Spring Hill, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Hernando County's invasive-plant framework is relatively light at the local level, relying primarily on state-level FDACS and FISC standards. (1) FDACS NOXIOUS WEED LIST (Rule 5B-57.007 F.A.C.) - the state-level prohibited-plant authority - includes Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, melaleuca, cogongrass, water hyacinth, hydrilla, and dozens of other species. Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea - golden bamboo, P. aureosulcata - yellow groove, P. bambusoides - giant timber, and Bambusa multiplex / clumping species) is NOT on the FDACS Noxious Weed List. (2) FLORIDA INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL (FISC, formerly FLEPPC) CATEGORY 1 / 2 LIST - the technical reference used by most Florida county land development codes - includes Brazilian pepper, Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera), camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera), Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum), Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum), and others. Bamboo is NOT currently on the FISC Category 1 or 2 list. (3) HERNANDO COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE - while Hernando County does not have a bamboo-specific ordinance, the County Land Development Regulations require invasive-species removal as part of development site planning, and the County Property Appraiser's classification process and county landscaping standards prohibit planting Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, and melaleuca in required landscaping or buffer plantings. Several Spring Hill subdivisions and the Hernando County Public Works Department actively remove Brazilian pepper from rights-of-way and drainage canals because of its rampant spread along the Suncoast Parkway corridor and into the western Hernando County wetlands. (4) BAMBOO LEGAL STATUS IN SPRING HILL - bamboo can be legally planted on Spring Hill residential properties; no County or State law prohibits its purchase, sale, or planting. UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants in its June 2022 article 'Considering Bamboo? Know the Risks Before You Plant' flags running bamboo as a HIGH INVASION RISK in Florida and recommends planting clumping varieties (Bambusa multiplex, Fargesia spp.) instead, or installing a 24-30 inch deep HDPE rhizome barrier with the top edge 2 inches above grade for running types. (5) CROSS-PROPERTY SPREAD - is governed by Florida common-law private nuisance: an affected Spring Hill property owner may cut bamboo stems and rhizomes back at the property line (Florida self-help rule recognized in case law for encroaching vegetation), file a private nuisance suit for damages including the cost of rhizome-barrier installation, and in serious cases bring an injunction action. (6) BIOMASS PLANTING PERMIT - Florida Statute 581.083 requires a permit from FDACS for any new commercial biomass planting of 2 acres or more, which includes large-scale bamboo plantings; this is not generally relevant to Spring Hill residential properties. (7) FDACS LARGE-SCALE PLANTING - the FDACS Division of Plant Industry administers the state biomass and noxious-weed programs from Gainesville and Tallahassee.