles is pretty much our only choice. [/QUOTE] Even if you don’t get out much, you can always invite others to a pole-lacquering party. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/10 "2006-11-30T21:04:15Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Even if you don’t get out much, you can always invite others to a pole-lacquering party. [/QUOTE] “What if they threw a pole-lacquering party and nobody came?” Seriously – think twice about planting bamboo, it’s seriously invasive. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/11 "2006-11-30T21:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Seriously – think twice about planting bamboo, it’s seriously invasive. [/QUOTE] I’m serious. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/12 "2006-11-30T22:59:04Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Seriously – think twice about planting bamboo, it’s seriously invasive. I’ll second that opinion. A couple years ago I planed on starting a bamboo hedge in my back yard the problem was I didn’t dig deep enough for the rhizome guard. The next year my neighbor had more bamboo in his yard then in mine, which took alot of digging to fix. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/13 "2006-11-30T23:14:33Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] I’m serious. [/QUOTE] Did you know if you want to remove a broken light bulb from its socket with a potato, you seriously need a piece of bamboo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/14 "2006-11-30T23:21:14Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] Bamboo grows like a MF in Oregon. I wonder why it isn’t planted and used to make paper and other products instead of trees. BTW, making a quality bamboo fishing rod is very involved. You need to split it into long “staves” and glue it back together. [/QUOTE] They make floors out of it now. And there’s such a thing as bamboo that’s noninvasive, you just have to be careful what you plant. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/15 "2006-12-01T05:29:22Z")
According to a Washington Post article in it’s Sunday Magazine section a couple of years ago, some species of bamboo can grow _4 feet in a single day_. The article was both hilarious and terrifying as the writer expounds at length about the numerous failed methods to eliminate bamboo in the yard of his new house. Message gleaned: don’t go there. Seriously, don’t go there. Unless you wanna fuck over a neighbor. Then, plant spreading bamboo right at the boarder of your house and his right before you move. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/16 "2006-12-01T05:37:33Z")
BTW, I know what you’re thinking: just cut the shit down if you don’t want it. Yeah? What’s gonna cut it? Go to Home Depot and ask the gardening expert, “what’s the best thing to cut down bamboo?” He’ll just laugh. Fun fact: in some Asian countries, they use bamboo _to reinforce concrete like we use steel in this country_. Just something to keep in mind. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/17 "2006-12-01T05:52:48Z")
Thanks for the replys guys. Naw I ain’t gonna plant it. I just found a pretty good looking fishing place and I’m trying to figure a good way to fish it. Its a slough off the Iowa river about 10 miles from its mouth in the mississippi. Anyway there is no way to put my boat in that slough so i was thinking of fishing brush piles near shore with a long fishing pole. I don’t remember where zone 6 is and the gardening catalogs aren’t due for 3 weeks 😃 . I’m really looking for where it grows wild so I can just go cut some. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/18 "2006-12-01T06:07:14Z")
I bought two “golden bamboo” plants last summer. We’ll just be seeing how they survive in the (unusual) snow… They are in containers. I’ve been told to _keep_ them in containers, [or else.](http://www.invasive.org/images/768x512/1372008.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/19 "2006-12-01T06:39:37Z")
[QUOTE=Malienation] Yeah? What’s gonna cut it? Go to Home Depot and ask the gardening expert, “what’s the best thing to cut down bamboo?” He’ll just laugh. Fun fact: in some Asian countries, they use bamboo _to reinforce concrete like we use steel in this country_. Just something to keep in mind. [/QUOTE] Here in South Korea, you can see scaffolding on buildings under construction. Those scaffoldings are made of one of the following: [ol][li]Bamboo[/li][li]Bamboo and steel[/li][li]Steel[/ol][/li]I see mostly the first type, followed by a more than incidental number of the second. I almost never see the third type. Speaking of Bamboo. Go to [this page of Twisted Tunes](http://www.bobrivers.com/audiovault/tunes/tunes.asp?Var=C) and select “Cane 'Em Good.” ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358/20 "2006-12-01T12:22:03Z")
I’m outside Boston ( lat. 42 degrees N), and I can confirm that bamboo flourishes here. I planted two plants 5 years ago, and my backyard is full of it. If it is a very cold, dry winter, you plants migh lose leaves-otherwise, mine survives winter just fine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bamboo/382358.md?page=2)