Fargesia Blue Dragon Bamboo
Fargesia robusta 'Blue Dragon'
Overview
The Fargesia Blue Dragon is a spectacular non-invasive clumping bamboo that brings year-round architectural beauty to any garden. This hardy evergreen perennial forms elegant, upright clumps without the aggressive spreading behaviour of running bamboos, making it perfect for the home gardener who wants stunning bamboo features without worry.
Key Features
Distinctive Blue-Green Foliage: The Blue Dragon's most striking feature is its unusual blue-green culm colouration, particularly pronounced on young shoots. The lance-shaped leaves complement this unique colouring, creating a sophisticated colour palette that works beautifully in contemporary and traditional garden settings alike.
Non-Invasive Growth: Unlike many bamboo varieties, this is a clumping bamboo that stays exactly where you plant it. The root system remains contained, expanding slowly outward each year without sending out runners.
Exceptional Hardiness: Fully hardy down to -20°C, making it suitable for most UK gardens and climates. It tolerates frost, wind, and challenging weather conditions whilst maintaining its attractive appearance.
Growing Specifications
Mature Height: 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) Spread: 1.5-2 metres (5-6 feet) Growth Rate: Moderate to fast Aspect: Partial shade to full sun (performs best with some afternoon shade) Soil Requirements: Well-draining, fertile soil with consistent moisture pH Preference: Slightly acidic to neutral (6.0-7.0)
Planting and Care
Planting: Best planted in spring or early autumn. Choose a sheltered spot protected from harsh winds. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball and enrich the soil with well-rotted compost or manure.
Watering: Requires consistent moisture, particularly during the first two years and in dry spells. Water deeply rather than little and often, ensuring the soil doesn't become waterlogged.
Feeding: Apply a balanced fertiliser in early spring and mulch around the base with organic matter to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Pruning: Minimal pruning required. Simply remove any dead, damaged, or weak canes at ground level in late winter or early spring. Thin older canes if the clump becomes too dense.
Garden Uses
Screening and Privacy: Creates an excellent natural screen or windbreak whilst maintaining an attractive appearance throughout the year.
Architectural Feature: Perfect as a standalone specimen plant or focal point, particularly effective when underplanted with hostas, ferns, or other shade-loving perennials.
Container Growing: Suitable for large containers (minimum 60cm diameter) for patios, courtyards, or balconies, though growth will be more restrained.
Woodland Gardens: Ideal for naturalistic plantings and woodland edges where its graceful form can be appreciated.
Seasonal Interest
Spring: Fresh new shoots emerge with particularly vibrant blue-green colouration Summer: Lush, full foliage provides excellent screening and cooling shade Autumn: Foliage may take on subtle golden tints in some conditions Winter: Evergreen structure maintains garden interest when other plants are dormant
Companion Planting
Pairs beautifully with shade-tolerant plants such as Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum), coral bells (Heuchera), astilbe, and Solomon's seal (Polygonatum). The blue-green tones complement purple and burgundy foliage plants particularly well.
Why Choose Blue Dragon?
This bamboo offers all the exotic appeal and architectural presence of bamboo without the maintenance headaches or invasive concerns. It's particularly suited to gardeners who want a low-maintenance, high-impact plant that provides year-round structure and screening. The unique colouration sets it apart from common green bamboos, whilst its reliability and hardiness make it suitable for gardeners of all experience levels.
Perfect for creating that contemporary garden look or adding an exotic touch to traditional plantings, the Fargesia Blue Dragon is a garden investment that will provide decades of beauty and functionality.
Buying Bamboo & Grasses from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell the majority of our stock all year round. Our stock is for the most part grown outdoors making it far hardier than those grown under glass and/or only sold ‘In Season’. With Bamboo and Grasses the leaves can differ in quality dependent on the time of the year and whether they are in their growth phase. We protect less hardy species during the winter but other plants grown out doors may have some wind damage. This is in no way detrimental to the plant and will grow out naturally in spring.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
Bamboo has become quite popular in recent years and is used as an alternative to more tradition hedging or screens. They can also make a striking focal point when grown in isolation. Most bamboo varieties are fully hardy and will tolerate most soil types, thriving in moist, well-drained soil and placed in a sheltered spot.
Bamboo should ideally be planted in spring to give it the best chance of producing strong, new canes in summer. While most bamboo is evergreen the plants will become dormant during autumn and winter.
Types of Bamboo
There are two main types of Bamboo, they are classed as either ‘running’ or ‘clump-forming’.
Running bamboo are often referred to as invasive bamboos because they produce large stems (rhizomes) which grow away from the plant in all directions and can spread rampantly if not contained.
Running Bamboos: Arundinaria, Bashania, Chimonobambusa, Clavinodum, Hibanobambusa, Indocalamus, Phyllostachys, Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa, Sasa, Sasaella, Sasamorpha, Semiarundinaria, Sinobambusa and Yushania.
Clump-forming bamboos in contrast have roots that form in tight clumps which mean they are far less invasive.
Clump-forming Bamboos: Bambusa, Chusquea, Dendrocalamus, Drepanostachyum, Fargesia, Himalayacalamus, Schizostachyum, Shibataea and Thamnocalamus.
Planting & Aftercare
While spring is the ideal time to plant bamboo, it is possible to plant potted stock throughout the year providing you avoid any ground frost. Before planting dig in some organic matter like manure or garden compost then dig the planting hole slightly larger than the plants roots and deep enough so the roots sit slightly lower to allow 2-3cm of soil to cover the top of them.
When back filling around the edges ensure that the new roots are not damaged. Water well following planting and add mulch to protect the roots.
Water your bamboo regularly especially during dryer periods. Each spring feed your bamboo with a nitrogen rich fertiliser and for the rest of the season a well balanced fertiliser is recommended until the end of summer.
While bamboos require little maintenance they can look unsightly if left to their own devices. You can prevent them from becoming a nuisance with little effort. Remove any weak, damaged or dead canes in spring by cutting them back to ground level and remove any debris at the base of the clumps at the same time. Once the plant is established you can remove some of the foliage from the bottom of the plant to show off the decorative canes of some varieties.
Possible Problems
In general bamboos are usually problem free however they may occasionally suffer from rust or root rot.
Bamboo shoots can pop up anywhere in your garden, neighbouring gardens and even through solid barriers such as drives, patios and conservatory floors. Normal weed suppressants will not stop bamboo from spreading. Although they do not tend to spread as much as running bamboo, clump-forming bamboo varieties can grow out of control.
In rare cases your Bamboo may flower and while it can look dramatic it isn’t good news for the plant. Most Bamboos will die after flowing and while this isn’t always the case the chance of recovery is very low. If you do spot the odd flowering shoot cut it out as soon as you see it to discourage more from forming. If the entire clump starts to flower the best course of action is to let it continue which feeding and watering, cut the clump back to ground level and feed with a nitrogen rich fertiliser to help encourage new growth.
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