The runners
THE long, branched, underground rhizomes of running bamboos, producing culms that are father apart, are called leptomorphic. These bamboos are useful for some garden situations: they’ll colonise areas of dry shade, such as under trees or close to buildings where little else will thrive, and they can make excellent hedges and screens. Try: Chimonobambusa quadrangularis: its matt grey-green culms, which can top 22ft (7m), are four-sided. Indocalamus tessellatus: huge, dark-green, spear-shaped leaves can be 16in (40cm) long, on relatively short canes at 6ft (1.8m). Pleioblastus chino f. elegantissimus: grows to a similar height as Indocalamus tessellatus, with a white leaf variegation.