Palm Coast, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Palm Coast takes invasive-plant control more seriously than most Florida cities, because the city sits inside the St. Johns River Water Management District boundary and adjacent to multiple high-value coastal preserves (Pellicer Creek Aquatic Preserve, Princess Place Preserve, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Faver-Dykes State Park). Chapter 11 of the Palm Coast Land Development Code ('Trees and Landscape Buffer Requirements') sets the operative rules. Section 11 of the LDC requires that any plant species defined as a 'Category 1' pest plant by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC, now known as the Florida Invasive Species Council or FISC) or as an invasive plant listed by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas be REMOVED upon development of the site, and NOT used in the landscaping of the site or in required buffer plantings. The FLEPPC/FISC Category 1 list (most aggressive invaders) includes: Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia), melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia), Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera), camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera), Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum), Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), skunk vine (Paederia foetida), tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum), and others. BAMBOO STATUS: Running bamboo species (Phyllostachys aurea - golden bamboo, P. aureosulcata - yellow groove bamboo, P. bambusoides - giant timber bamboo) are NOT currently on the FLEPPC Category 1 or 2 list, and are NOT on the FDACS state Noxious Weed List under Rule 5B-57.007. They ARE recognized by UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants as invasive species risks - the IFAS June 2022 Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants article 'Considering bamboo? Know the risks before you plant' explicitly cautions against running bamboo in Florida landscaping. Because bamboo is not on FLEPPC Category 1, the Palm Coast LDC's prohibition does not currently reach it, but the City is in the St. Johns River WMD service area where future listing changes are reviewed annually. CROSS-PROPERTY SPREAD is governed by Florida common-law private nuisance: an affected Palm Coast property owner may cut bamboo rhizomes back at the property line under the self-help rule, file a private nuisance suit for damages including rhizome-barrier installation, and in serious cases bring an injunction action. Best-practice planting guidance for Palm Coast is to use clumping bamboo (Bambusa multiplex, Fargesia spp.) rather than running types, or install a 24-30 inch HDPE rhizome barrier with the top edge 2 inches above grade. Other invasive plants of major concern in Palm Coast on the FLEPPC Category 1 list and likely subject to Ch. 11 LDC removal include Brazilian pepper (extremely common in the saltwater-canal areas), Chinese tallow, air potato, and Old World climbing fern. The Flagler County Cooperative Extension office and the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants are the primary technical resources for residents.