ABS Species & Sources List: Bambusa Hardiness League Table
Minimum temperatures for tropical bamboos, especially Bambusa species, were reassessed in 2004 for the Species & Sources List. There were two reasons for this.
Firstly the minimum temperatures were rather low across the board, reflecting their initial cultivation only in the most favourable of zones at southern latitudes. The minima given there suggested that these bamboos ought to survive in more northerly coastal areas where similar minimum temperatures are also experienced, but this is not the case, as the lack of daytime warmth and shorter daylength become problematic. As the ABS Species List is national, it has to try to reflect the situation in Seattle as well as Miami.
Secondly, more widespread cultivation of Bambusa species was giving further information on relative hardiness. Anecdotal information was coming in, often in a form such as: Species x survived in A’s backyard while species y was killed; species y fared better at B’s place than species z; and species x was fine at C’s place when species z was reduced to mush. Sieving through the information I came up with a preliminary consensus league table, which I hope will be improved over time as growth data is submitted to the bambooweb.info site. One problem is that identifications of species and cultivars are not always consistent. Two people reporting on species x might not always be talking about the same bamboo, which is why more pictures are required for bambooweb.info, and funding is required to refine that information and the taxonomy of the names into a reliable guide to cultivated bamboos.
|
Species
|
Old minimum
|
2004 minimum
|
Notes
|
|
|
º F
|
º C
|
º F
|
º C
|
|
|
B. multiplex
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Alphonse Karr'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Fernleaf'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Fernleaf Stripestem'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Golden Goddess'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Goldstripe'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Riviereorum'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Silverstripe'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Tiny Fern'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Tiny Fern Striped'
|
12
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Midori Green'
|
13
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. multiplex 'Willowy'
|
13
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis
|
13
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis var. albostriata
|
13
|
-11
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis var. gracilis
|
15
|
-9
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis var. glabra
|
|
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis 'Kanapaha'
|
|
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis 'Maculata'
|
|
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. textilis ‘Mutabilis’
|
20
|
-7
|
18
|
-8
|
moved up 11/06
|
|
B. textilis 'Scranton'
|
|
|
18
|
-8
|
|
|
B. beecheyana
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. eutuldoides
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. eutuldoides 'Viridivittata'
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. oldhamii
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. tuldoides
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. tuldoides 'Clone X'
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. tuldoides 'Ventricosa'
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. tuldoides 'Ventricosa Kimmei'
|
15
|
-9
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. malingensis
|
20
|
-7
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. sp. 'Hirose'
|
|
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. chungii
|
21
|
-6
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. chungii var. barbelatta
|
21
|
-6
|
21
|
-6
|
|
|
B. emeiensis 'Chrysotrichus'
|
24
|
-4
|
24
|
-4
|
|
|
B. emeiensis 'Flavidovirens'
|
24
|
-4
|
24
|
-4
|
|
|
B. emeiensis 'Viridiflavus'
|
24
|
-4
|
24
|
-4
|
|
|
B. dolichomerithalla 'Green stripe'
|
15
|
-9
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. dolichomerithalla 'Silverstripe'
|
15
|
-9
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. balcooa
|
18
|
-8
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. dissimulator
|
18
|
-8
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. dissimulator 'Albinodia'
|
18
|
-8
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. dolichoclada 'Stripe'
|
20
|
-7
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. odashimae
|
20
|
-7
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. pachinensis
|
20
|
-7
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. sinospinosa
|
20
|
-7
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. pervariabilis 'Viridistriatus'
|
25
|
-4
|
25
|
-4
|
|
|
B. lako
|
25
|
-4
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. lapidea
|
25
|
-4
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. membranacea
|
25
|
-4
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. nutans
|
25
|
-4
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. stenostachya
|
36
|
2
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. basihirsuta
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. luteostriata
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. maculata
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. rutila
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. sp. 'Nana'
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. variostriata
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. boniopsis
|
|
|
28
|
-2
|
|
|
B. bambos
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. tulda
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. tulda 'Striata'
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. vulgaris
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. vulgaris 'Vittata'
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. vulgaris 'Wamin'
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. vulgaris 'Wamin Striata'
|
27
|
-3
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. blumeana
|
28
|
-2
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. longispiculata
|
28
|
-2
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. glaucophylla
|
|
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
D. giganteus
|
25
|
-4
|
30
|
-1
|
|
|
B. arnhemica
|
32
|
0
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. burmanica
|
32
|
0
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. oliveriana
|
32
|
0
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. gibba
|
36
|
2
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. rigida
|
36
|
2
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. pervariabilis
|
|
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. sp. 'Polymorpha'
|
|
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
D. brandisii
|
28
|
-2
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
D. asper
|
23
|
-5
|
32
|
0
|
|
|
B. forbesii
|
40
|
4
|
40
|
4
|
|
|
|
