Phyllostachys glauca - Blue Bamboo

Phyllostachys glauca will delight bamboo enthusiasts in search of originality. This species is distinguished by its young culms covered with an extremely ornamental bluish bloom. They form a subtle contrast with the older canes, which turn green, and the long, slender leaves, which are also a beautiful shade of green. Medium-sized, but occasionally growing larger, its upright habit makes it ideal for creating beautiful privacy screens of vegetation, in the background of a flower bed or garden. Hardy and adaptable to different types of soil as long as it has good drainage, it is a running species.

This bamboo belongs to the family Poaceae, or grasses. While some species can reach tens of meters in height and form canes as hard as wood, they are not trees but rather herbaceous plants. There are more than a thousand species, distributed across all continents except Antarctica.

Phyllostachys glauca is native to northern and eastern China, where it mainly grows in plains and valleys along the Blue (Yangtze) and Yellow rivers. Its Chinese vernacular name, Dan Zhu, means "pale bamboo" in reference to the glaucous appearance of the new shoots. The young canes are indeed covered with a bluish bloom, making them appear lighter than the mature canes, which turn green. Spring is the best time to admire the colour contrasts of this bamboo.
It generally grows to a height of 6 to 8m (20 to 26ft), with a width of 4 to 6m (13 to 20ft), but can exceed 10m (33ft) when it is well established. Therefore, this should be taken into account when choosing a location, especially since, like other Phyllostachys species, it is a runner. The very upright canes reach a diameter of about 5cm (2in) and bear beautiful foliage consisting of elongated leaves (up to 18cm (7in)) that are relatively narrow. Evergreen, shiny green on the upper surface and matte on the underside, they greatly contribute to the overall aesthetics of this bamboo, which seems to come straight out of a Chinese painting or Japanese print.

The upright habit of this species is well suited for creating hedges or privacy screens, or possibly clumps, but bamboos with a flexible and trailing habit (such as P. flexuosa) are better suited for this use. In addition to being ornamental, this bamboo is also edible: the young shoots (culms) are edible and of good taste (also for gastropods that do not hesitate to feed on them...).

Hardy to approximately -18°C (1°F), P. glauca is easy to grow as it is highly adaptable. It prefers fertile, rich, moist, but well-drained soils, and also tolerates relatively drier conditions. Ordinary soil with a neutral to acidic pH suits it well. It grows in full sun or partial shade and expands its width every year through its running rhizomes, which should be restricted in their development. To do this, it is necessary to dig all around the root ball when planting (leaving enough space to not overly restrict growth) and install a rhizome barrier.

Introduced to Europe in the early 1980s, this bamboo with its bluish culms has a strong ornamental interest, enriching the colour palette of Phyllostachys, alongside species with golden canes (P. aurea), black canes (P. nigra), green canes, striated canes... It will fit well in an Asian-inspired garden, as well as in a contemporary space, where its elegant design will make an impression. You can then associate it with other plants with distinctive silhouettes, such as Araucaria araucana, a conifer with tiered branches resembling pagodas, nicknamed "monkey puzzle" due to its sharp triangular needles, forming a geometric shell along the branches. To create a contrast in shape with the fine leaves of the bamboo, it will be interesting to plant foliage plants nearby, such as Magnolia delavayi, an unfairly overlooked Magnolia despite its magnificent spread of grey-green leaves, which will blend beautifully with the bluish shoots of Phyllostachys glauca.