Plant in full sun in a rich topsoil with regular irrigation during the summer for optimum growth but can grow to 30 feet and look great with only occasional irrigation in cooler coastal gardens. It is hardy to - 5° F - it is the hardiest of the golden-caned bamboos. It can make a beautiful garden specimen or be used with some root barrier to create a narrow hedge, or it can be allowed to roam to form a towering forest planting.

Phyllostachys vivax is a well-known species of bamboo from China that is often called the Giant Running Bamboo. The name for the genus means "leaf spike" and is in reference to the inflorescences. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective meaning "tenacious of life" or "long-lived" and the cultivar name combines the Latin words 'aureo' meaning "gold" and 'caulis' meaning "stem" or "stalk" in reference to the golden culms. This relatively new bamboo in cultivation was imported into the US from Europe in the late 1990's and sold in an auction by the American Bamboo Society. It has since been propagated distributed to Bamboo nurseries. We received our stock plant from Bamboo Headquarters in Escondido in 2007 and grew this plant until 2021. 

The information about Phyllostachys vivax 'Aureocaulis' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.