Bamboos

Invaluable, irreplaceable and essential for ALL exotic gardens.  Some are invasive weeds, others are amongst the finest foliage plants that can be grown in the UK - choose wisely and ALWAYS ask if you are unsure.  Depending on the species they can be used as trees, shrubs, groundcover, lawn specimens.  Most bamboos are eminently suited to being grown in containers as their roots systems are fairly compact.  However it must be appreciated that the small rootball has to supply all that foliage with water and hence must NEVER be allowed to dry out.  Grow in this way they benefit from an annual pruning of oldest culms and biennial re-potting.  All are hardy in the UK unless otherwise stated, and will enthusiastically reward any extra food given to them with luxuriant growth.

CHIMONOBAMBUSA

An elegant, small bamboo that reaches maybe 1.5m tall.  There are an abundance of small leaves held closely to the slender culms and new shoots are attractively mottled with brown and pink.  Slightly more tender than most bamboos this needs moist conditions and some shade to look it's best.  Bit of a spreader.  Tall groundcover in large gardens, container plant or border.

Taller than the last, reaching 3m when established this is again a little tender, prefers shade and moist conditions.  When established, the green canes are almost square in cross section.  This can be invasive, good background plant for a shady border.

CHUSQUEA

This is magnificent if you have the space as at over 5m it is the most statuesque chusquea.  It demonstrates to perfection the chusquea family trait of densely clustered branches around the thick culms, and these branches are in turn densely clothed with grey-green leaves giving an overall thick bottlebrush effect.  A distinctive feature of this species is one elongated primary branch protruding further than the rest.  Superb as a specimen and given it's overall size not too invasive.  

Very similar in appearance to the preceding species but without the prominent branch and smaller overall, reaching maybe 4m in good conditions.  This is an extremely variable plant and good forms have the most magnificent bottlebrush effect of any bamboo.  Marvelous, rare in cultivation and rare ( and expensive ) commercially.

Similar to Chusquea couleou but culms arch outwards from the base in a vase-like fashion.  Said to be more drought tolerant than other species.

DREPANOSTACHYUM

A tall bamboo with extremely slender culms, heavily laden with thin textured leaves so that they arch elegantly. Recently flowered everywhere.  Superb specimen or container plant.

FARGESIA

These plants were once the mainstay of the nearly defunct genus Arundinaria, which is now confined to a few more obscure bamboos.  They are typified by annually sending up many thin canes, which often remain as a bare whippy thing in their first year then leaf out gloriously in their second year.  The papery sheaths covering the branches are retained for some time.

This was one of the most widely planted bamboos in the country but over the past few years has been flowering and hence large and quite ancient stands have been completely decimated.  Next generation, seed-raised plants are now in circulation; hopefully this beautiful bamboo will regain it's popular status.  More deciduous than many bamboos, it still retains many leaves until spring, whereupon it re-clothes it's slender green culms with abundant apple green foliage that make the top portion of the culm bend over attractively.  Best in sheltered woodland conditions, where it will reach 3 or 4m.  Superb specimen or container plant in shade.

Superficially similar to the preceding species, this has purple stained culms that are slightly thicker, the plant thus not arching to quite the same degree.  Equally beautiful.

Again superficially similar but chunkier all round and a bit taller.  Excellent plant.

X HIBANOBAMBUSA

This is said to be a naturally occurring bi-generic hybrid between sasa and phyllostachys, and that really gives a good impression of what it is like - taller than most sasa at about 2.5m with larger leaves than most phyllostachys.  Plants are vigorous and produce their shoots at all sorts of interesting angles.  There is a creamy-yellow striped leaf form 'Shiroshima'   that is exquisite, one of the finest of all variegated bamboos.  Needs space in the garden, can be containerised effectively with maintenance.

INDOCALAMUS

These plants were once included in the genus Sasa and are often still encountered under those names. Generally small to medium height bamboos with very large glossy leaves and rather invasive tendencies underground. 

