Originally Posted by allen73

We commonly get questions regarding the high price of bamboo. Many gardeners complain that bamboo plants are too expensive when compared to other common plants/trees, such as Palms or Eucalyptus trees. There are 2 major factors that cause the high cost of bamboo.

First reason is propagation, which is the creation of new plants, it's a very difficult process with bamboo. The flowering and seed production stage of bamboo only occurs are extremely long intervals. Some bamboo species only produce seeds every 100 years of more. The lack of available seeds requires growers to propagate new plants with rhizome cuttings.

Second reason is plant rarity. Many bamboo species are extremely rare in US and importing bamboo from overseas is highly restricted. and it can take many years for a newly introduced species to become established and available to the public. Species must remain in an Federal quarantine area for a number of years before being released into the environment. For this reason, you will rarely see major nurseries, such as Home Depot or Lowes focus on bamboo plant sales. There is simply not enough profit potential in bamboo plants to make it worth their while.