One of the most common questions I get is whether bamboo makes a good privacy hedge in New Jersey. Homeowners usually ask this before there’s a problem, often after seeing bamboo used as a screen somewhere else or hearing that it grows fast and stays green year-round. My answer is always the same: it depends on what you mean by “good,” and it depends on how much long-term responsibility you’re willing to take on. However if not planted properly bamboo can quickly grow out of its intended spot and onto adjacent properties, in many cases what turned into a hedging project quickly becomes a full bamboo removal project.
From a purely visual standpoint, bamboo does provide fast privacy. In New Jersey’s climate, temperate running bamboo establishes quickly and can create a tall, dense screen in just a few seasons. That speed is exactly why people are drawn to it. What’s rarely discussed is what happens underground during those same years. While the hedge above ground looks contained, the rhizome system below ground is spreading outward in all directions, often well beyond where the homeowner expects or can see.
I commonly get called to properties where bamboo was planted intentionally as a hedge five or ten years earlier. At the time, it looked like a smart decision. In one case in Morristown, New Jersey, the bamboo hedge was planted along the back fence to block a neighboring building. For several years it did exactly that. What the homeowner didn’t see was that the bamboo had already traveled under the fence, beneath a shed, and toward the side yard. By the time shoots started appearing near the house, the underground system was extensive enough that simple containment was no longer an option.
What I tell homeowners now is this: bamboo can work as a privacy hedge only if you treat it like a long-term containment project from day one. That means professionally installed barriers, regular inspections, and an understanding that the hedge will never be “maintenance free.” If someone is looking for a set-it-and-forget-it solution, bamboo is almost never the right choice in New Jersey. In many cases, alternative plantings provide privacy without the long-term risk that eventually leads homeowners to call for Bamboo Removal NJ services years later.
Bamboo Containment Systems
Bamboo Ordinances. Can I even plant Bamboo?
Recent Comments