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Phyllostachys viridis 'Robert Young' - A slowly-running bamboo that reaches to 25 to 40 feet tall with up to 3 inch wide culms - typically seen in California at a more modest 30 feet height with 2 inch culms. The new culms emerge a pea-green color with culms sheaths speckled with dark brown which contrast interestingly with the mature culms which are golden yellow with seemingly random and variable-width dark green longitudinal stripes.
Plant this bamboo in full sun and irrigate regularly; reportedly thrives is heavy clay soils and as it spreads slowly it can be easily maintained as a clump or a smaller grove, rarely causing problems exhibited by other more rapidly spreading Phyllostachys species. This hardy bamboo can survive temperatures as low as -5°F but looks its best and reaches its full potential when grown in warmer climates.
This plant is listed as Phyllostachys sulfurea 'Robert Young' in "The Bamboos of the World" by Eieter Ohrnberger (1999) but the American Bamboo Society continues to list it as a variety of Phyllostachys viridis. . The name for the genus means "leaf spike" and is in reference to the inflorescences. The specific epithet means "green" and the cultivar name honors American horticulturist Robert A. Young (1876-1963). We grew this plant from 2009 until 2011.
The information about Phyllostachys viridis 'Robert Young' 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.
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