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Green panda bamboo

Fargesia rufa (far-JEE-see-ah ROO-fah)

Family: Poaceae Non-native Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

'Green Panda' is a cultivar clumping bamboo in the Poaceae (grass) family and is native to China. Clumping bamboos are not invasive as are the ones with running roots. This plant grows 6-10 feet tall and wide, rarely flowers and has a vase shape with arching stems. It is evergreen, cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. "Green Panda' does best with some protection from the hot afternoon sun and cold winter winds. It prefers fertile, moist, well-drained soils in part shade but will tolerate full sun and average well-drained garden soils. This short clumping bamboo makes an elegant upright arching fountain of stems with culm sheaths that are reddish-brown. Being evergreen, it makes a good hedge for a privacy screen. You can also use this plant in containers and around paved areas such as patios and pools. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 38 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Native alternatives Arundinaria gigantea

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Clumping; Dense; Vase
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Sheath
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf value
Long-lasting
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are green above and gray-green on the undersurface and grow to 4 inches long. New growth has a rusty red sheath.
Flower detail
Rarely flowers
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Patio; Pool/Hardscape
Landscape theme
Asian Garden; Winter Garden
Design feature
Hedge; Mass Planting; Screen/Privacy
Garden tags
#hardscape #evergreen shrub #playground plant #arching #fast growing #landscape plant sleuths course #hedge #container plant #privacy
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Drought
Propagation
Division

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.