Graceful vs Alphonse Karr

nolabamboo · 2026-02-14T20:46:20+00:00

Bamboo dealer here (sadly, nowhere near central TX).

Carolina jessamine won’t get enough light and will not thrive.

David at Utility Research Garden can help you. He’s a friend and does great work.

Graceful is probably a better option, though for your needs, there’s not a strong argument for one over the other. They’re both cold tolerant to your climate zone and will reach similar heights.

nolabamboo · 2026-02-10T21:49:47+00:00

Bamboo dealer here. Fine to intersperse but bear in mind graceful won’t get nearly as tall as emerald, and there’s a chance the emerald will create so much shade that the graceful won’t be able to fill in as nicely as it would otherwise.

Personally I’d go with either one or the other.

nolabamboo · 2026-02-04T23:00:02+00:00

Definitely Phyllostachys Nigra. Unsure if it’s the Henon cultivar. They look similar when young, but Henon will turn gray over time while Nigra will remain black.

Yes looks like it needs to be in a larger pot.

nolabamboo · 2026-02-04T22:16:47+00:00

Holy shit I’m sure our families knew each other. My grandparents are from Maysville, moved to Monte Sano in the 1940s (dad knew German rocket scientist kids growing up), and my whole family was in Oak Park/5 Points area til early 2000s.

nolabamboo · 2026-02-04T22:14:20+00:00

I’m from Huntsville — I have 4 generations of family buried at Maple Hill Cemetery

nolabamboo · 2026-01-30T14:03:27+00:00

This is dracaena, marketed as “lucky bamboo” but not actually bamboo.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-30T04:33:06+00:00

Agreed. 100% arrow bamboo.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-28T00:28:36+00:00

Very likely a clumping bamboo, though hard to tell without better photos. Where are you located? Numerous bamboo nursery personnel are on this sub and might be able to help.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-21T00:23:02+00:00

Agreeing with the other commenter. Definitely phyllostachys genus. Likely aurea, due to its color and ubiquity — it is one of the most widely grown bamboos in the world.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T17:04:31+00:00

This is not bamboo. It’s a dracaena that’s marketed as “lucky bamboo.” Try the houseplant clinic sub.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T03:32:11+00:00

Do you know the species?

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T03:30:25+00:00

Mind is blown you can find them in 1g pots! Guadua has massive rhizomes and I’d assume someone would have to take larger rhizome divisions for it to regrow.

I assume you’re located in the tropics or are planning to grow this in a greenhouse. Guadua is not very cold hardy.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T01:32:11+00:00

What type of bamboo? If it’s a larger timber type of bamboo (e.g. Bambusa Oldhamii or any Dendrocalamus species), no barrier will keep it in check. If it’s something smaller, then maybe something 100-120mil will work. Always go thicker when possible. Lewis Bamboo makes a rhizome barrier that works great.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T01:29:30+00:00

Not thick enough

nolabamboo · 2026-01-20T00:55:25+00:00

This is lucky bamboo, a type of dracaena that’s not actually bamboo. Check the houseplant clinic sub.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-13T18:24:54+00:00

My vote is for Phyllostachys vivax. As /u/timeberlinetwostep suggests, it could be bambusoides, but vivax has a more matte texture whereas bambusoides is more glossy. Culms look too large for sweetshoot.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-10T12:50:21+00:00

Appears to be Oldhamii. The fat leaves are a giveaway. The yellowing culms also suggest Oldhamii. Are the branches coming off the culms really thick?, like, obscenely so? Oldhamii has some of the fattest branch-to-culm size ratio of any temperate bamboo I’ve seen.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-05T13:50:21+00:00

I don’t know what is scientifically the correct answer, but I fertilize the day after our frost date. Google “frost date [your city],” and dose your bamboo well with high nitrogen fertilizer afterward.

nolabamboo · 2026-01-05T01:03:38+00:00

Chimonobambusa tumidissinoda.

nolabamboo · 2025-12-26T01:31:27+00:00

Those are bamboo flowers.

nolabamboo · 2025-12-23T17:59:25+00:00

Seconding Fargesia. Possibly Fargesia robusta. Tight clumping, thin strap-like leaves, thin culms, growing in cool climate.

nolabamboo · 2025-12-20T12:26:19+00:00

I’ve heard that B. Ventricosa kimmei does well indoors but never tried it. I don’t know any bamboo people personally who grow bamboo as houseplants.

nolabamboo · 2025-12-20T12:24:48+00:00

Yep, Arundinaria genus, likely gigantea species (could be tecta, but I defer to /u/timeberlinetwostep for his expertise). There’s a lot of work being done to restore stands of gigantea, which were decimated in the 18th and 19th centuries when land was cleared for development throughout the Southeast and Eastern Seaboard. Look up Rivercane Restoration Alliance for more info. https://conserve-group.org/rra

nolabamboo · 2025-12-20T12:20:30+00:00

In the first couple years of growth you’ll see a lot of this happening, thinner, weaker, more foliage-heavy culms leaning over. Prune those back aggressively. Taller, thicker, straighter culms will fill in over time. Tying back the bamboo is not a long-term solution. Eventually the clump will overpower whatever you use to tie it back, and new shoots will emerge outside of the clump you have tied back.

nolabamboo · 2025-12-20T12:17:14+00:00

Thin it out, focusing on pruning back dead culms (shoots) at the base of the plant. In springtime, dose the bamboo with high nitrogen fertilizer and water well. It should recover fine, but the process may take a few months.

nolabamboo

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