Compared to the cost of growing other vegetables or fruit, bamboo growing is relatively inexpensive. During the first two or three years of growth while the plantation is maturing and culms and shoots are too small to sell, growers can raise other crops in the grove to recover the starting capital. In Japan, where establishment costs may be less than Australia, farmers are able to recover their initial monetary investment after 8 or 9 years. In contrast to timber crops, no clear-felling is required to realise a profit after this time and the plantation continues.

Unlike most other agricultural crops, bamboos have been developed with little artificial selection. This means that, like most other grasses, bamboos are fairly resistant to diseases, insects, and climatic injuries. Consequently, growing bamboo for either timber or shoots (or both) requires much less labour than growing vegetables or fruit. Although it is desirable to have a large grove, many small scale growers can be successful, and reasonable profits can be made by saving the expense of hired labour.

This webpage publication describes the cultivation methods suggested for both clumping and running species. Tropical bamboos differ from temperate species in having adaptations to warm growing conditions. These adaptations include abbreviated rhizomes and subsequent formation of fairly close clumps of culms. As the habit and habitat of tropical species of bamboos are so divergent from the temperate species, the cultivation practices, horticulture and shoot production also differ. However, intending growers of one type may find useful information in the section on the other kind.