Nashua, NH Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Nashua has not adopted a bamboo-specific ordinance, and bamboo is not regulated as a noxious or invasive species under New Hampshire state law. (1) NASHUA CODE - the Nashua Revised Ordinances do not contain a bamboo, running-bamboo, or rhizome-barrier ordinance of the kind adopted by some East Coast jurisdictions. The general nuisance, overgrown-vegetation, and lot-maintenance provisions in the Nashua municipal code apply to bamboo only when it creates a public nuisance, sight obstruction at intersections, vermin harborage, or right-of-way encroachment. (2) NH STATE FRAMEWORK - New Hampshire's invasive plant regulation runs through NH Code of Administrative Rules Agr 3800 (Invasive Species), promulgated by the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Division of Plant Industry under the authority of NH RSA 430:53 et seq. (Plant Pest Act). It is illegal in New Hampshire to collect, transport, import, sell, distribute, propagate, or transplant any living or viable portion of any listed PROHIBITED INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES, including all of their cultivars, varieties, and specified hybrids. (3) WHAT IS LISTED - the NH prohibited list includes Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), giant knotweed (Reynoutria sachalinensis), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), and water chestnut (Trapa natans), among others. The list is updated periodically by Agr 3800. (4) BAMBOO STATUS - BAMBOO IS NOT ON THE NH PROHIBITED INVASIVE LIST. Planting, possessing, and selling bamboo (including aggressive running types like Phyllostachys spp.) remains legal under New Hampshire state law. However, running bamboo is a recognized invasive nuisance that can damage foundations, driveways, irrigation, and pool decks through rhizome spread. (5) RHIZOME-BARRIER BEST PRACTICE - industry best practice is to install a 24-30 inch deep HDPE rhizome barrier in a trench around the planting area with the top edge protruding 2 inches above grade, plus annual perimeter trench inspection to detect rhizomes that have escaped over the top. Alternative: plant clumping bamboo (Fargesia spp.) instead of running types. (6) CROSS-PROPERTY SPREAD - New Hampshire common law treats encroaching vegetation as a private nuisance. An affected Nashua property owner may cut bamboo back at the property line (the 'self-help' rule for encroaching vegetation) and in serious cases may file a private nuisance action for damages including the cost of installing a rhizome barrier and remediating damage to driveways, foundations, or pool decks. NH RSA 539 (Trespass and Damage to Real Property) and NH RSA 540-A (Tenant-Landlord) overlay these private remedies. (7) NASHUA ENFORCEMENT - Nashua Code Enforcement may cite overgrown vegetation that constitutes a public nuisance under the general nuisance and lot-maintenance provisions of the Nashua Revised Ordinances. Sight-distance obstruction at intersections or driveways, right-of-way encroachment, and vermin harborage are typical triggers. (8) RIVERFRONT - because Nashua sits on the Nashua and Merrimack Rivers, NH Department of Environmental Services Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act (NH RSA 483-B) rules apply to vegetation management within the protected shoreland buffer; running bamboo planted within shoreland areas can raise additional issues. (9) HOA / DEED RESTRICTIONS - many Nashua HOAs and condominium associations restrict bamboo planting; check governing documents. (10) NASHUA RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION coordinates regional invasive-species removal events for Japanese knotweed, oriental bittersweet, and other listed species.