The clump-formers
THE short, stubby rhizomes of clump-forming bamboos are known as pachymorphic. Each rhizome terminates in a new shoot that will produce a culm. These bamboos are good for large containers, as specimen plants in lawns or gravel, for the backs of borders where they form a backdrop, or as statements in oriental or hardy-exotic-style gardens. Try:
Cane reed (Arundinaria gigantea): light-green foliage with purplish culm sheaths, ageing to yellow.
Chilean bamboo (Chusquea culeou): dense clumps of yellow-green culms, shade-tolerant.
Fargesia murielae: with a really graceful habit, this is possibly the most widely grown garden bamboo, being hardy, and tolerant of wind and drought.