I've only heard as far north as zone 5 for bamboo. If you have a greenhouse you could do it with a smaller variety. A Fargesia species might be able to hold in zone 4. I'll check my reference books and see what I can find.
After having looked through my books, the hardiest species mentioned are in the Fargesia genus. There is some indication that they have pushed them as far as zone 4. I don't believe that they will get taller than 10 feet.
da wanderer wrote: I'll check my reference books and see what I can find.
Hello Wanderer
Can you please advise books which have this kind of information? Also, any books which tell what plant does what to the soil (fixes nitrogen, consumes nitrogen, makes x mineral bio-available etc.) and what leaves & wood of a given plant do to the soil, post-mulch and etc.
Sanjay, you might want to repost that question to a new thread. It's a good and relevant question that many of us would probably be happy to answer. Just a thought. Rick
i would love to grow a non running bamboo too ..we are zone 4 /5...but I'll have to just substitute my Jerusalem Artichokes for them..another good substitute if you don't mind super invasives is japanese knotweed, polygonum..it is very invasive but has beautiful flowers and shoots are edible.
Brenda
Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/
During my PDC we visited Tripple Brook Farm in Western MA. They have countless varieties, I believe you can order from their website. After a quick look they have varieties hardy to -20! Tripple Brook Bamboo Page
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Hi Rick, did you try out any bamboo and how did it work out?
My parents had bamboo in their southern Wisconsin house when I was a kid. Back then it was probably zone 4b. It grew about 10' tall and was around an inch in diameter. I wish I knew what variety it was...
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This bamboo should be very cold hardy although they do not list the exact zone. They do carry other plants in the zone 2-5 range. Will probably experiment with these myself in the next year or two.
Thanks Matthew, that could be a winner. When I click on that link I get a "page not found". I did a search on their site for bamboo and it brought it right up. I'll try to link it here Looks like it's an option, I wish it got taller. I did have luck this year using tall sunflower stalks as bean trellises so for now, that's my bamboo replacement.
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