Cold Climate Bamboo!

We're working on a special water system and are looking for some cold hardy bamboo.  We're in NW Montana, at 5200 elevation with pretty long cold winters, but this is in a very large greenhouse, so it takes the edge off for sure.  

I'm curious if anyone knows of varieties that may thrive in a colder climate- and it anyone has some for sale!  Just some fresh rhizomes would suffice, we don't really need started plants.

And if not, we'd be looking for cold-hardy moisture-loving heavy-feeding plant alternatives.

After a little bit more research, I'm leaning towards Fargesia bamboos, being somewhat shorter and extra cold hardy- plus the varieties I've looked at so far are all clumping.  Any leads on plants would be appreciated :)  

I am looking for zone 4/zone 5 bamboo, cold hardy down to -20F. I can't find any hardy to below -10F. The ones linked here are basically the ones that keep popping up in all my google attempts:

https://lewisbamboo.com/category/bamboo-plants/cold-hardy-bamboo/

Does anyone know of anything hardier?

Anyone growing their own bamboo in a cold climate and willing to share?

My ideal would be giant timber running bamboo, but I'll settle for anything that won't die!

Thanks!

I am sure you have already found Bamboo Garden.  They have a page specific to cold hardy bamboo.  Bamboo Gardens

They say a good bed of mulch around the rhizomes will allow one to grow bamboo a zone lower than rated.  One can grow a zone 5 in zone 4 if the beds are heavily mulched in winter.  

Thank you so much, Jack!

I would have sworn I looked through their whole website, but now I am seeing varieties on the page you linked that say they're hardy down to -20F--awesome!

That is really good to know regarding the mulch, as well.

Jennifer Richardson wrote:

My ideal would be giant timber running bamboo, but I'll settle for anything that won't die!

In my dreams! Apparently there are people here who have what locally referred to as "Japanese timber bamboo", but we're waaayyy... warmer than you guys.

I compromised on Phyllostachys dulcis - fairly large culms and the shoots are yummy in spring stir-fries if I can get them before my goose gets them!

If you can manage a bamboo that's tall enough for its old culms to be useful for garden trellises etc, I recommend that approach, as bamboo benefits from regular harvesting from my experience. The word "farcta" (Phyllostachys nidularia farcta for example) indicats a solid culm rather than hollow. My nidularia farcta has been out-competed by dulcis and *really* needs to be transplanted, but there are places where more solid is advantageous.

I have been growing Phyllostachys nuda in my forest garden without mulch for many years.  Mine is running, but has not achieved much height...maybe 8'.  I should mulch it to see how much it would enjoy that.  I think the coldest mine has seen is probably -17F.  I picked mine up from OGW.  Here's a link with decent info on it:  P. nuda
They mention it's edibility (why I planted it) and give examples of folks growing it in zone 4.

I'm growing incense bamboo, red-margin bamboo, rock bamboo, arrow bamboo, and madake (all phylostachys family) in 7b. I feel this is pretty much their cold limit to retain anything above ground over winter. I have had some die-back in colder weather when they were young. The issue is getting them established. Once they form a solid grove, they seem to be much hardier. The grow so thick they can choke out even the peskiest brambles. The leaves kind of form a cocoon around the grove, and the culms draw a lot of water from the ground to provide warmth. The problem is that it takes a few years for them to get established to this point. If you are willing to have them die back every year, you may find something. How deep does your ground freeze? They have shallow roots.

I have been corresponding with a very helpful woman at Bamboo Garden. This is an excerpt from her latest email:

There are some clumping bamboos that are leaf hardy to -20F, but they are shade lovers and are sensitive to heat, so they would not survive due to the direct sun and summer heat.  The cold hardy running bamboos are only leaf hardy down to -10F, but their roots are actually tougher and more cold hardy than the roots of the clumping types.  These are my recommendations:

Phyllostachys bissetii  - This species seems to be the toughest and most cold hardy, and it has foliage branching almost all the way down to the ground.

Phyllostachys aureosulcata and ‘Spectabilis’ variety

Phyllostachys nuda  

Phyllostachys atrovaginata - This species has the strongest wood, but foliage doesn't begin until 5-6' up.  

Phyllostachys parvifolia


In order to estimate the maximum mature height in your location, I would subtract about 10 feet from the indicated height for each of these.  Please note, if you do get more than one species, we do not recommend planting them together.  We suggest keeping them separated by rhizome barrier or a pruning trench if they are going in the same area.

