Bamboo

[Hakone]

Phyllostachys bambousoides kawanada

 

[Hakone]

Phyllostachys aureosulcata harbin inversa

 

[Hakone]

Fargesia Demissa Langzhou Gerry

 

[JeanLux]

too cool, these Bamboo trees growing so well in your garden!!!! Jean

 

[goldenrose]

:clap::clap: both nice but the 2nd one grabbed me! :drool::drool:

 

[Hera]

Love bamboo but never grew it. Not much will survive zone 5 that dosn't run.

 

[smartie2000]

its too cold here for bamboo

 

[Lanmark]

Beautiful foliage and stems! Awesome!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Nice, but how do you contain them underground?

 

[Kevin]

Very cool!

I've overwintered a Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda' here, and I'd like to try others. This one is a nice clumping species. So, yes, bamboo can survive zone 2/3 in Canada, and there are some nice non-running varieties for cold climates. I'd love to try a Phyllostachys some time.

 

[SlipperFan]

I like the bamboo fence, and the black bamboo.

 

[Leo Schordje]

Hakone, your bamboo is beautiful, your Phyllo. aureosulcata Harbin Inversa is just crazy beautiful, very well groomed. Very nice. :clap:

In my opinion, the cold tolerant clumping bamboos are generally a disappointment in terms of visual impact in a landscape planting. They are very lovely, but attention has to be paid to the background behind them. They are graceful plants with thin canes and small leaves. Fargesia really only work well when the background behind them is not busy with other textures and plants. They tend to disappear visually if the background is too patterned, or in similar colors. Most vendors sell fairly small divisions, with only a few culms (canes) in a pot. It takes many years, to grow a decent clump from these small starter divisions. To grow a clump that will have visual impact, here in Chicago-Milwaukee area, it may take 15 or more years from a 3 or 5 culm division. Eventually a clump of Fargesia will get dense enough to be a good focal point, but most people are not willing to wait the amount of time required. IF you do buy a Fargesia, it is worth spending a lot more to get a large division. Unfortunately the clumping Fargesia bamboo are the only ones that will survive in zone 3, there is really no other option for zone 3.

If you want visual impact, go with the running bamboos. That lovely Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Harbin Inversa' in the first picture is very hardy, good to zone 4. Mine has been root hardy through -20 F. In as little as 5 years from planting a one or two culm division, you can have a very nice little grove with canes near or at full size potential. The best way to grow and display these bamboos is to make sure the bed is large enough that they have room to develop AND before planting them, install a rhizome barrier to make sure they do not escape. The running bamboos have the potential to be very invasive if you do not plan ahead and put in barriers to keep them contained. Give the running bamboos at least a 30 square foot or more space, there needs to be enough to grow them to full size. If you try to confine them to too small a space, they will be disappointing and require more work to keep contained. The running bamboos are not a plant for the "plant it & forget it" gardener. They require some maintanence a couple times a year to keep them looking nice. The maintanence is not difficult, mostly removing dead and unsightly canes, but if it is not done, in time the planting will look quite shabby. (I know from experience ).

 

[Hakone]

 

[Leo Schordje]

Wow, the black bamboo is exquisite. Beautiful underplanting with variegated grass and the Calla.

 

[Hera]

Thanks Leo, I've been tempted to try fargesia, but I've been unimpressed with the look of them. With your post I'm glad I never tried. Too grasslike for my taste anyway. I love to see the colors on the stalks like the ones pictured here, but I don't have the time to put into running bamboo. I'll just have to admire from afar.

 

[SlipperFan]

Your garden must be a delight to be in!

 

[Kevin]

In my opinion, the cold tolerant clumping bamboos are generally a disappointment in terms of visual impact in a landscape planting. They are very lovely, but attention has to be paid to the background behind them. They are graceful plants with thin canes and small leaves. Fargesia really only work well when the background behind them is not busy with other textures and plants. They tend to disappear visually if the background is too patterned, or in similar colors. Most vendors sell fairly small divisions, with only a few culms (canes) in a pot. It takes many years, to grow a decent clump from these small starter divisions. To grow a clump that will have visual impact, here in Chicago-Milwaukee area, it may take 15 or more years from a 3 or 5 culm division. Eventually a clump of Fargesia will get dense enough to be a good focal point, but most people are not willing to wait the amount of time required. IF you do buy a Fargesia, it is worth spending a lot more to get a large division. Unfortunately the clumping Fargesia bamboo are the only ones that will survive in zone 3, there is really no other option for zone 3.

I'm quite happy with my Fargesia, considering it actually survived a Winnipeg winter. Yes, they may not have the visual impact of a Phyllostachys, but you have to use what you can when a lot of stuff is not hardy here. Just because it is not the best, doesn't mean I won't try it. I'm quite happy to say that I have a bamboo growing in a Winnipeg garden. Mine was in about a 1 gallon pot, and has a few dozen culms, so it is quite nice. Are you sure there are no other options for zone 3? I'd like to try some different ones just to see if I can do it.

 

[Leo Schordje]

I'm quite happy with my Fargesia, considering it actually survived a Winnipeg winter. Yes, they may not have the visual impact of a Phyllostachys, but you have to use what you can when a lot of stuff is not hardy here. Just because it is not the best, doesn't mean I won't try it. I'm quite happy to say that I have a bamboo growing in a Winnipeg garden. Mine was in about a 1 gallon pot, and has a few dozen culms, so it is quite nice. Are you sure there are no other options for zone 3? I'd like to try some different ones just to see if I can do it.

Like I said, in zone 3, Fargesia is it, there are no other choices that I know of. There are many species in Fargesia, though only a few are commonly available in the USA or Canada. The Amer Bamboo Soc has an import program and new species come into the USA every year, so there may be new discoveries that will be available in the future. It is always worth trying something, the temperature ranges on a number of bamboos have been extended downward as they were tried in farther and farther north climates. If you try a running bamboo, or something new, look for descriptions of species that will shoot while the soil temperatures are still cool. Usually these are the ones listed as being grown for early shoots. (most bamboo are grown for food in their home countries, and they are a very tasty vegetable). One problem with Phyllostachys, the new canes need time to mature and harden off. In a test planting of a zone 7 bamboo by me in zone 5, the canes that were mature in the division survived the winter no problem, but the new canes winterkilled. Two seasons of the new growth winterkill, and the old growth just ran out of energy and dormant buds. If the growing season is too short for the new growth to mature and harden off, the new growth won't survive.

The only way to know for sure is to experiment. I encourage it.

 

[Lanmark]

Nice, but how do you contain them underground?

:rollhappy: My father learned the hard way when, like a dolt, he planted giant tropical bamboo rhizomes about 12 inches (1/3 meter) from the outer front wall of his house. It cracked the foundation. Then again, he didn't know any better, but he sure knows now!

 

[Hakone]

Phyllostachys vivax aureocaulis