Laurens County, SC Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea, is named on Table D.6 of chapter 33's tree protection appendix, the Residential Subdivisions Ordinance's list of nuisance species that the county says "are considered invasive and should be removed." Because it is nuisance-listed, golden bamboo does not require the tree removal development permit that chapter 33 otherwise demands before cutting, moving or destroying a protected hardwood 8 inches or more in diameter; a developer can clear an existing bamboo stand as part of site work without that permit. The same listing works against golden bamboo on the planting side: it cannot be counted toward a subdivision's required replacement trees after a protected tree is removed, and it cannot be used to satisfy the ordinance's landscaping, buffer or street-tree planting standards for new residential or commercial development.

The county code sets no separate running-bamboo planting ban, property-line setback, or property-owner liability rule for spreading bamboo canes outside of this development-review exemption, so an existing homeowner's bamboo stand outside a new subdivision or commercial project is not directly reached by chapter 33's tree protection appendix. Any dispute over a site plan that improperly relies on golden bamboo for landscaping credit is resolved at Technical Review Committee or Planning Commission review, and a resulting subdivision-standard violation carries the chapter's Division 13 penalty of up to $200.00 per day under section 33-123.