Phyllostachys aurea – Golden Bamboo
A classic, statuesque bamboo with golden canes
Phyllostachys aurea, better known as golden bamboo or fishpole bamboo, is one of the most popular and dependable bamboos for British gardens. It forms a tall, dense stand of straight, upright canes topped with soft, feathery foliage, creating an instant sense of height, structure and movement. Native to China, it has been grown in gardens for generations and holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, a mark of its reliability and garden-worthiness.
The canes emerge a fresh, olive green and gradually mature to a warm golden yellow, especially when grown in a sunny spot. Look closely at the base of the canes and you'll often spot one of its most charming features: the joints (nodes) are crowded together and slightly swollen, giving a knobbly, "tortoiseshell" effect that sets it apart from other bamboos. These strong, sturdy canes are the reason it was traditionally used for walking sticks, umbrella handles and fishing rods.
Key Features
- Golden canes: Green canes that ripen to golden yellow with age, with the most vivid colour in full sun
- Distinctive cane bases: Unusual crowded, knobbly nodes at the base of many canes add extra interest
- Evergreen: Holds its fine, pale green leaves all year for constant screening
- Tall and upright: A superb choice for creating height and privacy quickly
- Hardy: Copes with most British winters, tolerating temperatures down to around -15°C
- Wind tolerant: Stands up well to breezy sites and even helps filter noise
- Versatile: Responds well to trimming and can be kept as an informal screen or clipped into more formal shapes
Size and Growth
In the ground, golden bamboo typically reaches around 4–6 metres in height once mature, with a spread of roughly 1.5–3 metres depending on how much space you give it and whether its roots are contained. It usually takes a couple of years to settle in, after which it produces vigorous new canes each spring, with each year's shoots generally taller and thicker than the last. Plants grown in containers will stay noticeably smaller.
An important note on spreading
Unlike Fargesia bamboos, Phyllostachys aurea is a running bamboo, which means it can send out underground stems (rhizomes) that pop up as new canes some distance from the main plant. In the cooler UK climate it is generally one of the better-behaved running bamboos and often forms a fairly dense stand, but once well established it can start to spread, particularly in rich, moist soil.
To keep it exactly where you want it, we strongly recommend one of the following:
- Install a bamboo root barrier: Use a rigid, heavy-duty plastic barrier sunk around 60cm deep, with a few centimetres left proud of the soil surface so you can spot any rhizomes trying to escape over the top
- Grow it in a large container: An excellent way to enjoy it in smaller gardens or on patios with no risk of spreading
- Check annually: Walk around the plant each autumn and slice off any wandering rhizomes with a sharp spade
With a little forward planning, golden bamboo is easy to manage and well worth the effort.
Where to plant it
- Privacy screening and hedging: Plant in a line to create a tall, dense living screen along boundaries, fences or walls
- Specimen planting: A single, contained clump makes a bold architectural statement in a lawn or large border
- Containers: Ideal in large pots on patios, terraces and roof gardens
- Japanese, tropical and contemporary gardens: Pairs beautifully with Japanese maples, ferns, hostas, grasses and heucheras
- Noise reduction: The dense foliage helps soften traffic noise and the canes rustle pleasantly in the breeze
Growing conditions
Light: Golden bamboo thrives in full sun to light, dappled shade. For the best golden cane colour, choose a sunny position. It will grow in partial shade, but the canes tend to stay greener.
Soil: It grows well in most moist but well-drained garden soils, from light loam to heavier ground, but dislikes waterlogging. Interestingly, the canes and leaves often colour up more strongly in slightly poorer soil.
Shelter: Although it is fairly wind tolerant, a spot away from the harshest cold winds will keep the foliage looking its best through winter.
Planting guide
- If planting in the ground, install your root barrier first, allowing plenty of room inside it for the clump to grow
- Dig a hole about twice the width of the root ball and to the same depth
- Loosen the soil at the base and mix in some well-rotted compost or organic matter
- Set the plant at the same level it was growing in its pot
- Backfill, firm in gently and water thoroughly
- Mulch around the base with bark or compost to retain moisture and suppress weeds
- For a screen or hedge, space plants roughly 1 metre apart for a quick, dense result
Caring for your bamboo
Watering: Water regularly throughout the first growing season while the roots establish, keeping the soil moist but not waterlogged. Once settled, golden bamboo is fairly drought tolerant, though a good soak in long dry spells keeps it looking lush. Container plants dry out faster and need more frequent watering.
Feeding: A high-nitrogen or general-purpose feed in spring encourages strong new canes and healthy foliage.
Pruning: Remove any dead, damaged or weak canes at ground level in spring. Thinning out a few of the oldest canes every year or two keeps the clump airy and shows off the golden stems. It also takes well to trimming if you'd like to control its height or keep a hedge neat.
Leaf drop: Like many Phyllostachys, golden bamboo may shed some older leaves in late autumn and early winter. This is perfectly normal and they will be replaced by fresh growth in spring.
Leaf curl: Leaves rolling up in summer is usually a sign the plant is thirsty, so give it a thorough watering.
Growing in containers
Golden bamboo makes a superb patio plant and container growing is an easy way to avoid any worries about spreading. Choose a large, sturdy container with good drainage holes and use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3. Container plants need regular watering and feeding through the growing season, and will benefit from being divided or moved into a larger pot every few years once they become congested.
Why choose Phyllostachys aurea?
If you're looking for a tall, fast-establishing bamboo that delivers real height, year-round privacy and eye-catching golden canes, Phyllostachys aurea is a timeless choice. Hardy, adaptable and easy to care for, it brings an exotic, elegant touch to gardens of all styles, and with a root barrier or container in place, it's simple to keep it looking its best for years to come.
Please Note: Our bamboo pictures are for illustrative purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the height / size of plants you will receive. Plant sizes depend on both the pot size and also the amount of growth of the plant during a particular growing season. In some cases, particularly for fast growing bamboos, this can result in a big difference in height within a single season, meaning any height information we show becomes quickly outdated. For this reason, we generally avoid specifying supplied heights for our bamboos. If you have any questions before making a purchase, please feel free to contact us on (01782) 502741.
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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