A great bamboo for jungly bits, this will reach 2m in time, and has extremely large, glossy dark-green leaves that clothe the erect culms for most of the length.  Should definitely be more widely grown.  Rather invasive, but perhaps not as bad as other large leafed bamboos.

Similar to the preceding species but smaller all round, reaching maybe 1.2m.  The leaves are large for the size of the plant.  Excellent ground cover if you have the space, rather invasive.

Extremely large leaves are the biggest virtue of this plant, plus a thin culm that bends under the weight of these monster leaves.  Adds up to a superb ground cover plant for the jungle, but again will march enthusiastically through whatever space is allowed.

PHYLLOSTACHYS

This genus contains some of the loveliest foliage plants that can be grown in a temperate garden.  They are generally distinguished by producing a small number of thick culms each year, a distinct inter-nodal groove ( sulcus ) and they ditch the papery sheaths that cover the opening branches unlike many genera that hold onto these sheaths and look slightly tatty as a result.  There are many cultivated forms that have brightly coloured and striped culms and it is sometimes nice to prune away the lower branches on older plants to expose these beautiful canes.  Another idea is to look at the new shoots as they begin to grow in spring, select about half those showing - the stronger looking growths - and just snap off the remainder at ground level. This will give the best growth possible to the remaining culms.   General word of warning - phyllostachys are large plants - they need room to spread and get tall.  As long as you know.....Most appreciate growing in good light to full sun, which will give stronger, straighter growth with the best culm colour.

This is sometimes sniffed at by the bamboo cognoscenti but I actually like it an awful lot.  It doesn't get too large, maybe 4m; has a neat habit of growth - doesn't flop about like some; will take a touch more drought than some and established plants have a very attractive and curious congested growth pattern at the base of each culm with condensed internodes.  Not as showy as some, not as elegant as others but for a general all round solid bamboo is difficult to beat. 

A nice plant, quite large eventually to maybe 6m, it's main virtues lie in it's bullet-proof nature as it is very cold hardy and wind tolerant.  The species has green culms with a pale yellow sulcus that tend to grow in a zigzag at the bottom and, for a large phyllostachys, small leaves.  There are various extravagantly coloured cane variants as well - a personal favourite is P. aureosulcata 'Spectabilis' which is the reverse colour - pale yellow canes with a green sulcus and in good light the new growth takes on a reddish-pink suntan. 

A very tall vigorous plant with very thick culms and overall a bit coarse - the species isn't widely grown, but cultivars of it are amongst the most sought after bamboos.  These include 'Castillonis' which has golden canes with a green sulcus, 'Castillonis Inversa' which has green culms and a gold sulcus, plus variegated leaf forms of each.  A favourite of mine is 'Holochrysa' ( syn. 'Allgold' ) which has the most striking golden yellow canes of any bamboo.  Untidy growth and prone to windburn, maybe, but beautiful in a sheltered, moist spot.  Another one have seen but don't posses yet is 'Kawadana' which has green culms striped irregularly with yellow and a slight tendency to variegated leaves.  I'll treat myself one day.

A good do-er this, it is quite tall at maybe 5/6m with dark green culms and leaves.  For some reason it doesn't seem to suffer from the wind-burn that many phyllostachys get over winter and every spring mine looks as fresh as a daisy.  Also very hardy indeed to cold, not a real problem for us in the UK.

Of all the green leaved, green culmed bamboos this is my favourite.  There is a gorgeous stand of this in the Bamboo Garden at Kew, a picture of which is the background to this page,  Nice thick culms and short dense branches, nice and tall - I don't know, it just looks the part.

Another green culm, green leaf bamboo, a little smaller at maybe 4m, with a tendency to zigzag growth.

Immensely popular medium height phyllostachys bamboo with canes that become a shining jet black after 2 or 3 years in a good sunny position.  Lacks elegance and prone to wind burn, but you can't have everything.  There are several cultivars of this, my favourite is 'Henonis' which doesn't have coloured culms but is one of the most graceful of all bamboos - very tall ( 7m ) arching culms with beautifully layered branches packed with neat little leaves.  Superb as a specimen.  'Boryana' is a similarly tall and arching one, this time with green culms blotched irregularly with dark brown.  The effect is like tortoiseshell or rust infection - depending on your viewpoint.  I love it.

