HIMALAYACALAMUS HOOKERIANUS

Terrific Australian info & photo

 

12' height, Shade/sun, 15 degrees F Minimum, Clumper.

Tropical blue bamboo, Drepanastachyum falcatum, Chimonobambusa falcata, Arundinaria falcata, Bambusa falcata, Bambusa gracilis, Nigal, Ringal.

        Delicate attractive plant from mountainous areas of India.  Has bluish purple & gray culms, the new culms covered with a powdery bluish bloom.  Seem to glow with inner shadings of light & color when grown in partial shade & given good maintenance.  Does not like heat but will tolerate full sun if grown in the ground in a moist climate.  Has good potential as a landscaping plant for coastal areas in California, but has not done well for us more than a few miles from the ocean.  However, one customer that we advised not to try it says it is doing well at their home in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles.  Not a lot of plants available & few landscape architects are familiar with the plant.

        Dr Keng in China studied the plant around 1990 & one result of his studies was the creation of a new genus (Drepanostachyum).  But English botanist Chris Stapleton visited the Himalayas more recently and redefined the plants in the U.S. as Himalayacalamus hookerianus.  A pot sold at the '88 NCCABS auction for $70.  A 5 gallon seedling sold at the '88 ABS auction for $115.  A few 1-7 gallon pots were sold at the fall '91 SCABS sale for a bargain $15-35.  A plant sold at the '94 ABS auction in San Francisco for $130.  A 15" pot 4' tall was offered at the spring '95 SCABS auction for $75 & found no buyer.  A 15" pot with 2 canes 6' tall sold for $180 at the '95 SCABS fall sale.