Finally a non-invasive clumping bamboo for small gardens! This plant was just recently renamed to Fargesia dracocephala 'Rufa'.  It is a very new introduction that has been proven by sources in Europe to be one of the most cold hardy bamboos down to -15°F. Unaffected by our mild northwest winters cultivar Rufa looks beautiful and lush as a thick evergreen fountain of green flowing in the wind that won't get out of control. Rufa has a tight branching habit with light green culms that are sheathed in a dramatic pink/salmon color each new season.

In our garden this bamboo is the first to shoot new culms in early spring and is extremely prolific in new shoot production. There's usually a second wave of new smaller shoots in late summer as well. Rufa is extremely vigorous in growth habit and a small plant will easily attain a much larger stature in just three or four seasons. It can be used as a tall ground cover or a small hedge with it's prolific production of culms and a useful weeping habit. Fargesia dracocephala 'Rufa' is also very well suited for container planting. Being a Fargesia this mountain bamboo will perform its best in partial sun but in the northwest it tolerates a full sun planting without leaf curl or burning. Rufa is a very versatile and useful small bamboo that won't get too big. You can expect it to grow 6 to 8 feet in our mild Portland climate. Tissue culture propagation from Bamboo Select®.

2008 Update - 5 feet tall, extremely drought tolerant, and shows no winter cold damage. Very light leaf drop in the fall.