I purchased this bamboo from Bamboo Gardener in March of 1999 and initially planted it out in a shady area adjacent to a wooded greenbelt.  It grew vigorously in this location over the 1999 growing season, sending up numerous shoots.

In fall 1999, I transplanted it to a full sun location in a crescent-shape berm lining the driveway where it thrived in the native silty loam with little summer irrigation. 

In March 2001 I cut the entire planting back to the ground as part of a campaign to eliminate a localized bamboo mite infestation.  I burned all the culms and foliage, and sprayed the surrounding ground surfaces with Orthene (unfortunately).  Drastic, but it worked.  That spring, we were treated to an unobstructed view of hundreds of new, spiky shoots, as they emerged from the bare ground.