PHYLLOSTACHYS AUREOSULCATA
 
Photo - Peter Meeuws, in Holland
 
Probable height in Southern California within 3 years = 15'
Probable ultimate height in Southern California = 20'
Height in habitat = 26'
Loses leaves around -5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Loses canes around -15 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dies around -50 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
If growing in the ground it will look best in sun with some shade.
A running bamboo - rhizomes will run sideways in moist earth unless restrained with a root barrier.
Minimum soil depth required for a healthy plant = 6"
Unrestrained rhizome depth in moist soil = 2'Yellowgroove Bamboo.        
 
        Chinese bamboo with 1 1/2" maximum diameter green culms, yellow grooves, widely distributed throughout the U.S., generally admired because the foliage looks so good in cold weather.  David Andrews reports minor leaf & rhizome damage at 0 degrees F. but culms die to the ground at -8 degrees F.             In cold climates a permanent deep mulch is suggested.  A manure application every year is an ideal way to renew the mulch.  Some culms grow in a zigzag manner.  Leaves are sometimes striped with light yellow.  Produces mild flavored edible shoots. 
 
bullet Eldon Neal in Wyoming, Illinois planted a rhizome in 1986.  By 1989 it was 6' wide & over 6' tall.  He mulches moderately with straw, dead leaves or shredded bark. His plants die back to top of mulch each winter with both leaves & culms remaining evergreen where covered by mulch but turning brown at 5 degrees where exposed.  His rhizomes grow only a few inches below ground level & regularly get down to below -25 degrees F. under 6 inches of ice & snow.  He feels his Bamboo is more drought tolerant than native plants. His period of new culm growth begins in mid to late May with mature growth by late July.  He doesn't feel fertilizer helps.  Also, even though deer & rabbits nibble on his canebrake specimen from Arkansas, they ignore his Bamboo.  
bullet The Missouri Botanical Garden has a patch of aureosulcata which has been growing in a shady location for about 25 years & has achieved a height of 12'.   
bulletThe best-known planting of this hardy variety in the U.S. grows around the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. 
bullet Tim Meier in Wilmette, Illinois has a 9' high plant which stays evergreen down to -12 degrees F., regularly kills to the ground but the underground rhizome survives to -25 & then regrows its foliage with an enthusiastic burst every spring!  
bullet Leo Schordje's plant in Zion, Illinois survived -27 degrees when it was one year old, covered with a 6" mulch & almost entirely buried in snow. 
bullet James Jones in Lexington, Massachusetts has a 15-year-old grove which regularly survives -10 to -14 degrees F. & then gets 12-18' high every summer.  
bullet Richard Pohl's plant in Decorah, Iowa has survived -30 degrees.  
bullet Pryse Duerfeldt's plant in Negaunee, Michigan gets -30 degree weather every winter & below-freezing conditions every month of the year.  
bullet Carl Hensen's plant in Aberdeen, Idaho survives -36 degrees F., dies to the ground but then comes back every spring.