I live in Fayetteville, AR, (zone 6b) and I'm just looking for some suggestions for different types of Bamboo that can be grown in various lighting conditions in this area. First, are there any species that can be grown in a very shady area (i.e. under some tall trees)? Next, what about a partially shaded area (maybe 4-5 hours of full sun per day)? Thanks!
i have bamboo in my yard now.vietenmese variety, i think,they grow in morning sun quite well.just to tell,bamboo is EXTREMELY invasive after third or fourth year.rizones can travel many feet and pop up all over.if close to neighbors ,might be a serious problem.there are some varities that arent so invasive.sorry i dont know which.
In conversations with local gardeners about bamboos, the most often used generalizations are " clumping or running". Clumpers tend to stay pretty much at home and spread oh-so-slowly. Runners do exactly that. In little time, they are coming up well away from the parent stock. For peace of mind when bamboo borders are contemplated, try to stick to clumpers.
Running bamboos have been given a bad rap generally. This is probably the one single reason why this most beautiful of plants is not used as extensively as they should be. Whereas it is true that running bamboos spread, the rate of spread varies significantly between the different species. The bad reputation that bamboo got stuck with is largely due the rapid and often rampant spread of the ubiquitous Phyllostachys aurea, often grown without the installation of a rhizome barriers. And yet, when one goes to a nursery to buy a bamboo, what else is on offer but P aurea. On the other hand, I wish my P vivax 'Aureacaulis' would spread faster. At $100 for a 5 gallon division, I sure could do with a faster rate of spread so I could divide some off to sell. It's in it's third year, and it's just starting to throw off more adventurous rhizomes. I just can't wait! Ditto my P nigra (Black Bamboo). Clumpers have extremely short "rhizomes", therefore, tends to have a very tight root ball. Unfortunately, most clumpers are not very exciting bamboos. The one variety which does well in shade is Indocalamus tessellatus. This one does run aggressively. The culms are short, in general about 3 feet tall, although in the right conditions, they can get up to 6 feet. The striking feature of I tessellatus are it's huge leaves - measuring 2 feet long and up to 4-6 inches wide.. It has the largest leaves of all temperate bamboos. The leaves seem to get bigger the more shade it gets. Mine receives just 3 hours of mid morning sun. I grow this one for cooking a very specific Chinese delicacy called "Bak Chang". (By the way, if you buy this bamboo, tell the cashier that it's for food production - that way, you don't have to pay the PST.)
I looked it up and I like the looks of Indocalamus tessellatus. Can it be expected to grow well in the area I live (NW Arkansas)?
It's zone 6b. Our winters can vary quite a bit but aren't normally bad. This last winter was especially mild with only one real snow event, but even that was only about 4". We sometimes get winters where we may have 3-4 snow events and a "big" snowfall for us would be 6-8". A cold winter day would be in the teens F. There are occassional dips into the single digits, but sub-zero F temps are somewhat rare. Most winter days are going to be in the 40s.
In general, most temperature bamboos will survive with temperatures on the plus side of the Fahrenheit scale, but a few will survive lower temperatures than that. The American Bamboo Society website lists the minimum temperatures for the different species. But this can only be a generalisation. Survivability depends on other factors other than just temperature readings - availability of snow cover, wind conditions, etc. Lewis Bamboo gives a list of cold hardy bamboos - you might find this list more helpful.