'Fairly' new to cultivation, at least outside of the collectors circles, this is a very tall ( 7m ), upright, weather-proof bamboo that has very thick culms produced in a neat cluster.  Nice for a tall hedge. 

A tall and vigorous bamboo with large green leaves and culms reputed to be one of the best for growing in the southeast of the country.  There is are stupendously beautiful stands of this a Kew and Cambridge Botanic Gardens where an established plant gives the impression of a weeping willow.  Marvelous if you have room to accommodate it's untidy habit.

In itself the species is another one of several very tall, impressively vigorous green culm and green leaved bamboos worthy of space in a large collection.  However the cultivar 'Aureocaulis' is in a class of it's own.  Jaw-droppingly delicious, this is described by a bamboo specialist as the '8th Wonder of the World'.  Very thick culms of the richest butter yellow, striped randomly with green - not just restricted to the sulcus but all over the culm.  Every internode of every culm is different - sometimes there is a single pinstripe of green, sometimes entirely green, sometimes entirely yellow.  Large leaves add to the spectacle and seen illuminated by the low winter sun it is absolutely stunning.  If I had to choose only one bamboo to grow, it would be this.  It spreads quite far, both underground and above, so give this beautiful plant the unfettered space it needs to look it's best and spend the rest of your days gasping in admiration.

PLEIOBLASTUS

Another offshoot from the once mighty Arundinaria clan, many of these are still seen for sale under their old names.  Some of the plants in this genus are amongst the worst weeds it is possible to introduce into the garden - once established they will spread everywhere and are almost impossible to eradicate.  So DO make sure you know what you are getting.

This nearly falls into the 'un-eradicable weed' category.  It is a tall and very invasive plant with deeply searching rhizomes that travel for many metres if unchecked.  However, it is also extremely delicate and graceful in appearance, having very long, slender, weeping foliage - the longest leaves of any bamboo in relation to their width produced in such quantity that the older culms arch with their weight in that marvelous bamboo way.  If you can give it lots of space in semi-shade then you will be rewarded with a very pretty plant indeed, but don't say I didn't warn you.  There is an almost identical species - P. gramineus - that is equally pretty and troublesome.

Don't let the epithet 'pygmaeus' fool you - there is nothing pygmy about the way this little bamboo spreads.  If you can give it room it is a little cracker - smothering the ground with extremely short - lower than 30cm -  delicate growth that can be strimmed back annually to keep at it's freshest.  If you have the need to cover several square metres of rough ground with something pretty then this will fit the bill, but spread it does.

A nice useful bamboo that grows fairly tall - 5m isn't out of the question - and straight with large-ish leaves and a wind-proof constitution that cries out 'hedge'.  A good workhorse.

Sometimes seen under the name P. fortunei, this is a very attractive variegated bamboo with horizontal stripes of creamy white.  Superficially resembles a clump of that familiar grass Gardener's Garters but with the bamboo growth habit. Great for lightening up a dark spot, where it will tend to get lanky with age. Cutting back each year will ensure the freshest leaf colour and most compact growth.  Spreads a bit but not uncontrollable.

An absolutely terrific bamboo with bright golden-yellow variegations across the leaves in broad, irregular bands.  It has a very compact habit, spreading slowly into a tight and manageable clump, and for the very best colour should be grown in a sunny spot and cut back ( don't forget to feed ) annually.  Perfect for containers.

PSEUDOSASA

This was another of the widely planted Victorian favourites, then all of a sudden in the 70's and 80's it flowered and gradually all but disappeared.  That is all in the past, everyone has now forgiven it for the enormous voids left in those old borders and it is now being planted again.  Another plant that the Plant Police say is coarse and unattractive, this is a trouble-free, jungly plant that will get tall, provide an  excellent wind break and a perfect foil for other exotics.  Ok, it may spread.  Quite a bit.  And come up through Tarmac paths on the footpath side of the fence you planted it next to.

