Bamboo Comparison

Quick Comparison of Bamboo

All the bamboo have got wonderfully unhelpful names, so here they will be referred to as Green, Black, and Yellow, according to the colour of the canes.

Black Bamboo (P.nigra)

Very fashionable, the black canes give great contrast with the green leaves. Like the other bamboo, it's clump forming so it won't spread all over the place. It grows at a similar rate, to a similar size (up to 5m, (15ft)) as the Green and Yellow Bamboo. Although it's not quite as dense as the Green and Yellow it still is very good at screening.

Yellow Bamboo (P.aureosulcata)

The traditional bamboo look, striking yellow canes against green foliage, excellent contrast. Grows to a similar size as the Green and Black Bamboo. Again, clump forming, non spreading.

Green Bamboo (P.aurea)

Very similar in all ways to the Yellow, really the only practical difference is the colour of the cane. Probably this would be the thickest of the bamboo making it best for screening, but only marginally better than the Yellow. Just to complicate things, although we refer to this as Green in very sunny spots the canes go yellow .

Yellow with a green stripe Bamboo (P.Spectablis) 

Exactly the same as the Yellow Bamboo but has a green stripe running down the cane.

Arrow Bamboo (Psuedosasa)

This bamboo is slightly different to the others. It doesn't grow quite as tall, probably to around 3m (10ft), but it's large leaves means it is fantastic at screening. Due to it's dense growith theres an altogether more 'Jungle' feel to this bamboo.

Bamboo Info

All the bamboo are non spreading (non-invasive) and love to be be well fed and well watered throughout the growing season. 

If the bamboo is planted in a pot, make sure it doesn't dry out, especially in warm conditions.

Bamboo does get damaged in really windy, exposed conditions, if you are looking to screen from very strong winds, build a fence instead.

To find out more click Growing bamboo.