Best Cane/Bamboo to plant

[BarredOwl]

I have a property where I have room to have a planting of bamboo or cane of some kind.  I am in Southeast Kansas (USDA zone 6).  Thinking either Tonkin Cane or Japanese Arrow Bamboo.

I would prefer natural straightness and or ease of straightening slightly over durability if one is better than the other.   Also I dont' want to introduce a highly invasive or over aggressive plant to the area.  It's OK if the clump spreads some over time but I don't want something that is going to jump any distace by wind blown seed or fast spreading rhizomes.  Any advice and opinions are greatly appreciated.  I need to see if either will even survive our winters.  I have seen some  bamboo like plantings (not phragmites, I know what that stuff looks like) around that seem to be making it through our winters but I need to look up what these two varieties can stand. 

[Pat B]

Fist, your hardiness zone will dictate the bamboo you can grow in your area. Next, most bamboos can be very invasive unless you build a barrier to prevent its spread. Blowing seeds is not a problem. Bamboo fruit is large and once most bamboos bloom the plants die(the species dies wherever it is growing). This only happens once a century or so. I've never seen any bamboo bloom.
 Google "bamboo" to find which ones are appropriate for arrows and which one will grow in your area. You will also be able to source bamboo growers and suppliers.

[DC]

I planted "fargesia scabrida". I haven't harvested any yet because it's not quite big enough but it seems very strong, straight and round. It's also known a Chinese Arrow Bamboo. Bit of a hint there. It's a clumping bamboo so it's non-invasive.It's hardy to zone 6 which means you should be OK but you might lose the clump if you got a real cold winter. I might get a cane or two from it this year. I will report back then.

[PrimitiveTim]

Whatever you get, make sure it is a clumping bamboo rather than a running bamboo.  It has the potential to grow faster than you can cut it and they're near impossible to get rid of.  A running bamboo will take over a large area and choke native plants out.

[gutpile]

wouldnt plant that stuff no way... cane maybe but boo...heck no.... I suggest you find a patch of cane and cut enough for a while....plant boo and you have created a nightmare... my ex planted some at the house and I snatched it up..she planted more and I snatched it up...lol...it will take over not worth it..maybe be single but I am boo free..lol...gut

[duke3192]

It is all of the bamboo family, just different genre.

[osage outlaw]

I would like to plant some in the valley behind where I work.  It could go wild there and not bother anything or anybody.

[BarredOwl]

I suggest you find a patch of cane and cut enough for a while....

I am quite few hours drive from any river cane or bamboo that I can cut.  Might just plant some red osier and see if it will grow in my area.  I've not ever seen in it in Kansas but I sure haven't been everywhere in the state by any means.  I know an old guy that has a patch of bamboo in his yard.  It is a large clump, and I doubt he knows what kind it is.  He might let me cut some.  I just thought it would be easier to have my own.  I hate asking people to take something from their property unless they offer.  I'm just weird like that.  He might let me dig some of his and get a start. 

I hear it can be killed with Roundup (glyphosate) if it just gets totally out of control.  Has anyone tried it? 

[Pat B]

Round-up won't touch bamboo. Without digging ALL of the rhizomes it will keep coming back strong. You can build a barrier around it but that could be expensive and troublesome.
 Red osier should grow in your area. There might be another native shrub type dogwood indigenous to your area. Check with the local
Co-Operative Extension Service or check with the State University Horticultural Department. 

[BarredOwl]

That's good to know Pat.  We have plenty of rough leaf dogwood which produces some pretty good shoots.  It is very dense.  I made some shafts last year from it that were not quite 26 inches long and I had to use 3/8 glue on points a they were still way over 500 grains.  I don't know what they spined out at.  I suspect a 28" shaft at 5/16 diameter might weigh well over 700 grains without a point.  Penetration won't be a problem if i can build a bow that will deliver them in trajectory that doesn't look like a rainbow.

I am itching to try red osier and see if might be a little lighter at comparable dimensions to what I already have.

[TimBo]

You can propagate bamboo from cuttings.  I would ask the guy with bamboo in his yard if you could try a couple for arrows, and get a few cuttings while you are at it.  If it doesn't make good arrows, you can ditch the cuttings and look elsewhere. 

[DC]

If you have access to bamboo that will work I wouldn't plant more. The running stuff can be a real problem. The clumping kind is much easier to control but the clump gets bigger every year. Ask your buddy that has some. Better to keep the problem where it already is.

[Salvador 06]

I planted some Japanese arrow bamboo (pseudosassa japonica) on the side of the house, its got nowhere to go but where it can go its running pretty fast.  It would be a problem anywhere else in the yard.  Its beautiful, and I wish I could access some of those invasive groves you guys have in the south, I would put a good dent into them. 

[Wind D Ranch]

River cane and switch cane are bamboos native to the US and Kansas.  I have river cane growing in my yard in northern Missouri.  Although river cane is a running bamboo, it won't spread so fast that you can't keep up with it.  I tried planting Japanese Arrow Bamboo and it spread scary fast.  I ended up digging it back up.  I got my river cane from bamboogarden.com.
When it comes to plants, it is usually best to go native.  Arrow wood viburnum and hazel nut are good choices also.