If I plant heavenly bamboo in my yard will I need to install a root barrier to stop it from spreadly rapidly? I know that this plant is not a true bamboo but I've gotten different opinions on whether it is invasive, like most bamboos, or if it grows like a shrub so no root barrier is necessary.
It's a relative of the barberries and Mahonia (Oregon Grape Holly) and can have a few stems (it's a suckering shrub) but it's not a big spreader (~3' wide). It can self-seed and is classified as invasive in the hot humid climates of the South. Not sure if the same holds true in the PNW... Simon
Doesn't pop up much in this region. Does have problems with foliage mildew and leaf spot, plus nutritional or drainage issues seem to be common here as many have yellowish foliage. (Yellowish + spotted could both be drainage related).
IN MY area (zone 7a) I would say it is not really invasive but certainly can run after a while and become a nuisance. I am actually sorry I planted it. I wish I had chosen another shrub.
Always best to make sure one is speaking of the same shrub, especially with something where the common name is actually the name of a completely different plant. I presume heavenly bamboo to mean Nandina domestica? I have not heard of that plant being invasive in this area. That is to say, I haven't heard that it is spread into the wild via berries, for example. Whether it suckers... well, obviously it does per the above input, and suckering shrubs can be tough to manage in the ground. If they sucker near the stem, all well and good if you want a thicket, but if you intend to prune, or do a drastic pruning after a few years, you may drive it to run, as Levilyla says it can. If I'm not sure, I sometimes put a plant in a large container till I get to know its habits a bit. If, after a couple of years, all the growth is around the perimeter of the pot, you can tell it wants to run!
Thanks for the responses! KarinL you were right to presume I was referring to Nandina Domestica. My main worry was whether the plant would take over my entire yard in a few years. I am o.k. with a suckering shrub so I took the plunge and planted one last weekend.
After more than 15 years here, our plant is one of the more static things in the garden...certainly not a problem. Doesn't "run", and I've never seen a volunteer seedling anywhere. Snow can bend down large old stalks, but these have to be thinned out occasionally anyway, so they are first to get pruned out to the base...quite low maintenance really.