QIONGZHUEA

Did I say the last species would spread ?  Not compared to this innocent looking little thug - makes Genghis Khan seem like a couch potato.  Only 1.5m tall, with an incredibly elegant weeping habit and curiously quaint enlarged nodes, it appeals like a sad-eyed puppy.  Add to that an unfeasibly silly name that demands to be mastered and it is irresistible.  BEWARE !

SASAELLA

I only include this as a warning.  If you ever see this being offered for sale and are tempted to buy it - DON'T.  Unless you have bought a small island you don't want anything else growing on.  Look at the picture and familiarise yourself with it.  Notice how it spreads far, far back .....

SASA

Unlike any other bamboo, with very large, glossy, dark green leaves held aloft on thin stems that rapidly make a dense 2.5m high thicket, or cut back every other year and kept extra-specially luscious and low.   Essential for that tropical look but my goodness what a spreader - described by that eminent plantsman, the late John Kelly, as a 'Brobdingnagian couch grass' it presents the eternal catch 22 for the exoticist.  Tame it in a pot ?  Have to be a big 'un.  Plant it out and condemn yourself to a life time of grubbing out unwanted yards of rhizome ?  The decision is yours but have it you must.

Makes mounds of ground cover and if you're not careful can swamp everything else in the neighbourhood. Give the space or diligence to remove unwanted shoots, this is a fairly attractive short bamboo with large glossy green leaves - at least during the summer.  In winter it has particular marked marginal withering of the leaves - many sasas show this - that looks vaguely like variegation.  To me it looks like marginal withering, especially compared to some of the beautifully variegated bamboos, but that's just me being picky again.  There is a dwarf form of this Sasa veitchii var nana that seems better behaved and remains in better nick all year.

SEMIARUNDINARIA

This is a superb Canary Wharf Tower of a bamboo that grows bolt upright; a sort of exotic replacement for the Leyland Cypress with none of the disadvantages.  Grows very tall with lavish feeding - 7m or so - has lovely thick green canes and large glossy dark green leaves on short lateral branches.  Great for a mixed planting where the texture of a large bamboo is desired but there isn't room for the weeping habit of a phyllostachys.  Also extremely good for a tall hedge.

THAMNOCALAMUS

This species has given rise to a race of excellent cultivars: especially beautiful is 'Kew Beauty' which is one of the most elegant bamboos with very small leaves and an extremely arching habit.  Lovely - best in sun where the green culms take on a red colouration. 

Yet another favourite of mine, this is a bamboo from South Africa that is a little different from the norm.  It is tall - perhaps 4m - but the culms have dense side branches, similarly arranged to chusquea, which are densely clothed with small thick-textured grey-green leaves.  The weight of all this foliage causes the culms to arch very strongly on older growths.  Another distinctive feature are the persistent papery branch sheaths that are very pale biscuit-white.  Lovely, rare and worth seeking out.

YUSHANIA

This is another arundinaria relic that is just as nice as all the others and worth a place in sheltered shade, but I mention it really because of a cultivar called 'Pitt White' named after a once famous garden in Dorset and tended by man of some renown - Alexander Lawson, who nearly 40 yrs ago wrote a book on bamboos that has never been bettered.  Anyway, 'Pitt White'.  I have never seen a large plant in the flesh, only pictures and descriptions, and I wait patiently for my own plant to mature but what a plant.  It has the elegance of the arundinaria clan, with vast quantities of small, thin-textured leaves densely clothing relatively thin culms that arch and cascade under the weight but with the height of the larger phyllostachys, reaching 7m or more.  Wow.  It also has a strange growth pattern in that it will form a dense cluster of canes in a compact area and then for no discernable reason a runner will appear a few metres away and start up a second nice compact group of canes.  This will in turn do the same........you need a bit of room really.

 

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