Upper Darby, PA Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- IPMC § 302.4.1, Upper Darby Code § 417-11(R)
- In-ground planting
- Prohibited Township-wide
- Container exception
- Fully sealed above-ground vessel
- Barrier exception
- Properly built underground root barrier
- Setback for contained plants
- 10 feet from any property line
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Licenses and Inspection
Summary
Upper Darby's Property Maintenance Code bars anyone from planting, cultivating, or letting bamboo grow directly in the ground anywhere in the Township. Bamboo is allowed only inside a fully sealed above-ground container or behind a properly built root barrier, and even contained plants must stay at least 10 feet from every property line.
Section 302.4.1 Bamboo. No persons, or other property owners or tenants, shall plant, cultivate, or cause to grow any bamboo on any lot or parcel of ground in the Township of Upper Darby, subject to the following exceptions:
1. The root system of such bamboo plants is entirely contained within an above-ground-level planter, barrel, or other vessel of such design, material, and location as to entirely prevent the spread of growth of the bamboo plants' root system beyond the container beyond which it is planted;
2. The root system is contained within a properly constructed and maintained barrier system; or
3. Whether planted or growing in a container, as described herein, all bamboo plants shall be located, trimmed and maintained so that no part of the plant shall be closer than 10 feet from any property line.
Full Breakdown
1 of the adopted 2015 International Property Maintenance Code, inserted locally at Upper Darby Code § 417-11(R), makes it unlawful for any property owner or tenant to plant, cultivate, or cause bamboo to grow on any lot in the Township. The rule reaches running and clumping bamboo alike since it names no species exception. Three narrow paths keep a planting legal: the root system sits entirely inside an above-ground planter, barrel, or vessel engineered to stop rhizome spread beyond the container; the root system is contained by a properly constructed and maintained underground barrier system; or, whichever containment method is used, the plant itself is trimmed and kept at least 10 feet from any property line.
A homeowner who lets bamboo spread across a shared fence line into a neighbor's yard, or who plants a stand straight into open soil with no barrier at all, is out of compliance the moment growth begins, not just once it crosses the line. The Department of Licenses and Inspection (L&I) enforces this section as part of the broader property maintenance code. Because the section was inserted directly into the IPMC rather than left to a separate nuisance chapter, a bamboo violation is processed the same way as any other property maintenance notice of violation, including the standard notice-and-correction timeline before further action is taken against the owner.
Violations & Fines
Under Upper Darby Code § 417-11(G), amending IPMC § 106.4, a person who fails to comply with a notice of violation is prosecuted within the limits set by the Commonwealth and faces fines and penalties set by Township Council; each day the violation continues after notice is a separate offense. The Code Official issues the notice of violation and can pursue restraint or abatement through the Township Solicitor if it goes uncorrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I grow bamboo in my Upper Darby yard at all?
Does it matter if my bamboo is a clumping, non-running variety?
What happens if my bamboo spreads onto a neighbor's property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Upper Darby
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