Plant in morning sun or light shade in Southern California to full sun further north and give regular irrigation. Hardy to 15 degrees F. Great for a hedge planting or for large containers. It appears to be especially attractive to gophers, so wire basket protection is advised.

Most clones of this bamboo in cultivation flowered continuously through the 1990's and produced an abundance of seedlings that remained smaller than the parent and there were seedlings that are more robust. The selection we grew, made by Abe Nursery in Carpinteria, CA, seems to be in between and we also grew a very small selection that we called be 'Baby Blue' and the robust 'Teague's Blue'.

Himalayacalamus hookerianus was more commonly sold in the U.S. as Drepanostachyum falcatum, but plants in cultivation in the U.S. were determined to be Himalayacalamus hookerianus by Kew botanist Chris Stapleton. To confuse matters even more the Candy Stripe Bamboo often sold as Drepanostachyum hookerianum turned out to really be Himalayacalamus falconeri 'Damarapa'. This plant comes from E. Asia - Himalayas from E. Nepal to Sikkim and Bhutan.

The name for the genus combines the regional reference to the Himalayas with the Greek word 'kalamus' meaning "reed" in reference to the plants in the genus coming from lower altitudes of the Himalaya in Bhutan, Tibet, India, and Nepal and the specific epithet honors the English botanist and Kew Garden Director Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911). We grew this seedling selection from 2007 until 2013. 

The information about Himalayacalamus hookerianus 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.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.