Hmmm. I don't know much about bamboo, but I'm in Arizona and I have been growing a bamboo plant in water for two years. It sits in full sun. Whenever it gets old, I cut it, p,ace it upside down in the water, and it regrows again.

Growing in water, it is more likely to be Dracaena sanderiana, aka lucky bamboo. But not a bamboo at all.

Most bamboos are temperate or semitropical rain forest plants. They can tolerate considerable heat but not arid conditions. I don't know of any that would be suitable for a desert climate unless provided with copious amounts of water.

Try the Bamboo Forum.

Garden gal: I misspoke. I meant to say papyrus!!!

I see papyrus, I think Moses in the Bulrushes.

So, if one thinks they can grow bamboo in the desert, they are in da Nile?

tj

Sigh. This thread is falling apart,

Yes, I am surprised at how many of my tropical thrive here in the desert. Indoor plants that I could not grow elsewhere, even water loving plants, do beautifully here.

I want to grow bamboo in NJ too but I haven't figured out how to prevent it taking over. And where there's bamboo, there will be rats. I'll need bigger cats.

"I want to grow bamboo in NJ too but I haven't figured out how to prevent it taking over."

You grow a clumping bamboo!! These behave just like a very large ornamental grass (which is exactly what they are) with a slowly expanding clump. No running, no sending out long, invasive rhizomes and no attempt at world domination :-) And if you keep the base of the plant tidy (rake up any dead leaves, etc.) and prune out dead canes, bamboo does not make a very hospitable rodent habitat. I have never encountered an issue with bamboo and rats - English ivy, yes; bamboo, no.

Any specific species recs outside of mexican weeping?

Thanks all!