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Nowadays, there is a Gardner or plant lover in every home; the only difference is that everyone has their own choice of different species. Some people like to grow vegetables, some like flowers, and some of them like bamboo plants. Now, for the people who didn’t think of growing bamboo plants in their garden, please don’t confuse bamboo plants with plants that have the same appearance as bamboo. These plants, which have the same characteristics as bamboo, are not bamboo plants, and if you want to be a professional breeder, you should know the difference.
These plants are hard to recognize because some have similar stems like bamboo, some have identical leaves like bamboo, and some have flowers. But all of these are not natural bamboo species. If you want to know how to identify these plants, then this guide is for you. In this guide, we are going to talk about 5 plants that look like bamboo.
How To Recognize Real Bamboo Plants?
Before differentiating between real bamboo species or non-bamboo species, it is essential to know the features of real bamboo. Bamboo comes from a grass family named Poaceae. This Poaceae grass family has 91 genera of bamboo.
Bamboo is a plant that has a thick stem that bonds to the solid nodes.
The color of the clumps varies very much according to their species; these clumps look like lushing green, light, or yellow-green and sometimes dark green also.
Usually, only two types of Bamboo exist. The first one is running bamboo, and the second one is clumping bamboo. Clumping bamboo is those that grow by rhizomes upright to the ground; on the other hand, running bamboo has flat stems underneath the ground. This plant has features like long leaves all around stems; these leaves branch with it, and they can be any various shapes, including curly, straight, and heart-shaped.
The heart-shaped leaves are a different concept and loved by many people. In the flowering season, this plant produces red or white flowers. The Bamboo plant leaves can be used for many reasons; one of these purposes is making mats.
On the other hand, the stems of the bamboo are used for manufacturing wooden instruments. Bamboo is more drought-tolerant than other species. Sunshine is best for Bamboo plants; preferred to have them under the full sun area or the shaded part. But extreme heat from the sunlight can be harmful to the leaves that can lead to burning them.
These plants are survivors, and they can manage in dry air as well. There are too many things to note down for breeding bamboo; they prefer entirely drained soils. These species can be used as indoor as well as outdoor plants.
For those who think bamboo isn’t edible, the stems of this plant are eaten as a replacement for vegetables; these stems are delicious. You can make your home garden beautiful with bamboo but mind that there are too many fake ones in the market, so don’t get confused. You should know all the factors which will allow you to differentiate between real or fake ones.
Top 5 Plants That Looks Like Bamboo in 2021
Many people get confused with the plants which look the same as a bamboo plant. Here are the top 5 plants which have the same appearance as bamboo:
1. Lucky Bamboo or Dracaena sanderiana
The first one on our top five list is Dracaena sanderiana, famous by the name of Lucky Bamboo in the market; some people call it a million bamboos. This plant is one of the most common plants in Africa and is used most commonly as the antidote of Feng Shui.
This plant is famous as Luck Bamboo because many people symbolize it widely as a good luck charm for the home. It is also known as a white flower bamboo-like plant because it produces gorgeous white flowers. Lucky Bamboo comes in various shapes, including curly, straight, and most famous heart-shaped, which looks fabulous.
The best season to grow these species is the wet season because, in this season, it will get enough water required to develop entirely in this season. As per the height of this plant, there are two options to grow this; the first one is the indoor plant which is almost 2 to 3 feet in height.
On the other hand, the outdoor plant can grow a little extra in height. This plant produces greenish-grey colored leaves; the size of each leaf is approximately 9 inches in length. People believe the more this plant will grow properly, the more it will be lucky for the person who planted it.
The beautiful leaf of this plant produces from its plumpy stems. This bamboo prefers sunlight in a very partial way; little extra sunlight can be harmful, so it is advised to place it under shaded sunlight. There is no need to splash water on this plant as the other ones; it can quickly grow within dry air without extra water.
As you read earlier, this plant is called by many names depending upon the areas it grows; some are curly bamboo, Belgian evergreen, sander’s dracaena, ribbon dracaena, Chinese water bamboo, goddess of mercy, and ribbon plant.
2. Giant Reed/Cane (Arundo donax)
The second one on the list is Arundo Donax which has an identical appearance to bamboo. It comes from the Poaceae grass family; it grows almost 35 feet tall in the Asia region. Wet soil and dry air are preferable for this plant.
The stems have heavy tube-shaped branches famous for manufacturing flutes, organ pipes, and many more wind instruments. Stems and leaves of this plant are widely used for making mats and for many other purposes.
Big stems of this plant can grow about 6 to 23 feet as per its growing place. The thick ones contain leaves that are almost 60 cm long in size. If we talk about the growth of this plant, it will grow fabulous if it gets a favorable environment. This plant also produces greyish-green flowers in color, and on the base, it is a little hairy; it will start producing the flowers in summer.
The scientific name of the giant cane is Arundo donax. The Giant cane is also called by many names, including Arundo, elephant grass, Spanish cane, carrizo, wild cane, colorado river reed, and many more. As being a subfamily of Arundinoideae, it keeps its metabolism at C3.
Giant cane starts growing rapidly in March, June, and July. This plant has a high tolerance to the atmosphere, and it can easily grow in dry conditions. If we talk about the growth temperature for growing this plant, 7 to 30°C is the best temperature for it.
This species is one of the toughest compared to all the other grass plants; it will be an excellent choice to grow.
3. Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
The third one on the list is Bamboo palm, also called Chamaedorea seifrizii; this is one of the famous plants that look like Bamboo. The Chamaedorea seifrizii is a scientific name for this plant because it produces leaves like palm trees. This plant is popular when decorating your home and garden; this will beautify your garden.
