Fargesia murielae

Fargesia murielae, or Umbrella Bamboo as commonly known, makes a lovely screen because it has masses of foliage, a really dense structure, and is shaped like an umbrella at the top.

Fargesia murielae Umbrella Bamboo

Although it is sometimes confused with nitida due to the common names and the words umbrella and fountain used to describe both.

F. murielae likes both sun and light shade locations, and if used as a stand-alone plant looks excellent with all the soft green foliage blowing around on a windy day.

Fargesia murielae Uses

As a single bamboo, a prized moveable pot plant, or used in a line as a screen.

Over the course of five to ten years it will form into a stunning evergreen screen and will help protect from wind and act as a noise reduction plant due to the denseness of growth.

Fargesia Umbrella Bamboo
Fargesia murielae umbrella bamboo

Hardiness

A survivor of cold climates in Europe, the central and northern zones of the US, and in Scandinavia, this is a really cold hardy bamboo originating from a region of China up to three thousand metres elevations.

-29C (-20F)

Because of this tolerance to cold climates it can be planted out in an exposed location on a lawn but probably won’t like full sun for the entire day so some morning or afternoon semi shade would be good.

As with a lot of bamboo planted in exposed sites, new leaves may suffer from strong winds when combined with hot sun in spring but they generally recover.

Growth Rate of F. murielae

Height and Spread

3-4.5 metres (10-14.8 ft.) height, averaging 4 metres (13ft.) up to ten years.

Slow growth rate and spread, tidy clumping growth, dense culms, and shaped like an umbrella.

Culms and Leaves

The canes are a yellow green will reach up to a diameter of 1.5cm (0.6 in.).

Narrow pale green leaves around 8cm long by 1cm wide (3 by 0.4 in.)

Planting and Fargesia murielae Care

Potted F. murielae may lose some of their leaves in the winter and look a bit scraggy, but don’t worry, they will recover in the spring to early summer with new growth. Ground planted they should maintain an evergreen appearance throughout the year.

Pot plants should be checked yearly to make sure they are not pot bound. If they are, remove and put into a larger pot, divide into two, or plant out in the ground.

Fertilizer: Bamboos do like fertilizer in spring/summer and mulch in winter.

Water: Don’t let the plants dry out.

Pruning: Whether planted out or in containers, remove old culms in the dormant season and not just before or during shooting in case new growth is dependent on old culms! When new culms are fully grown at end of summer or during the fall you can look for any old culms to remove by snipping off at ground level.