I didn't think it was that common, at least down here.

I would think it is popular becasuse of it's size...not too large. There are a number of other Bambusas that are equally as hardy.

Kt

By Golden Goddess I do mean Phyllostachys aurea. It seems to be sold in every nursery to the exclusion of any other running bamboo. More recently, the clumping genus Fargesia is fairly common at garden nurseries. Not sure of the ultimate height of the Fargesia clan, but they are much slower growing but more temperamental in terms of climate requirements. You do realize that if the climate suits it, Golden Goddess will grow to 30 feet with two inch culms?!--That's pretty tall! My Golden Goddess grove at my previous house was about 30-35 feet in height.

We call Golden Goddess...Bambusa multiplex 'aka Golden Goddess".

P. aurea was one of the first bamboos introduced into the country so it has many years head start to spread across the country.

Kt

In my experience, "Golden Goddess" refers to Bambusa multiplex, a clumper. Ph. aurea is a runner, that is common and popular because it is hardy.

Kudzu & Kentuck, you guys are both right--I should have entitled the post "Why GOLDEN bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea)?"--Yes, it is cold hardy, but there are others that are equally cold hardy, no?--I have some other Phyllostachys species and never noticed a difference among them (other than P. nigra which is somewhat more vulnerable to burning in the coldest of Winters.) Again, just curious as to what advantage P. aurea offers. In fact, as a disadvantage, it seems to be among the more aggressive of the Phyllostachys runners.

I believe it was one of the first bamboos brought to the U.S. from China in the late 1800's. It's easily grown and spreads quickly, which is not a disadvantage if you want to use it for screening purposes.