Bambusa textilis
Chinese Weavers Bamboo

Whilst most bamboos will grow quicker with adequate water, none of them will survive in a constant bog. Many of them, such as Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa oldhamii, are quite drought-tolerant once accustomed to their surroundings. They grow in a diversity of soil types and qualities, but all of them enjoy an occasional feed like the rest of us! Whilst most bamboos are creatures of the forest and will grow taller and straighter in that environment, most are surprisingly sun-tolerant and will survive in quite arduous conditions.

Whilst many are high temperature tolerant, many are also cold tolerant (-12 degrees C or more for some). I know of many instances where bamboos with low temperature limits of -4 to

-5 degrees C are growing beautifully in areas that experience -8 to -9 degrees C, simply by growing them within tree and undergrowth protected microclimates.

Many of them make superb very fast growing hedges or windbreaks, and are ideally suited to control creek bank erosion or soil erosion, or for strengthening dam walls without fear of invasive roots damaging the wall structure.