Bamboo is one of those plants that we all sort-of know. It’s an iconic representative of Asian botany and garden design, a popular ornamental plant, and in many places a useful building material. Bamboo is now found in home décor and landscaping around the world due to its unique look, fast-growing nature, and vertical growth. Complicating things a bit, there are some other plants who use the name “bamboo” including another popular landscaping plant, heavenly bamboo, and a popular indoor/office plant, lucky bamboo. So are these all the same plant? Are they relatives? What’s the difference, if any?
Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Let’s dig in and learn a bit more about bamboo, lucky bamboo, heavenly bamboo, and the differences between them.
Gardzen Executive Summary:
· Bamboo, lucky bamboo, and heavenly bamboo are different plants, with different care and growth requirements.
· True bamboos are all part of subfamily Bambusoideae, in turn part of the grass family Poaceae.
· Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) isn’t a bamboo, but rather a barberry relative, from the family Berberidaceae. It’s often used as a landscaping plant, though care should be taken as the berries are toxic to people, pets, and birds.
· Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is often sold as a decorative indoor plant. It looks similar to true bamboo but is a flowering plant from the family Asparagaceae.
· While these are three different plants, they do bear some similarity to each other. This means that gardeners, decorators, and landscapers can use each plant to bring the look of bamboo into their space, depending on their needs.
· There’s a bamboo-type plant for your garden space!
What is “True” Bamboo
We’ll start with a look at true bamboos, defined as members of the subfamily Bambusoideae. True bamboos are grasses, and bamboo species rank among the fastest-growing plants in the world. They also vary widely in size, with some bamboo species having stalks which are 0.4-0.8 of an inch/10-20 millimeters in length. Others, like Phyllostachys bambusoides—Japanese giant timber bamboo—can grow up to 150 feet/45 meters tall, with stems big enough around to use as construction timber.
Bamboo is famous for growing in segments, between solid nodes of stem material. These inter-nodal segments are part of what makes bamboo so strong, but also so versatile. Cut and shaped properly, they can be used as waterproof containers or tools. The fibers that comprise the stems of bamboo are equally useful as material—they can be woven into ropes and cordage, fabric, or made into paper. True bamboos are diverse and versatile plants, widely used for a variety of purposes beyond landscaping.
What is Heavenly Bamboo?
We’ve written about heavenly bamboo recently, so please see that blog for greater detail. We’ll go through a quick refresher here, however. Another Asian native, heavenly bamboo is a lovely shrub-like plant famous for a wonderful combination of deep green foliage, white flowers, and bright red berries. It’s an invasive species in many areas, and its berries ares toxic to people, pets, and wild birds. While it is popular as a decorative or landscaping plant, care should be taken due to its toxicity and invasive nature. Please see our blog, linked above, for more details.
What is Lucky Bamboo?
Lucky bamboo is a fun but misunderstood plant. Popular as an indoor plant, especially in office spaces and cubicles, lucky bamboo has a bamboo-esque appearance but in reality is a member of the family Asparagaceae, meaning that it is more closely related to—you guessed it—asparagus. However, the stems of Dracaena sanderiana (the scientific name for lucky bamboo) have a segmental/nodal type appearance the looks a lot like a true bamboo species. As lucky bamboo is easily grown as a container plant and is very often sold in decorative containers, it has become a popular choice for folks who want the look and vertical interest of bamboo in an indoor garden space or other container garden. Lucky bamboo prefers warmer temperatures, so it’s generally going to need to move indoors for the winter in most climates. This just adds to its appeal as an indoor plant, adding a touch of Asian gardening feel to a container garden, patio, or container plant space.
Which “Bamboo” is Right for My Garden?
So now that we know a bit about the differences between true bamboo, heavenly bamboo, and lucky bamboo, let’s talk about which one might be right for your garden space. Well, as always, it depends. True bamboos are common garden and landscape plants, albeit with some ups and downs in their popularity over the decades. The right species of true bamboo can be a wonderful feature in a garden or landscape, however care must be taken. Some bamboos spread rapidly and become invasive. Others have aggressive roots that may interfere with paved surfaces or foundations. If you’re interested in growing bamboo in your in-ground garden or landscaping, we recommend consulting with a garden club, your local cooperative extension, or a professional landscaper to find out if there’s a bamboo that will both thrive in your garden space while still being safe for your home and the natural environment.
Heavenly bamboo can be a great choice of ornamental plant, if great care is taken to either select a non-fruiting species or to grow it indoors so that wild creatures, pets, and children cannot access its toxic berries. It does well in containers, so with a bit of management it can still bring its trademark beauty to your space.
Lucky bamboo is a wonderfully flexible container plant, although it rarely blossoms in containers. However, it’s tolerant of a wide variety of lighting and watering conditions. While it prefers high humidity, it will tolerate dry are with more frequent waterings. It adapts readily to smaller containers and with a little careful pruning will stay container-sized. Speaking of pruning: it’s so easy to propagate lucky bamboo from cuttings, so if you’re interested in exploring propagation this might be a great starter plant.
We hope this helps you understand the differences between true bamboos, heavenly bamboo, and lucky bamboo. While these are quite different plants, they’re each interesting in their own way and may have a place in the right garden. There’s always more to learn, and we’re likely to revisit all three of these in future blogs. If you’ve successfully grown any of these “bamboo” plants—or if you have questions about doing so—please get in touch. Gardzen is all about community and we love to hear from you!
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