Is "bamboo grove" pronounced 竹林【ちくりん】 or 竹林【たけばやし】? Is "bamboo grove" pronounced or ? I found some pages here < ...but I do not see a clear indication of when to use one or the other.

The kango-reading () should be clearly more common in government documents and technical contexts, but both readings are natural in TV shows, novels, blogs and such, and it's a matter of taste. Some words can have different meanings depending on how they are read (e.g., vs or vs ), but that is not the case here. I personally think it's generally safe to always use when in doubt.