I have a Fargesia here in New Milford. I am not sure of the exact species, I lost the tag. It has done pretty well over the past 3 years but is a slow grower. This Winter I bought a Fargesia Scabrida and Bambusa Multiplex 'Alphonse Karr'. Time will tell how they do but I am hearing that the Scabrida might not fare to well in the heat.

NJOASIS,
You should be fine with Fargesia Rufa.
I have 2, and they did very well last summer despite the extremely hot days of 100 degreese in full sun.
From sunrise to sunset they get full sun. No wind protection at all, and they are growing very well and sprouting like crazy right now.
They grow very slow as far as height, but they are tropical looking and beautiful. They were so beautiful a couple of months ago when everything else was dead.
I love them!
Goodluck!

Hey! Have been reading this forum for a while and just signed up. I put a couple of F. murieliae in last spring. Overwinter low was -17F in Dec & Jan w/ plenty more days w/ subzero lows. F. m. came thru w/ flying colors. Mulched well w/ shredded cedar mulch & pine needles. No protection otherwise. Already greening up w/ new growth w/in a couple inches of last years top. Hope this helps.
Regards, Dave in Colo Springs

PS Typically hot (upper 90's) and dry (incl very low humidity) here for weeks during summer. As long as I kept them watered they seemed to do fine.

Thanks for the suggestions of Fargesia species. I learned my lesson with the spreaders. Now, I only grow the spreaders in containers (ever vigilant on their possible escape back into the ground). Are any of the chusquea hardy into zone 7 with protection??

I e mailed Gib at Tradewinds about the Chusqueas in our area and he said they can have problems with our Summer weather. They tend to like cool nights. He would not guarantee a Chusquea in NJ. I would still like to give it a try myself.

yes, I don't blame you about the concern regarding the mountain bamboos (Fargesia and Chusquea). Despite how cold it has been from February to April, I am really learly about bamboos that cannot tolerate high summer temperatures (day and/or night). Are there any species of Bambusa that people are growing outdoors in a zone 7.

I just got some B. multiplex 'Alphonse Karr' and B. multiplex. Time will tel how they do here. I am probably living on the edge with these guys.

I've had great luck growing B. mutiplex 'Hedge' and B. mutiplex 'Fernleaf' here in VA. They weather the summer heats easily, but the winters are another story. Bambusa are treated more like a top-kill perennial than an evergreen bamboo.

You can try Thamnocalamus tessellatus or any Thamnocalamus ssp. for that matter as I've been informed that do really well in our hot & humid summers.