Bamboo in Marin County CA

Bamboo often gets a bad rap.
With over 1200 species there is bound to be a few rotten apples in the barrel that gives this group of plants a bad name.

I have a dozen different types of bamboo growing in my temperate zone 9 ( sunset zone 15 ish - 16 ) garden in Marin County CA.

Some are planted directly in the ground like this photo of Bambusa oldhami - Giant Timber bamboo


Some of my bamboo is planted in pots that have had their bottoms removed so that the pot is actually a ‘raised contained bed’.
Otatea acuminata aztecorum - Mexican Weeping bamboo


And still other bamboo's that have an aggressive growing manner have been securely planted in containers like this subtropical Indocalamus tessellatus


and this Hibanobusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’


My favorite bamboo ( at this present moment ) is Bambusa vulgaris Vittata.
I love it for its fairly thick bright yellow culms that have a green stripe running irregularly up the stalk. ( not shown in this photo )

I also like the hedge of Bambusa multiplex Alphonse Karr that grows on the east side of my property. It is doing a good job of screening out my neighbors butt ugly scraggly yard.

These are a few other bamboo species that I grow but did not have a chance to photo,
Sinobambusa tootsik variegata, Himalayacalamus hookerianus ( blue bamboo ) and an unnamed tropical bamboo similar in appearance to Indocalamus tessellatus but it is much mor frost tender and the leaf is a tad bit narrower.