Description:

Borinda angustissima is a tightly clumping bamboo with finely textured foliage and burgundy culms. The culms are slightly arching, so mature plants assume a vase-shape with a very narrow base. It can reach 15’ high with a maximum culm diameter of about .5 inches, and does best in moist, well drained soils with some afternoon shade. Larger plants I have seen are remarkable for how little ground space they require in relation to their height and the size of their canopy, and it demonstrates vigor that defies its dainty appearance.  This bamboo makes a wonderful specimen for a small to medium garden space, or just to add to your collection! Cold hardiness has not been established for this plant with certainty, but it will survive our USDA zone 7 winters in western Washington.  This plant is a very ornamental, garden-worthy bamboo still rare in cultivation.

Planting History:

I purchased this bamboo from Boo-Shoot Gardens in June 2004, and planted out two divisions in December 2004.  Both plants performed very well over summer 2005, but were very late to shoot – about mid-August.  The new growth just started leafing out by September.  In mid-september, I dug up and divided one of the plants into several nice propagations.  Although they suffered some stress initially, including leaf loss and leaf folding, they really snapped back in mid-October with cooling temperatures and lots of rain.   

Back to the Plant List