Plant guide: Phyllostachys nigra
Botanical name:
Phyllostachys nigra
An eye-catching black-stemmed bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra is a glorious architectural plant that looks good all year round.
It’s sturdy and resilient and doesn’t need much care to grow well, once it has settled into its spot. However, to keep it looking its best, regular pruning of any sideshoots away from the bottom sections of the main stems will ensure the dark colouring creates as much impact as possible.
Plant type:
Bamboo
Growing conditions:
Black bamboo grows best in full sun to part shade and moist but well drained soil. It is a clump forming bamboo, so tends to spread less, however, in very fertile and moist areas it may still grow at a huge rate and become difficult to control. We’d usually grow this in a large container, or in a fortified bed to prevent any unwanted spreading.
How to plant:
We would recommend growing this in a large, sturdy container, in order to keep unwanted spread in check. Fill the container with a general multi purpose, peat free compost, and position the plant right in the middle. It will quickly grow to fill the space, so don’t worry if it looks a little small at first.
Water well and continue to water through any dry spells.
If growing in the ground, use a root barrier: a thick sheet of plastic than can be formed into the desired shape and placed in the ground. This prevents the roots spreading where they’re not wanted.
Care:
Water well for the first season, while it gets established. After that, water in any hot and dry periods throughout Spring and Summer.
Though it doesn’t need pruning for growth, any weak or damaged canes can be removed in Spring, cutting right back to the ground, leaving only healthy and secure shoots.
The dark black stems are an attractive feature; leaves can be stripped from lower stems if desired, to create clear stems, up to about 1m high, which allows the distinctive black stems to be seen to best effect. This is also a great way to leave clear space for any plants growing underneath, such as ferns.
Plants under stress can easily defoliate (lose their leaves) especially in hot weather. Don’t panic if this does happen, they are amazingly resilient plants and always grow new leaves after a while.
Plants grown in pots will need a feed about once a year. Top up fresh compost at the very top of the container in Spring, and give them a feed with a fertiliser such as liquid seaweed, as they will naturally use up the minerals and nutrients in the container over time.
Grow with:
As it’s such a quick-growing architectural and elegant plant, Phyllostachys nigra is often grown as a screen. It’s one of our favourite plants to use around sunken trampolines to provide a screen of foliage.
The dark stems also work well as a backdrop for a range of other plants, growing along the boundary of a garden, with green or colourful planting in front. We often pair it with Leptinella as a ground cover, as the colours go well together, and they both like similar conditions, or Ophiopogon, a clump-forming ornamental grass.
Black bamboo has a tropical look, and grows well with other plants of tropical foliage, such as banana plants, tetrapanax or Fatsia japonica.
How to propagate:
Can be propagated by division in the Spring time, though it is often quite difficult to dig out of the ground. Dig down deep to remove a clump, and then split in half with a garden spade. Bamboo roots are strong and sturdy, so it is not always the easiest plant to divide!
See our guide to division for more information.