For cold climates, I do advise starting with a #5 size if possible. The #5 size (average height 4-6') is $95 per plant for each of the above except for the parvifolia, which is $120 per plant.  The #5 size ships for $20 per plant.  You could only get a couple of #5 size plants and stay under $250.  You are welcome to try them in smaller sizes if you want to experiment, but a #5 has a better chance of making it the first winter.  

We have a max budget of $250, so I will need to narrow these varieties down or go with a smaller size than she recommends--I am thinking fewer varieties in larger sizes to maximize winter survival potential.

Phyllostachys atrovaginata is Incense Bamboo. It's been the hardiest here. It did die back to the ground it's second winter when it got down to single digits. I wouldn't have thought it would do well in much colder climates, but I'm sure she has more experience (then again she wants to sell some). I can send you guys some if you want. I'm not sure about shipping rhizomes this time of year, though. Or plants for that matter. It's quite hot here, and the shipping companies are bogged down pretty bad. I've had some packages take an inordinate amount of time lately. It may also be best to plant them in spring anyway so the roots have a full season to develop as much as possible before winter. Do you have anyone passing by western KY coming to the Labs anytime soon? That would be awesome. We could get you lots of big plants for free. I had another idea: do you have (or could you make) some kind of simple, portable greenhouse to help establish plants a little outside of their zone? I think if you could shelter them a couple winters, it might help extend your range of plants like this.

I really like this variety. It tastes very good, even raw. But I hate to eat too much of it because each little shoot is a mature plant you will not have. I have just gotten to the point that the grove is big enough to harvest culms and shoots in any real numbers. The culms are not as big as I had hoped. I had read up to 3", but the biggest I have so far is maybe 2". I did notice this year's culms are taller than ever, so it is hopefully still developing. This is  about year seven since planted.

Jordan,

We would love to have some incense bamboo! I agree with you that shipping them right now wouldn't be a good idea, though, and we don't have anyone passing by that way. We would be really interested in having you ship us some in spring, though, and if we have anyone going your way in the meantime, we will let you know. Thanks so much!

I should be able to send a small P. nuda division if you're interested as well Jen.  I just need a reminder in the spring :)

Nothing like a timber type for me so far, but a food type.  Granted, I haven't mulched and the rhizomes are still developing so perhaps the best is yet to come.

That would be awesome, Greg!

The lady I was talking to said that P. parvifolia is an experimental cold-hardy timber bamboo recently introduced from Europe. Alas, we'll probably be going with something less experimental, but maybe something you'd want to play around with?

Teehehe...you know me!

Pardon me, I must step away to place an order.

Took some pics today. This is what the atrovaginata grove looks like. The tall culms do have branches starting at 4-5 feet, but the small ones fill in below enough to block sight or wind if that's what you are wanting. They are self-mulching with a nice layer of culm sheaths and leaves. But I have yet to detect the sandalwood smell, unfortunately.

Hi all, thought it's time to breathe new life into this thread!

Cold hardy bamboos - a really important topic for all of us living in colder climates, and I intend to write a proper article about it on my website soon!

The Phyllostachys (classic, big, spreading bamboos) species that Jennifer mentioned are the usual suspects for cold climates:

Phyllostachys bissetii  - This species seems to be the toughest and most cold hardy, and it has foliage branching almost all the way down to the ground.

Phyllostachys aureosulcata and ‘Spectabilis’ variety

Phyllostachys nuda  

Phyllostachys atrovaginata - This species has the strongest wood, but foliage doesn't begin until 5-6' up.  

Phyllostachys parvifolia

As far as I've seen in my research, P.bissetii is often recommended as the most cold hardy species, but it's worth digging around online gardening forums. I found this from a grower in southern Ontario:

nuda was a total bust here in zone 4b/5a. I heard the same thing from a fellow in Niagara, not that it failed, just that it was like having 'running sticks' as opposed to bamboo. I can't list all of the plants that have failed here, but a list would include: P. vivax, rubromarginata, F. murieale (could try again), P. bissetti, P. aureosulcata 'aureocaulis', and about 15 other Phyllostachys that I can't remember right now! Outside of zone 6, and even in zone 6, plants need some serious size to have a chance of making it long term (i.e. larger than 7 gallon sized). I imagine that I'd still have lots of different species if I had listened to that advice when I first started with bamboo!

