Bambusa Textilis
"Weaver's Bamboo"

I grow in a compact clump of straight, tough, narrow & thin-walled 2" diameter canes which create a handsome, graceful ornamental plant. I am said to be the hardiest of the Bambusas, usually OK to about 15 degrees F. I am very stately, with a compact base, long slender culms and a beautiful fountain shape. I will not go unnoticed in the garden!

My dried culms are resistant to the powder post beetle, which will sometimes eat out the inside of the culm on other varieties & leave only white powder plus a scattering of minute holes on the outer skin. I'm also somewhat drought tolerant.  Not too common because I am somewhat more difficult to propagate than other giant tropicals in that I am harder to grow from culm cuttings and because of my habit of leafing out high up on the culm, It is also hard to make a root division smaller than a 15 gallon can. Plus, there is not as much of my mother stock available since I am not commonly used for hedging.

In 1985, I was flowering both in Puerto Rico & China. In 1988, I flowered & went to seed at the USDA entry station at Sherman Gardens in Florida. 40% of my culms were in full flower, producing several hundred seedlings. I then stopped producing seed and returned to my normal appearance with no die-back. I am native to the Guangxi & Guangdong Provinces in South-east China.