Aggressive growing and decorative, this plant spreads by rhizomes and has potential to cover a large area unless contained. Young stems or culms emerge green, but mature to black by the end of the first growing season. Mature stems are ebony black, providing a unique ornamental quality in the landscape especially when contrasted to its lush green foliage canopy. Use ‘Black Jade’ as a barrier or screening plant or use it to create a grove effect with thick, woody stems and overhead foliage that is nearly impossible to create with other plants. ‘Black Jade’ even works well as a container plant for patios or decks! See page 11 for more information on the Booshoot program.
From northern China, this rare form of Fargesia was collected by a Swiss Bamboo collector as a seedling from Jiuzhaigou Park innorthern Sichuan and later imported to the United States from Europe. It is similar to ‘Jiuzhaigou I’, but is taller than this closely named selection, getting up to 15 feet tall at maturity. Even better, the culms of this exciting selection turn a fantastic shade of red when grown in full sun.Each stalk is a slim .75 inches in diameter but is woody enough to be cut and dried and used as garden stakes. While you might marvel about this ability, what you really are interested in is its landscape presence and ‘Jiuzhaigou Genf’ is a standout as a tall growing, clumping specimen or grouped to form a graceful, rare and exciting tall screen planting. Very hardy, this selection is best grown in full to a half day sun for best looking color and foliage. It loves moist, well drained soil and is virtually pest free making it maintenance free once established and, like all Fargesia types, is non-invasive.
If you can pronounce it, then you sure deserve to be rewarded by the spectacular show of color in the intense red of the young culm shoots which fade to a soothing mellow yellow in this upright cultivar. One of the most cold hardy of Fargesias, ‘Jiuzhaigou’ will tolerate down to -25 giving those in colder regions an opportunity to enjoy its color and its ability to create a stunning specimen or border planting that is clumping, not invasive. ‘Jiuzhaigou’ prefers a half-day of good sun to give those young shoots their brilliant red coloration and will thrive in moist, well-drained soil.
The famous botanical explorer E.H. Wilson thought this was the most stunning of all bamboos, enough to name this glorious specimen after his beloved daughter, Muriel. Clumping and non-invasive, this unusual beauty boasts bright green foliage that is densely packed on slender cascading canes creating a flowing, fountain-like footprint in the landscape that is unique and riveting. It’s a perfect plant for a specimen or it will group to create a short, flowing border planting that will always grab your attention. This selection tolerates full sun, but thrives in partial shade and in moist, well-drained soil… you may even want to grow it in a large container for a unique accent on your deck or patio!
Fargesia dedudata has impressed many a gardener with its ability to withstand heat and keep the lush green color everyone loves about Bamboo. Unlike most Fargesia, denudata’s leaves are evergreen giving it a strong winter landscape presence. The leaves are smaller and the branching is shorter than other Fargesia types giving it a delicate look and making it an excellent selection for a container or screen. Its canes reach ½ an inch in diameter and have a graceful arch creating a stunning fountain of foliage. Plant denudata in rich moist soils with some afternoon shade to protect it from the hot afternoon sun which can cause it to turn golden. One of the best uses for this bamboo is as a stand alone specimen that forms a slowly expanding, non-invasive clump making a dramatic focal point in the landscape.
The secret’s out everyone’s talking about this rare, much sought after clumping bamboo and Prides Corner Farms has got it! Found in the mountains of western China in 1997, this exciting selection will thrill you as early culms show off vivid bright orange/red sheaths, opening to reveal steel blue and lavender culms that slowly fade to a pleasing olive. The culms are thicker and more substanitive than many of the other Fargesias giving it a more robust texture that will make it even more boldly stand out in your landscape. ‘Scabrida’ is more sun tolerant than many of the other Fargesias and is upright and vigorous making it ideal for a tall spot in the landscape of for use grouped to form a stunning low maintenance border planting
If you lived in the western Chinese mountains, this might not be your first choice for landscaping since it is a favorite food of the indigenous Giant Pandas which might devastate your landscape. Without such bothers here, you’ll find this selection to be elegant, easy to grow and an exciting, clumping, non-invasive addition to your landscape. Early shoots on this hardy species display exquisite orange-red culm sheaths surrounding the narrow, upright shoots that tend to fountain over slightly as they rise, creating a flowing landscape form that will be prized individually or in groups. This clumping mountain bamboo also makes the perfect evergreen screen with dark green foliage that will keep the landscape cool looking even in the heat of summer. It grows well in any sun to partial shade location in moist, well-drained soil and, in the absence of Giant Pandas, even the deer won’t munch on them.