The ones that are succeeding are:
P. aureosulcata, probably averages 15' or so. Usually mostly top-kills here, shoots in May.
P. aureosulcata 'spectibilis': Seems to downsizing here, probably no taller than 10'. Not as vigorous as the species.
P. aureosulcata 'alata': Running like a champ. Has spread very quickly, but is still really short at (perhaps) 6'. I keep hoping for an upsize.

So - it seems that this fella was having the most success with P.aureosulcata than P.bissetti, dulcis, or others, although interestingly he says that the P.aureosulcata variety 'aureocaulis' failed. I hope that was just bad luck because I just ordered one for my land in Latvia in zone 5!

P.parvifolia also sounds so promising - maybe the hardiest, but hard to get hold of. It's said to even thrive in wet soils.

I've also ordered Fargesia 'Jiuzhaigou' I - Red Dragon, which, according to https://www.bamboogarden.com/cold-hardy-bamboo - is hardy down to -20°F.

Let's see!

I'd love to hear more of your experience guys, cheers!

I have focused on learning about the native bamboo to my area thus far, so I am excited about threads like this where I can learn about other kinds!

Giant river cane: In the Eastern Kentucky mountains, USDA zone 6b, we are in the middle of the native range for Arundinaria gigantea, giant river cane. I've seen it survive through temperatures down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and I have seen references that it can survive to -10F. That is the variety that we grow and sell at our farm.

Switch cane: I'm at the northern edge of the native range for Arundinaria tecta, switch cane. I planted some a small rhizome a year ago that was grown in South Carolina, and it has survived one winter, but that is not enough to confidently say it will always do well.

Hill cane: The third temperate native bamboo species in North America has not been as extensively studied: Arundinaria appalachiana. My partner and I are pretty sure we have seen it growing in the mountains of East Tennessee, South Carolina, and Northern Alabama. There are documented sightings in Western North Carolina. It must be able survive down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit to be native to those areas, if not even colder. If I made my identification correctly, I planted a small rhizome of hill cane here that I found in a ditch while traveling, but I have no first-person knowledge of this species yet other than spotting it a couple of times in other areas. Maybe I will know more in a few years

Kārlis Taurenis wrote:
Cold hardy bamboos - a really important topic for all of us living in colder climates, and I intend to write a proper article about it on my website soon!

The Phyllostachys (classic, big, spreading bamboos) species that Jennifer mentioned are the usual suspects for cold climates:

Our average winter temps "claim" +2C, however we've got a weather system moderated by the Pacific El Nino and La Nina superimposed on even bigger fluctuations from other systems whose names I've forgotten. What that means, is that my P. dulcis which has been growing well for over a decade, has had years when it seemed to put up plenty of new culms, and last year, when there were surprisingly few. Last year we had some periods of below 0C weather, and have again this year.

I would certainly say that neither my P. dulcis nor my P. nigra grow as tall or thick as they would in warmer climates, but I was warned about that. P. nigra bloomed last year. I cut one of them to the ground as it was making a big mess in a place that was a problem, and it did put up new sprouts. I suspect the new sprouts will also try to bloom this year, but who knows? I could not find seed in any of the pods - I'm thinking it needs to cross pollinate and the only people with P. nigra I know have the same clone as mine.

Good luck with your efforts! I do find bamboo a very useful building material, particularly where I need light weight, or temporary support.

Arundinaria appalachiana is a deciduous bamboo.  In the SC mountains, it remains green, despite frosts, into the first week of December, at which time the leaves turn yellow and drop.  Typical height is 4’ with an occasional culm up to 7’.  The appalachiana plants growing in the woods around my parent’s house near Hendersonville, NC tolerated-16 degrees F in 1985 without dying back.

Thanks very much all of you for your input! Very interesting to learn about native bamboos and woody grasses...

I would be tempted to try growing Giant Miscanthus here (in Latvia) also, except that when I tried growing it in Devon, southwest England, late spring frosts killed the emerging shoots, setting the plants back.

Late spring frosts can be harder and later here - easily til the end of May, so I think it's not worth trying. I'm hoping that bamboo shoots are a little tougher!

Bamboo shoots can be killed by late frosts just as easily as grass shoots and the shoots of early shooting species of Phyllostachys, like moso (Phyllostachys edulis), can be killed by late frost. Among Phyllostachys, henon bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra henonis) is later shooting then most,  also Semiarundinaria fastuosa shoots very late for a spring shooting bamboo and its shoots are rarely damaged by frost.