It's not uncommon for any bamboo to take 2-3 years to get established. Your cold winters may also be affecting how fast it sizes up. However, you need to understand that the culms you're seeing won't grow anymore than they already have. Bamboo culms reach their full height during the season the shoots come up. In subsequent years, additional growth comes from new shoots which will progressively be bigger in diameter and grow taller. Your light conditions sound ok. It's probably that your plant is getting off to a slow start. Do you get any dieback of the aboveground growth in the winter? And, have you gotten any new shoots since you planted it?

Kris,

I experienced similar results with Phyllostachys and Fargesia species. I planted 3 Phyllostachys and a Dragons Head Fargesia back in 2002. The three runners are now about ten feet tall and cover about 40 square feet each. The Fargesia is only about two feet tall and still very compact. It has put up new shoots each year but grows slowly. Compared to the large runners it almost seems to be shrinking! So don't worry too much about its slow growth.

I would be careful about too much sun, they do better in shade. I planted mine in a southern exposure location and almost killed it the first year. It is now in an eastern exposure location and doing much better. Your yellow groove can handle the sun and heat, the nitida cannot.

Eric

I planted a nitida and robusta this summber and both have put up new shoots. Constant moisture I believe is one key, I don't like them to ever dry out. Also, keeping them out of the hot sun as previously mentioned.

I bought a Fargesia nitida seedling in the summer of 2004 and planted it in the shade of a walnut tree, where it only gets a bit of sun in the morning and evening. I keep it well watered. This year it has put up nearly a dozen shoots, some of which are over 4 feet tall. It seems to be sizing up faster than the Arundinaria gigantea and Pseudosasa japonica I'd planted in the spring of 2003. At present it is my third tallest bamboo species. Given past performance, am I being unreasonable to expect the nitida to be 6 to 8 feet tall next year?

My F. nitida is neither dying or growing. There may be few (I mean three or four) new shoots, but they are no longer than the old ones.

I guess It'll take off ... when it's all settled and happy.

Great replies,
Kris

My fargesia didn't do well untill I gave it winter protection each year. It now is 8' tall and thriving. I now have 4 cultivars (planted this spring) plus muriellae (planted last fall - all are in full shade and have sent up multiple new shoots. If you want photos of winter protection technique, e-mail me at newgars@new.rr.com.

Hi everyone:

I have two large bamboo plants in 5 gallon pots. The culms are quite thin and the leaves are in threes. There are no grooves along the culms. The culms are a vivid green. A lady moving gave them to me and she did not know what type they are. I think they are clumping but I wish I knew their name to figure out their care requirements. They are presently in my side yard with southeast exposure. They get about four hours of direct sun per day. Earlier today, checking them for water need, they looked terrible! I watered each pot and sprayed the leaves with the sprinkler on the hose. I hope they come back. Should I move them into a less sunny spot? There is a fenced in area where we are adding a patio soon with a large live oak nearby and a large grapefruit tree. Do you think they would like it near those trees better? The bamboo would get more shade there. Please help! Thank you!

It's not blooming is it?

I see no one has written in here for awhile...but I"m looking to find where the most suitable spot to plant this is. I'm in zone 3/4 Calgary, AB.
Thanks in advance,
Elisabeth

Do you have a spot that gets partial shade, or full sun for only an hour or two? I think that would be best. BUT, since you're in a much colder zone than I am maybe nitida can take more sun?

Fountain bamboo is a full shade plant even here in cool and cloudy western WA. Direct summer sun exposure is quickly reacted to by rolling of the leaves, which then unroll again when the sun goes away each day. In nature Fargesia sp. typically grow in high mountains with plants like rhododendrons and conifers, in the Sino-Himalayan region where there is much cloudiness and copious rainfall during the growing season. Blazing heat, low summer humidity, and the really severe cold seen periodically in the interior of North America is not what they are adapted to.