Pleioblastus pygmaeus - Dwarf Bamboo

Pleioblastus pygmaeus, as its species name suggests, is a very low-growing, very dense bamboo. It spreads through its trailing rhizomes, eventually forming  beautiful ground cover on a slope or long, neatly manicured borders. Its dense foliage will be more or less evergreen depending on the severity of the winter, and therefore attractive for much of the year. In its native Japan, this bamboo is often planted en masse on roundabouts where it requires little maintenance, apart from occasional watering during prolonged droughts and one or two annual trims to restore its vigour.  It has a spectacular carpet-like appearance.  Invite it into a natural garden to replace boxwood or even grass in non-trafficked areas, or showcase it in a container on the patio!

Pleioblastus pygmaeus is a low-growing and very dense botanical bamboo, with a particularly compact habit. Like all bamboos, it belongs to the grass family Poaceae. This Pleioblastus is well adapted to our temperate climates and cold winters, it also tolerates temporary droughts, and thrives in any position or soil without excessive limestone. However, it dislikes waterlogged soils in winter. This bamboo has hollow, green culms (or canes), which are very thin, with a diameter of 1 to 2 mm (1in).  These grow to less than 1m (3ft) in height. In cultivation, it is usually maintained at a height of 40 cm (16in) through annual trimming. It has rapid growth and spreads  over large areas through its trailing rhizomes (a characteristic that varies depending on the climate and soil type), forming a dense and luxuriant carpet.  Its semi-evergreen foliage is composed of lacelike leaves which are a beautiful bright green shade, shiny on top, lighter underneath. This bamboo tolerates root competition very well, and can even overpower other plants in some cases.

Robust, hardy, and undemanding, this bamboo thrives almost everywhere, to the point of becoming invasive. To contain its growth, we recommend giving it a large slope to colonize or using bamboo root barriers to protect neighbouring plants.  It is perfectly suited for Zen gardens, wild gardens, exotic gardens, or contemporary-style gardens. Tolerating full sun as well as shade in hot and sunny climates, it can be used as understory planting and even used in lightly shaded areas as  groundcover under trees such as the caramel tree, or Acer griseus, or Japanese maples. It can also create large low borders, to replace boxwood along a path, a bed, or to separate different areas of the garden. It can even replace grass in less trafficked areas of the garden. This dwarf bamboo can also be cultivated in pots to decorate balconies, patios, as well as bright and cool interiors.