These bamboos are all giants. They range in size from 4 inches up to almost 7 inches in diameter and 40 to 75 feet tall! A grove of giant bamboo makes an impressive specimen plant but needs plenty of room. Many can be grown in pots if the container is big enough.
Free Shipping With Every Order
Height: 55ft | Diameter: 3.5in | Hardy: 0°
This bamboo looks very similar to Giant Gray Henon. It is supposed to have a dark stripe (sulcis) on each internode. Some of my older canes do have the stripe but it is not very prominent. The canes that get more sun seem to have the darker stripe but it shows up best on canes older than 3 years or so. The timber is very high quality, great for building. After about 8 years my largest canes are almost 3 inches in diameter. My grove put up several canes larger than 3 inches last year and they now have a look that appears new to me. All frosty whte with a striped pattern beneath - kind of spooky looking.
Height: 65ft | Diameter: 4.5in | Hardy: 0°
This bamboo will likely suffer some damage in zone 5 during the winter and won't get over about 15 feet tall. You can expect 30 to 40 feet in zone 6, and 40 to 60 feet high in zone 7. As always, fertilizing, mulching, and watering will make a big difference. This is a beautiful bamboo with very distinct, bluish gray culms. It is a giant bamboo with culms that can get to over 4" in diameter. With it's ghostly look and high quality timber this is one of my favorites bamboos. Probably one of the easiest to spot and identify from a distance. There is a grove in Birmingham that has spread through the back yards of several homes, following a small creek. They seem to love the bamboo as most keep their part of the grove well groomed. The canes have high quality timber for crafts and construction. My grove came from a huge old grove on the river. The owner was removing bamboo, trees, and everthing else growing there. I got some plants and lots of roots. I happened to get the roots at just the rigt time of the year and many sprouted. I cut a huge Giant Gray cane at the same time. It was about the maximum size, 4 and 1/2 inches in diameter and I used it one year to mount a television antenna (pre- sattelite TV days).
Height: 70ft | Diameter: 5in | Hardy: -5°
Bright yellow, giant culms, with ocassional green stripes. It is the same as Vivax but with beautiful yellow culms it is a real eye catcher. My largest canes this year, in a 7 year old grove, were almost 3 inches in diameter. When I first planted this grove I intended to move it within a few months. I never got around to it and 7 years later I am trying to move it but it's not easy!. I used the tractor to move some of the largest canes last fall and hope to get the rest of it moved next fall. Similar in appearance to Robert Young but it has more and larger green stripes, the canes get larger, and it is more cold hardy.
Height: 45ft | Diameter: 3in | Hardy: -5°
Similar to the form (Pigskin, P.viridis) but has a yellow groove on the internodes. Like the species, P.viridis, this has the pigskin like texture.
Height: 35ft | Diameter: 3in | Hardy: -15°
Another giant bamboo, this has canes that are very large in diameter in proportion to their height. The shoots are some of the best for eating. Supposedly this bamboo is one of the few that will grow in damp areas. This is one of the more cold hardy species, staying green down to -15 F. My grove of Incense bamboo has done quite well and has a distinct look. This has proven to be surprisingly popular bamboo. I've sold out over the last two years even though I had a good supply. We have a grove of this which is just beautiful. The canes have a stought, strong look.
Height: 70ft | Diameter: 6in | Hardy: 0°
This bamboo is one of the best for timber as it is straight with very thick walled culms. It is one of the giants and makes a beautiful grove. It makes a very impressive grove with some of the largest culms. It is often confused with P.vivax but can be easily distinguished by comparing new shoots in the spring. I have a small grove of this bamboo but just down the road is a huge grove with many 4"+ canes. There are a number of groves around Birmingham and most all are impressive with giant, towering canes. The fence we built a few years ago was constructed largely of this type bamboo. I cut canes in groves all over my area (with permission of the owners of course).
Height: 75ft | Diameter: 7in | Hardy: 0°
Largest of all the temperate bamboos, the culms can reach 7 inches in diameter. I've stood in a mature grove of this bamboo and it was awesome. Dark and still, it was like being in a jungle. Tiny leaves and giant, down covered canes make this a striking bamboo. The canes flare out at the bottom and the nodes get closer and closer together giving them a unique look. It is used for both eating and poles. China and Japan have giant forest of this bamboo. It is the bamboo used for scaffolding and the bamboo shoots used in Chinese cooking are from this species. In the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" there were some amazing scenes filmed in a bamboo grove. The bamboo was Moso. On tours of my groves this bamboo never fails to impress visitors.
Height: 40ft | Diameter: 3.5in | Hardy: 0°
I found a grove of this bamboo growing on the banks of a local river several years ago and it was amazing. It had to be 30 years old and had giant canes growing in rich, bottom land. The owner was bulldozing the grove to clear it away. I was able to dig a couple of truck loads and that is where my grove started. This is one of the most striking of the giant bamboos. Big, beautiful, canes with color that just just can't be beat. My 8 year old grove has numerous culms over 4" in diameter. Buttery yellow with ocassional green stripes, just beautiful! The grove that lines my driveway always brings a smile to people's faces.
Height: 40ft | Diameter: 3in | Hardy: -5°
Basically a big, green bamboo but there is something different about this one. The way the canes slightly curve, the light green color, it's just beautiful. The shoots are some of the prettiest, with long wavy sheath blades and a pink color overall. This is supposed to have the most acid free, sweetest tasting bamboo shoots.
Height: 70ft | Diameter: 6in | Hardy: -5°
Dark green, giant culms. This is the second largest of the hardy giants. I have personally cut and measured culms that were over 5 inches in diameter and 65 feet tall. A mature grove of Vivax is just incredible. Many culms won't have any limbs for the first 30 feet or more. Fast growing and fairly quick to attain giant size culms. If you want giant canes, quick, this is the best choice.
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.