Fargesia demissa Gerry

The Fargesia demissa 'Gerry' is a relatively new type of non-invasive bamboo plant that is exceptionally hardy and highly ornamental. Its culms are reasonably thick and display beautiful colours that range from dark purple with a bluish-purple bloom to green over time. This provides a stunning contrast with the dark green foliage. It has a very upright, almost columnar habit, making it perfect as a standalone plant in a container on a terrace or balcony. Its foliage is primarily evergreen or deciduous to withstand harsh frosts in cooler climates. Like all Fargesia plants, it grows quickly in height but spreads slowly over the years without ever becoming invasive. Plant it in partial shade, fresh and fertile soil for best results, preferably non-chalky.

The Fargesia demissa, closely related to Fargesia nitida, is a plant of the Poaceae family, a type of grass with woody stems that develops from a non-invasive rhizomatous base, referred to as clump-forming. In this type of bamboo, the rhizomes with very short internodes develop slowly at the periphery of the stump without becoming bare in the centre. Fargesia demissa is native to the north of China, and is one of the hardiest bamboos, capable of withstanding -30°C (-22 °F) in winter without suffering. The cultivar 'Gerry', recently arrived from the Netherlands, was recognised as "Bamboo of the Year" in Germany in 2014. It forms a rather erect and narrow clump, slightly flaring upwards, reaching an average height of 2m (6 ft 7 in) in a container, up to 3.50m (11 ft 6 in) in the ground if conditions are optimal. Its growth is fast, around 30 to 40cm (11.8 to 15.7 in) per year, depending on the growing conditions. Eventually, the plant will spread about 1m (3 ft 4 in) to 1.50m (4 ft 11 in) on the ground. The culms are upright stems, quite thick for a Fargesia, measuring 2 to 3cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) in diameter. When they emerge from the ground, they are purplish and covered with a pastel blue-mauve bloom that remain for quite some time during the culm's growth, so that the wood appears marbled with violet, plum, and bluish mauve on the year's growth. An exceptional colouration that gives way to green on mature culms. The foliage is more or less evergreen, completely deciduous below -20°C (-4 °F). Abundant, the leaves are of medium size, lanceolate and tapering at the end, with a fairly dark green colour and a matte finish.

The remarkably colourful, slender and fast-growing Fargesia 'Gerry' is perfect as a standalone shrub or in a large pot or container on the balcony or terrace. It can also be used, alone or in combination with other Fargesia, to create a windbreak or a noise screen. It blends well with a shrub border, such as Japanese maples, hydrangeas, and Mahonia. For example, you can plant a Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' at its base and surround it with lush perennials: large grasses, giant cannas, and tall dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) will also be good companions for this magnificent bamboo. To add colour to its foliage in a surprising way in summer, you can plant it with a viticella-type clematis with red flowers (Madame Julia Correvon, purpurea Plena Elegans, Avant Garde) whose stems will twine around the black culms, their small foliage blending very naturally into the 'Gerry' bamboo.