Fargesia Species, Umbrella Bamboo

This is a wonderful plant, both beautiful and well-behaved. Unlike most bamboos, which have earned a bad reputation for running aggressiv...Read Moreely, Fargesia species form clumps which expand only very slowly. No root barriers are required.

This species is hardy to Z5, and performs best in light shade, or at least with protection from afternoon sun. Does not like hot summer climates. Performs best in rich, well-drained soil with even moisture. Height varies by clone, but is generally 10-15'.

The common name isn't commonly used, but it comes from the graceful weeping/umbrella shape a clump takes. F. murielae and F. nitida look very similar.

Bamboos are monocarpic---they die shortly after flowering. With bamboos, this happens only every hundred years or so, and somehow all members of a species all over the world tend to go to flower within a few years of each other. This happened in the 1990's with this species. New cultivars have been selected from plants grown from seed produced in the 1990's.

I was told the other day that this plant blooms ONCE every hundred years. Always on the same day and every plant, no matter where it is ...Read More(country, continent etc.) blooms at the same time. I've been trying to find confirmation of this miraculous phenomina as it was told to me by a priest. Anyone else ever heard this?

Umbrella bamboo, Fargesia murieliae, is one of the lovliest garden bamboos. It is a clumper, so not at all invasive. It is also one of ...Read Morethe hardiest, surviving to -20 F. I have been growing mine in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (zone 5b) for 8 years with no problems (it is now approaching 6 ft). They are mostly evergreen but a few older leaves turn yellow in fall, adding to the interest.