In favorable and required conditions, this bamboo-like plant can go up to 20 feet in length. This plant is called by many names in many regions; some of these names are reed palm, parlor clustered palm, cane palm, and bamboo palm plant.
This bamboo palm is the perfect indoor plant because it has a multi originated growth habit, which helps it to grow in lower sunlight. You can easily plant this Bamboo palm in your garden, hall, room, and any other place of your home without any extra care.
As per history, Bamboo Palm was founded in Central America and Mexico. The glossy-greenish leaves of this plant will give a charming look to your home decor.
Many people grow this plant indoors not just because it will be suitable for decor but also because it can eliminate unhealthy gases from the air like carbon monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde. This ability to remove gasses from the atmosphere makes this plant an air purifying plant for your home.
This plant produces round and small-sized fruits that are almost 8mm in diameter. These barries will turn their color when they get developed; the orange to black colored berries look fantastic. These bamboo palms are primarily planted in Florida and Hawaii.
The best time for the growth of this plant is spring and summer; these are the peak time for their development in south Florida. This plant will give you dark green-colored leaves when you plant it under wet soil and give it enough watering. This plant can produce around 5-10 plumed flowers with its solid stems. This will be a good choice for indoors.
4. Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)
The fourth one in our list of top 5 pants, which look like bamboo, is Japanese Knotweed; it has stems similar to bamboo, which is why many people get confused between this and real bamboo. When it comes to features, it is nothing like real bamboo; like the leaves of this plant which are different from bamboo leaves. It develops rapidly through merges and rhizomes, just like bamboo.
This plant is not real bamboo, but it is the nearest to it. The growth of the stems can be around 20 feet long in length; this plant produces attractive white blooms. The texture of these flowers is creamy, and they look glossy when you look at them from a distance.
This plant originated from Japan, Korea, Asia, and China. In the growing season, these stems can grow up to 10-13 feet while their color will be yellow. From a mangled root, the branches give dark-greenish leaves which are oval in shape. As per the size of these leaves, they can be approximately 7 to 4 cm in length and 5 to 12 cm in width. This plant also produces small-sized flowers which are 6 to 15cm long.
The flowering season for this plant is early autumn and late summer. This Japanese Knotweed is known by many names: fleece flower, Himalayan fleece vine, elephant ears, monkey weed, billy weed, Mexican bamboo, monkey fungus, doney rhubarb, American bamboo, and pea shooters. These names are given to this plant from different places around the globe.
The flowers produced by it are the ultimate source of nectar for the bees, which helps to make tasty honey that many people consume. The stems of this plant are widely used as the source of rich nutrients; many native vegetarians eat these stems as a vegetable.
These stems are widely used for medical purposes, used in many severe disorders worldwide. This will be an excellent choice to grow.
5. Heavenly bamboo or Nandina domestica
The last on the list is Heavenly bamboo which is another excellent example of a plant that looks like bamboo; this plant goes by the scientific name Nandina Domestica; this is a bamboo-looking plant with leaves. The leaves of this plant are very much like the actual bamboo plant. This plant is most commonly cultivated in the East Asia region. This plant is also known as an invasive weed in south side countries.
Heavenly bamboo is famous by many names in different areas like Chinese sacred bamboo, sacred bamboo, nandina, etc. As per the growth, this plant can go about 2 to 4 feet in width and 4 to 8 feet in height. The development of this bamboo-like plant is slower than others, but it can grow taller than other similar plants depending upon different places. This plant can be a good choice when it comes to beautifying your home.
Heavenly bamboo can produce berries with red color which looks adorable. The leaves of the plant are branched out of the heavy stems with unique foliage colors. The red-colored berries change color after their full development; these berries change from red to impressive green color.
This plant attracts bees, which helps in making honey. When winter or spring comes, the berries from the plant fall out. The leaves of this plant look amazing when appropriately developed; it will take gorgeous red-purple color, which is perfect for home decor. This one is one of the most famous bamboos in India.
This plant is harmful to some species like animals, birds, and humans too. This invasive plant is the toughest of all. It looks impressive when you look at its red flowers.
As per the sunlight needs, the shaded and non-shaded sunlight areas are favored for this plant. This plant needs specifically semi-wet and semi-dry soil to grow. This is one of the lower maintenance plants for homes, and that’s why it is popular in China, Japan, and India.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does bamboo like sun or shade?
This is one of the most asked questions; sunlight is a primary source of power for any plant; if we talk about bamboo, certain varieties of bamboo need more sunlight than others.
Those bamboo varieties that don’t require much sunlight can be placed under a partially shaded area, especially when it’s a hot day; this includes plants in the Fargesia, Thamnocalamus, and Sasa genera.
2. Does Japanese Knotweed look like bamboo?
Yes. Japanese Knotweed looks like bamboo because they have many surprising similarities that confuse people. Many of them didn’t know if this was real bamboo aur not. One of the similarities between real bamboo and Japanese Knotweed is that they both have similar stems with the same color tone.
3. How do I know what kind of bamboo I have?
Getting to know the difference between bamboo is very difficult. But if you are looking for a particular technique to find this out, then it is impossible.
You can read and consume more and more information related to varieties of bamboo, and then the factors like shape or size of the clums, shape, color of leaves, and types of branches will help you know the difference. Experts also check these factors to understand what kind of bamboo they are dealing with.
Conclusion
You can choose one of these plants as per your needs every one of them has different features. You can choose between them for your lawn, garden, and even rooms. They look like bamboo, but they are different from each other.
It’s high time to recognize the real plants between the fake ones. Here are the top 5 plants that look like bamboo plants. Read the feature and get the knowledge to discover the truth.
A rotating team of writers and editors dedicated to providing reliable information for the readers of American Promise. We’re all passionate about cannabis and actively engaged in this “budding” industry.
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