Choosing a Bamboo Species Based on Cold Hardiness & Application

Listed below are bamboo species suitable for hedges and screens.
They are in order of most cold hardy based on our observations in our region. The ones nearer the top of the list top kill less frequently than those nearer to the bottom. All have survived -20ºF and returned from the roots.
The growth habit of each species as it grows in zone 5 is in parentheses.

Arundinaria gigantea ‘Macon’
(moderate spreader)

Phyllostachys bissetii
(moderate spreader)

Phyllostachys nuda
(spreading)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’
(spreading)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Aureocaulis’
(spreading)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Harbin-Inversa’
(spreading)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata
(spreading)

Phyllostachys parvifolia
(slow to moderate spreading)

Phyllostachys rubromarginata
(rampant spreading)

Phyllostachys atrovaginata
(moderate to fast spreading)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Harbin’
(slow spreading)

Bamboo for other landscaping needs –
They are in order of most cold hardy based on our observations in our region. The ones nearer the top of the list top kill less frequently than those nearer to the bottom. All have survived -20ºF and returned from the roots.
The growth habit of each species as it grows in zone 5 is in parentheses.

Sasa oshidensis
(slow spreading tall ground cover)

Fargesia dracocephala ‘Rufa’
(clumping mid-size shrub)

Sasa hayatae
(slow spreading ground cover)

Sasamorpha borealis
(slow spreading tall ground cover)

Pleioblastus distichus
(fast spreading low to mid-size ground cover)

Pleioblastus viridistriatus
(slow spreading ground cover)

Sasa kurilensis
(slow spreading tall ground cover)

Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’
(moderately spreading mid-size hedge)

Indocalamus tessellatus
(slow spreading low hedge or tall ground cover)

Arundinaria gigantea
(moderately spreading mid-size to tall hedge)

Semiarundinaria fastuosa ‘Viridis’
(moderately spreading mid-size hedge)

Pseudosasa japonica
(semi-clumping low hedge)

Pseudosasa japonica ‘Tsutsumiana’
(semi-clumping low hedge)

Pleioblastus simonii
(semi-clumping low hedge)