Bamboo Plant List

Bamboos are a large and fairly diverse group of plants in the Grass Family, distinguished by fast growth, colorful variegations, and interesting lush foliage reminiscent of the Far East.  Bamboo can be beautiful low-growing specimens, highlight other plants and landscape features, create a vertical accent, or serve as a privacy screen.  Typically bamboos prefer part sun to shade and rich, moist soil with good drainage.  Bamboos range in size from small to very large, and in an array of colors.  There are bright green to deep green leaves, and many variegated with chartreuse, golden yellows, or white. 

Bamboo	Height	Light	Description
Black Phyllostachys nigra	8-10'	Full Sun -Part Sun	Running. Graceful, arching dark green canes mature to jet black, creating a striking contrast to its small, bright green leaves. This bamboo prefers less intense sunlight and is less upright than most Phyllostachys. Needs wind protection. Do not cut to the ground.
Blue Fountain Fargesia nitida	8-10'	Part Sun - Shade	Clump forming. One of the most winter hardy bamboos. The dark, purple-red or dark brown-purple canes become more pronounced with sun exposure, making a striking contrast to its delicate green leaves. Young canes emerge blue-white and branchless the first season, then branching the second year. More upright than Umbrella, giving it more of a fountain-like shape.
Bisset Phyllostachys bissetii	4-6'	Full Sun - Part Sun	Running. Dark green foliage on 1" diameter stems creates an attractive backdrop for other bamboos or plants. Exceptionally cold hardy and tolerant of harsh winter winds. Establishes quickly.
Dwarf Yellow Stripe Pleioblastus virdistriatus	3-5'	Part Sun	Running. Striking, vivid chartreuse-yellow leaves with dark green stripes on narrow canes. When grown in the sun, leaves darken to green with dark green striping. In late winter or early spring, clip or mow plant to remove most of the older leaves.
Umbrella Fargesia murielae	8-10'	Part Sun - Shade	Clump forming. Green canes bear masses of delicate, bright green leaves. In a clump, the upper portion of the canes arch in a manner resembling an umbrella.  Needs some shade and wide space to display its airy mass of foliage.
Yellow Grove Phyllostachys aureosulcata	10-15'	Part Sun - Shade	Running. Upright bamboo distinguished by dark green canes, pronounced yellow groove, and sharply bent and zig-zagging lower canes that straighten above. Soft wide green leaves. New shoots appear midseason roughly textured and bent. Establishes rapidly.

Outdoor Hardy Bamboo Maintenance

In early spring, bamboo should be cut back when new growth appears on old canes.  Sometimes no foliage appears on stems until the following season, but if no leaves return, cut it back to the ground and fertilize it heavily with any high phosphate fertilizer or composted manure.  Top-dress heavily with a 2-4" layer of leaf compost, shredded leaves, or bark each spring and fall. 

The basic purpose for all pruning is the removal of dead, dying, or weak canes to promote healthy and more ornamental stems.  For spreading bamboos (Pleioblastus and Phyllostachys), dead and dying canes are removed first, then thin out weaker and disfigured ones, which may sometimes include more than 30% of the plant.  Always prune to soil level without leaving any sharp angles.  To maintain screens, only remove dead canes or the occasional runaway cane arching out too much so you do not compromise your privacy.  No pruning is necessary on clumping bamboos (Fargesia) except maybe just removing outer, older stems to reveal new canes.  No extra winter protection is necessary.

Controlling Spread

The growth habit of a spreading bamboo can be quite vigorous and threatening to your landscape, but controlling its spread and maintaining boundaries can be relatively simple.  An uncontained spreading bamboo may send new shoots up into your garden or lawn (or worse, your neighbor's lawn), sometimes many feet from where it was originally planted.  In subsequent years, your bamboo may be unexpectedly coming up everywhere.  Because of the invasive nature of spreading bamboos (Pleioblastus and Phyllostachys), we strongly recommend planting in containers or installing a rhizome barrier in your landscape to prevent excessive spreading.

Rhizome Barrier

Although it requires the most initial effort, a rhizome barrier offers a nearly maintenance-free method of control.  In this containment system, a 2-3' deep barrier is inserted into the ground around the desired perimeter of the bamboo grove.  Approximately 2" of the barrier is left above the soil surface to allow for mulch and still provide a lip above the soil.  Once a year, in late fall or early spring, the barrier should be examined to ensure that rhizomes have not escaped over the top.  If a rhizome leaps the barrier, it can be cut and pulled from the soil or simply repositioned inside the barrier.  Barriers can be made from 60 mil high-density polyethylene black plastic or metal.  When positioning the barrier, the seam should be without gaps and overlap a foot or two at the end.  Ideally, the seam should sealed or clamped.  Do not count on sidewalks, driveways, or patios to be an effective barrier for your bamboo.  Although this may be effective for smaller bamboos, larger more vigorous specimens may find their way through to the other side.  A stream, pond, or lake may provide the only effective natural barrier.

Containers

Bamboo makes an excellent plant for containers.  When grown in this manner, the container itself becomes the rhizome barrier.  However, the drainage holes are a potential source of escape for rhizomes.  A saucer underneath the container will prevent them from escaping into the soil.  The drainage holes can also be covered by lining the inside of the container with hardware cloth or sturdy plastic mesh found at most hardware stores.  Even if preventative measures are taken, a periodic inspection for escaped rhizomes is still recommended.  Rogue rhizomes can be either cut off or repositioned inside the container.