| Running Bamboo Tip Top Picks for Privacy Screening | Image | #2 Pot | #5 Pot | #15 Pot | #25 Pot |
#18) Phyllostachys aurea (Golden Bamboo, Running Hedge Bamboo, Fishpole Bamboo): A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows up to 27 feet tall with canes up to 1.8 inches in diameter when mature. The canes will turn a golden color if exposed to a lot of direct sunlight. Produces bamboo shoots that are good to eat. Rated to 5 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 7. |
 | - | $75 | 15 gallon: $165 - $195, some of these plants are 12'+ tall | 25 gallon: Please call for pricing. |
#19) Phyllostachys aurea 'Flavescens Inversa': A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows to 20 feet tall with canes up to 1.5 inches in diameter when mature. The canes are green colored with gold colored cane grooves. Produces bamboo shoots that are good to eat. Rated to 5 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 7.What are the differences between bamboos #18, #19, #20, and #21? When we contrast the different cultivars of Phyllostachys aurea sold by Davis Bamboo Nursery, specifically our Bamboos #18 - #21, they all grow in a very similar manner and all of these are excellent running bamboos for privacy. The differences are that #18 (P. aurea) grows around 5 to 10 feet taller than bamboos #19 (Flavescens Inversa), #20 (Golden Golden), and #21 (Koi) and each of these cultivars have differently colored canes. For #18 (P. aurea) the canes are green, fading to a light green to golden color if they are hit with a lot of direct sunlight. Often times even older canes of Bamboo #18 (P. aurea) remain green colored. For #19 (Flavescens Inversa) the canes are mainly green with yellow stripes in the cane grooves. For #20 (Golden Golden) the new bamboo shoots emerge with a pea green color and the new canes transition from pea green to golden within the first year regardless of being hit by direct sunlight. Bamboo #21 (Koi) has the opposite coloration of #19 (Flavescens Inversa), with predominantly gold colored canes bearing green stripes in the cane grooves. Sometimes people like to have mixed plantings of Bamboos #19 (Flavescens Inversa) and #21 (Koi) for a checker board bamboo sort of look. The reasons we specifically endorse these cultivars of P. aurea for privacy screening are that: 1) they are tough compared to other running bamboos and continue to look good even in the face of harsh environmental conditions that adversely effect other bamboos, 2) they are drought tolerant compared to other running bamboos, 3) they have lower branching compared to most other running bamboos of similar height and this increases their efficacy for providing privacy, and 4) their rhizomes do not grow as deep as most other running bamboos of similar height and this makes them easier to dig out when it is time for rhizome pruning or bamboo removal.
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 | - | 5 gallon for $75 | 15 gallon: $195, 12'+ tall | 25 gallon: Please call for pricing |
#20) Phyllostachys aurea 'Holochrysa' (Golden Golden Bamboo): A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows to 20 feet tall with canes up to 1.5 inches in diameter when mature. the new shoots emerge a pea green color and teh new canes turn golden within the first year or less. Produces bamboo shoots that are good to eat. Rated to 5 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 7. |
 | - | - | 15 gallon: $165 - $195, some of these plants are 12'+ tall | 25 gallon: Please call for pricing |
#21) Phyllostachys aurea 'Koi': A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows to 20 feet tall with canes up to 1.5 inches in diameter when mature. The canes are gold colored with green cane grooves. Produces bamboo shoots that are good to eat. Rated to 5 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 7. |
 | - | 5 gallon for $75 | 15 gallon: $195, 12'+ tall | 25 gallon: Please call for pricing |
#44) Semiarundinaria fastuosa (Red Temple Bamboo): A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows to 30 feet tall with canes up to 1.5 inches in diameter when mature. The canes turn a burgandy color when exposed to a lot of direct sunlight. This is a great low branching running bamboo for privacy. Rated to 0 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 6. |
 | - | - | 15 gallon: $165 20 gallon: $395 each (tall plants!) |
25 gallon Red Temple Bamboo 1-4 plants for $450 each, 5-9 plants for $400 each, 10-24 plants for $350 each, 25+ plants for $300 each. |
#45) Semiarundinaria fastuosa 'Virdis' (Green Temple Bamboo): A full sun bamboo with a vertical growth habit. It grows to 35 feet tall with canes up to 1.5 inches in diameter when mature. The canes remain green when exposed to direct sunlight. This is a great low branching running bamboo for privacy. Rated to 0 °F by the American Bamboo Society. Minimum USDA Zone 6. |
 | - | - | 15 gallon: Please call for pricing | 25 gallon: Please call for pricing |
Considerations for Planting Running Bamboo Cultivars
For bamboo growing areas that are less than 3 feet wide running bamboo cultivars are often the best choices because their growth habit enables them to conform to the shapes of a long narrow areas as in the cases of areas bounded by rhizome barrier or many kinds of containers (i.e. 8 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot planters). Commonly used containers for running bamboos include steel stock tanks, half wine barrel planters, and custom wood boxes. We recommend against customers with residential properties planting running bamboos in the ground without a barrier if they are planting near a property line. This scenario has played out in unsatisfactory manner countless times and often results in expensive bamboo removals and neighbors that are irate because unwanted bamboo spread under the fence and into their yards. In many cases the cost of running bamboo plants are a bit lower than the cost of clumping bamboo plants although when the additional costs associated with responsible planting of running bamboo are considered it is frequently easier and less expensive to get a bamboo planting project started with clumping bamboos.
If you would like to see our selection of Clumping Bamboo Cultivars for Privacy Screening please click here.
Figure 1. Phyllostachys aurea 'Flavescens Inversa' growing for the purpose of privacy screening in half wine barrel planters. This bamboo is a small statured low branching running bamboo and it is one of the best running bamboos for privacy screening in containers or in-ground plantings with rhizome barrier.
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Figure 2. Phyllostachys aurea 'Koi' growing for the purpose of privacy screening inside an installation of fully enclosed rhizome barrier. This bamboo is a small statured low branching running bamboo and it is one of the best running bamboos for privacy screening in containers or in-ground plantings with rhizome barrier.