Dragon Head Bamboo

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

6-8 Feet

Mature Spread

6-8 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 8

Pandas love them, and so will you! Mountain Clumping Bamboo (Bamboo fargesia ‘Rufa’) is an elegant addition to zone 5 through 8 gardens. The evergreen bamboo sports dark green leaves in a clumping form. Its shoots (culms) are a contrasting orange-red. You likely have no pandas wandering into your garden, and deer do not eat the plant, so it should provide year-round clumping color. Best of all: this bamboo is not invasive.

Plant this nearly 8-foot high bamboo as a year-round privacy screen, especially if grouped with other bamboo and similar height plants. Or plant one to block a small structure or against a small building. Each Mountain Clumping Bamboo should spread to 6 to 8 feet across, with longer shoots falling in a fountain effect. Once established, it is a drought-tolerant choice for any sunny or partly shady spot in your landscape.

Dragon Head Bamboo Care

For best growth, this bamboo plant needs at least 4 hours of sun a day, and can thrive in full sun up to zone 8. Place your plant in any soil pH type, as long as the soil is somewhat fertile. Keep it moist but not soggy with regular watering in its first year. Cut back on watering in winter and in its second growing season, but up the water during peak summer heat. Give it deep drip irrigation for best success. 

There is no need to fertilize bamboo, but top-dress the area above the roots with compost each spring to help keep nutrients available. You can lightly prune single plants, removing any weak or dead shoots. If planted as a hedge, prune new shoots to the height you like in late summer and late fall to maintain its shape. The bamboo will tolerate winter cold and some snow cover, and its shoots will sway in winter breezes.

Dragon Head Bamboo Spacing

If planting a single bamboo, place it where it can eventually spread to its full height and width without running into other plants or garden structures. For a hedge, place each bamboo about 8 feet apart.