This section lists the tropical bamboo plant varieties we have in production. They
are all tropical, or sub-tropical, clumping bamboos and are generally not
cold-hardy like the temperate, running bamboos. Some, the sub-tropicals, can
tolerate freezing temperatures for short periods. Check the minimum
temperatures listed on each species description as a guideline for which
species can grow unprotected in your area.
Use our Search Bamboo page to find something specific.
The smallest of the Bambusa textilis species. Leaves are narrow and downward facing. This cultivar was first located at Rockledge Gardens in central Florida. This species looks fantastic cut as hedge or perfect for privacy under powerlines. 3' on center is recommended for a dense privacy screen. 15' - 20' with up to 1" dia. culms. Min. temp 15F. Min USDA zone 8b.
Click here to find zone
Very similar to B.textilis mutabilis. Erect, thin-walled bamboo with persistent white powdery bloom at the nodes. Long internodes, small leaves, and graceful foliage. One of many cultivars of Bambusa textilis.
35' tall and 2" dia. culms. Min. temp 20F. Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
This bamboo has been somewhat overlooked because of the
popularity of Gracilis. Certainly attractive and distinctive, it will gain its own notoriety with each planted specimen. Random bluish-white bloom on culms.
About 25' - 30' tall with 1" dia. culms.
Min. temp 15F. Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
A beautiful all-green bamboo that's often planted in a row to create a privacy hedge or screen. Also makes a delicate focal point in the garden when planted as a single specimen. Foliage cascades gracefully with leaf tips pointing downward. This would be the ideal bamboo to plant as a screen in similar applications as Areca palms or ficus are used. For this type of application, they are planted in a row 3 to 5 feet apart. Spacing depends on how dense and how quickly you need your hedge.
About 23' - 27' tall with about 1" dia. culms.
Min. temp 15F. Min USDA zone: 8b.
Click here to find zone
This is the famous textilis clone that has wowed thousands of visitors at Kanapaha Gardens, Gainesville, FL. Until recently, it was not propagated for the general public. A large-growing, stunningly beautiful specimen that has plenty of white powdery bloom on the culms. The common name 'Royal Bamboo' is a literal translation of Wong Chuk. This is the largest-growing variety of textilis. It has reached 50' tall and it is hardy to just below 20 degrees F. Min USDA zone: 8b.Click here to find zone
One of the smaller varieties of textilis that develops a mottled or spotted pattern on the culms. The name maculata is derived from the Latin word maculatus, meaning "spotted".
Delicate in appearance - very tight in form but thin culms arch when heavy after rain. 20 - 25' with 1" diameter culms at maturity. Like all of the textilis varieties, it is cold hardy to the high teens F.
Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
Erect, thin-walled bamboo with persistent white powdery bloom at the nodes. Long internodes, small leaves, and graceful foliage. Very delicate - classic Asian appearance. A cultivar of Bambusa textilis.
30'-37' tall and 1.5" dia. culms. Min. temp 20F.
Min USDA zone: 8b.Click here to find zone
A distinct variety of Bambusa textilis that develops purple/black culms.
The culms darken over a much longer period than Bambusa lako or Gigantochloa atroviolacea. Each new shoot takes up to a year after culm development to complete the darkening process. Sunlight, even filtered sunlight, is important to develop the dark culms. Any culms that are fully shaded will remain green.
Since 2012, we've made seven attempts to import this bamboo, each time the propagules not surviving the import process. Finally, in 2016, another attempt succeeded. Two offsets were collected at South China Botanic Garden and sent to USDA quarantine. These were cleared and released in 2018. They're now growing in our test field and propagation began in 2020.
These are now available, first come first served.
About 25' - 30' tall with about 1 1/2" dia. culms.
Min. temp 15F. Min USDA zone: 8b.
Click here to find zone
Distinct appearance. This textilis variety has very short branches giving it a unique feature on an otherwise standard form. From a variety originaly introduced by Dr. Steve Scranton (Florida). Fantastic landscape bamboo. Will grow to 35' tall with 2" diameter culms in Florida. Minimum temp., 15 degrees F. Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
This Vietnamese import is similar to Bambusa textilis gracilis (Graceful Bamboo) but matures somewhat fuller, overall. Ideally planted 3' - 5' apart, in a row, to create a privacy hedge. It can be trimmed as a hedge or left to grow naturally.
About 20' - 30' tall with 1" dia. culms.
Min. temp 15F Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
The straight, thick-walled culms are one of the most useful of any tropical bamboo. For more than a century, this has been the choice for making split-bamboo flyrods. As an ornamental, it makes a nice statement with its erect form and white powder on the young culms.
50' tall with 3" diameter culms. Hardy to 27 degrees F. Min USDA zone: 9b. Click here to find zone
A new import - released from USDA quarantine in September/2018. This variety of Bambusa tulda has transitioning colored vertical stripes on the culms, varying from green, to cream colored, to yellow, to rosy-pink, to orange. Highly ornate.
The original imported specimen is growing well in our test field and we will have the first propagules available by mid-2020.
Will grow to 35' with 2" dia. culms. Min. temp 27°F. MIn USDA zone: 9b. Click to find your zone.
The large, straight, thick-walled culms of B.tulda are one of the most useful of any tropical bamboo grown in the U.S. This variety has cream colored stripes on the green culms. Ornate young shoots with hair and striations on sheaths. From India.
Will grow to 35' with 2" dia. culms. Min. temp 27F. Min USDA zone: 9b. Click here to find zone
Similar to Bambusa tulda but not as large and more hardy. It produces a large number of thick-walled culms growing in a tight clump. Cut culms traditionally used to push boats in rivers and streams (the non-football definition of "punt" is: to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake). Will grow to 45' tall with 2.5" diameter culms in Florida. Minimum temp. 15 degrees F. Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
For those who live in southern areas of the USA, but not far south enough to grow the frost-sensitive Bambusa vulgaris Wamin, this may be your solution!
Bambusa vulgaris Wamin (Dwarf Buddha's Belly Bamboo), with its distinctively compressed and swollen internodes, has always teased growers who experience the occasional freeze each year. Their only option was to grow the more cold-hardy Bambusa ventricosa (Buddha's Belly), which only produces reliable bellied culms under stress. This new introduction to the USA, collected by us in Hua'an, China in November/2012, will be frost-tolerant AND will produce reliable bellied culms.
UPDATE: After spending nearly two years in quarantine under USDA care, it was released to us in July/2014. It has been exclusively test grown at Tropical Bamboo Nursery since then. Limited availability began early September 2017.
The common name Cool Buddha was given primarily to identify this species as appropriate for cooler climate zones.
Will grow to around 18' tall with 2.5" diameter culms in Florida. Minimum temp. 15 degrees F. Min USDA zone: 8b. Click here to find zone
