Plant name

[herbenus]

I'm looking for the name of a plant. It grows in southeast Texas. It looks a little like corn, without the ears, and a lighter shade of green, and taller. Grows to 8-12 feet. People use it for privacy borders. I see it along fences, roads and in some yards. I'm pretty sure it's a grass, but it definitely is not Johnson grass. I'm thinking about planting it for privacy but want to first find out it's name, is it poisonous to livestock, etc. Any ideas?

 

[RJohnson]

We always just called it cane when I was growing up. Try this site and see if this is what you are looking for, giant cane.

Randy

 

[herbenus]

That's it! Thanks.

After reading a bunch of sites on "giant cane" or "giant reed", it appears that environmentalists are down on it. It proliferates along rivers and can choke out areas and cause flooding and blah blah. I think it's a bamboo, I didn't realize that before. Having had to eradicate some bamboo once, I know it's tough. But it would make a perfect privacy hedge for me. I was going to put it along a fence. I can mow one side and keep it under control. But it would choke out the fence, making repairs interesting. Infiltration on my "good" neighbor's property doesn't bother me. I may try it anyway and leave a mowing path between it and the fence. Don't know how much money there is in cane fishing poles...

 

[kensfarm]

It might be Johnson grass.. here in Frederick County, Maryland.. the county sprays to kill it. The county actually has a law against it.. and will fine you "per day". There is also a list of other "noxious" outlawed weeds that it is against the law to let go to seed on your property.

The problem w/ Johnson grass.. once it gets established.. it is tuff to get rid of.. use some round-up and spray it before it gets out of hand.

 

[MossRoad]

We have some bamboo here in Northern Indiana.
Attched is a picture of it coming out of the ground in May. About 6 inches high.

 

[MossRoad]

And attached is a picture of what it looks like by October. That's 22 feet high!

 

[MossRoad]

The bad thing is what is found after the snow melts. See attached. Very messy plant if you have freezing. Now, there are several hundred species of bamboo. I have no idea what species this is or how big it would get if it never froze.

 

[MossRoad]

The seed head doesn't appear around here until the end of September or the start of October. See attached. It is about 2 feet long and is purplish in color. It dries white. The kids use them as straw brooms in their playhouse.

Very interesting plant. A caution, though. There are running types and clumping types. Get the clumping type if you don't want to be chasing it all over the yard. Mine walks about 3 feet towards the north and south each year and leaves a big dead root ball in its place. The root balls are very tough wood and very heavy. I now use the forks on my Power Trac to pry the dead rootball out of the ground every couple of years and then put the live root ball back where the dead one was. I never water it or fertilize it. It is one tough plant. It even grew up next to my other garage. It went under the siding. I didn't know it until I saw it growing out the top of the wall near the gutters! Don't plant it near above ground swimming pools either. It seems to sense the water and starts walking that way. It will then grow up under you liner and pop it.

It is a very beautiful plant, but can be a pain if you are not expecting it. Try to find a nursery that handles the clumping type. Good luck in your search.

 

[MossRoad]

Hmm. Now that I look at those pictures, maybe we have giant reed, not bamboo. It looks almost like a dead match. I'll have to look into that more. Always find something new here, at TBN /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Well, after some searching on the internet, I found this picture which looks EXACTLY like what I've got. So, it must not be bamboo, but giant reed grass. Anyway, it is a neat plant, but apparently a pest near waterways and wetlands.

Here's one more link to a page about this plant.

Thanks for the info, folks.