Fort Myers, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Lee County (which administers the underlying landscape-invasive-plant framework that applies within Fort Myers) has prohibited landscape use of melaleuca, Australian pine, and Brazilian pepper since 1982 under Ordinance 82-42 (Lee County Development Standards Regulations). Ordinance 90-06 went further: any development receiving final development order approval after March 5, 1990 must include an invasive exotic vegetation removal and maintenance plan, and the three prohibited species must be removed from all provided open-space areas. Lee County also maintains an expanded Invasive Exotic Plant Species List (administered by Lee County Development Services) that incorporates the Florida Invasive Species Council (FISC) Category I and II species. Bamboo (Phyllostachys, Bambusa, and similar genera) is not on the Lee County prohibited list and is not on the FDACS Florida Noxious Weed List, but the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants flags certain running bamboos (especially Phyllostachys aurea) as 'high risk for invasion' in Florida and recommends extreme caution. Florida Statute § 581.083 requires a permit from FDACS for any new commercial biomass planting of 2 acres or more (including bamboo). Within Fort Myers city limits, spreading bamboo onto a neighbor's property is generally a private civil/common-law nuisance matter unless the bamboo also violates the City's overgrown-vegetation provisions (Chapter 18, Environment, lot maintenance and nuisance abatement). Best practice for Fort Myers homeowners: install a 24-30 inch HDPE root barrier when planting any running bamboo, or use clumping bamboo (Bambusa multiplex 'Alphonse Karr' and similar) which does not spread by rhizome.