bambooweb.info

Hola!

I am a relative newbie with two questions: what is the most reliable way to determine a species hardiness (apart from purchasing and experimenting, obviously) and am I correct in that the search bar for the forums does not work or is it just user error?

More specifically to the hardiness question, to my knowledge Ph. Nuda and Arunindaria Gigantea & sometimes "Macon" seem to be the most cold hardy species listed here but it is so interesting that each source who may grow and sell has their own estimates with temperature swings of 10 degrees or more at times. Then there are the differences between browning, top kill and root kill.

I am in the suburbs outside of St. Louis and have been graciously educated and supported by Alan_L (and thus inderectly Needmore!) yet I continue to strive to find the perfect bamboo that will survive both our humid 110 degree summers and our cold-blasted -10 or -15 degree winters while creating the ever elusive EVERgreen screen. I have surviving Ph. Nuda, Bissetii, Atrovaginata, Aureosulcata 'Spectabilis', Heteroclada 'Purpurata' and whatever "Yellow Stripe"/"Golden Crookstem" is going by these days. The bigger specimens are doing better for obvious reasons but they aren't getting enough light as I'd like.
I have taken out the dying evergreen bushes in the front yard and will be placing the most hardy specimen I can on either side of the walkway to my front door in full sun (with some wind protection from an attached garage but still largely susceptible to big gusts) and I really want to nail this opportunity to let this beautiful subfamily shine for all and be healthy. For now I have two equal sized Ph. Nuda specimens that I am planning on moving there either soon this year or next year. We are technically zone 6a/b in St. Louis, fyi.

Any suggestions/discussions are welcome.


Thank you to all who would respond. This site is a wealth of information that is very well run and moderated (gracias, Needmore) and I have gotten much use out of it thus far and hope to continue to learn and immerse myself in the culture of the "bambusero."

-Sinclair

Welcome to the forum! If it were me I'd go with the Spectabilis, I think it is about as hardy as Bissetii but much nicer to look at. Personally I'm not a fan of Nuda.

I am in southwest Missouri on a farm with open land all around. Open Prairies so the wind always blows. Anything that can make it here is pretty hardy.
Arundinaria does really well here. P Stimulosa is a very strong grower and has never died back or top killed in the 7 years I've had it. Shanghai 3 and Parvifolia have also done well for me. P Hispida and P Humilis look very promising but they have only been here two years. I also added Varioauriculata and Iridescens and they came thru last years winter untouched.
The Forum Search function is hit or miss. On the header at the top of the page is a Bamboo button. The drop down menu gives you the "Find Bamboo" option. That will take you to the page with all the data on the various Bamboos

Sinclair wrote:Hola!

I am a relative newbie with two questions: what is the most reliable way to determine a species hardiness (apart from purchasing and experimenting, obviously) and am I correct in that the search bar for the forums does not work or is it just user error?

-Sinclair

If you want to search within the forum you use the link below that search bar.

Logged in or not

Thank you all!! Looks like I have some more research to do!

Bissetii and the aureosulcatas seem most cold/wind hardy to me. Nuda does pretty well too, but only after it has (slowly) reached close to maturity. Bissetti most likely to survive winter unscathed, but the different aureosulcatas (with exception of Harbin) do OK except for tops, which get wind burned in winter gales.

Am in area listed as 7A, but it is very windy sometimes and we have been down to -15 or 20F once in a while. It seldom gets as hot here as in St Louis though.

Wind exposure makes a big difference. In my yard the plants on the north side seem to take the biggest hit even though the neighbor house it there -- it doesn't directly shield the bamboos. My bissetii is there and it loses a lot of culms every winter, unless maybe 30% culm death every year is normal with that species.

If planting near a walkway, remember that until big culms start being produced those smaller culms will hang down usually in the direction that causes the most trouble.

I think you already have many of the top hardy ones.
Parvifolia slightly less hardy than aureosulcata but have the potential to grow larger, so long as it doesn't get top killed. As long as your winter doesn't go weeks of negative teens (Celsius) or lower, I think it would do ok.