A promising new introduction and our most cold hardy bamboo among the Borinda genus. B. yulongshanensis has a fountain or vase shape, with small, feathery leaves and a gently cascading habit. Blue-green new canes mature to purple; culm sheathes are lavender with cream spotting and dark brown hairs. The branch tips have a beautiful deep red color.
It is similar to B. utilis, but has more compact form and needs occasional pruning to maintain upright growth. The plant survives temperatures perhaps as low as 0º F, but the youngest canes are damaged when the temperature drops below 10º F. This bamboo was collected at nearly 13,000 feet above sea level in the Yunnan Province of China by Robert Linder. There was another specimen of the same species that came from the Keith Rushford collection but is less desirable in the landscape. The only one we have in cultivation is known as the "Linder Form."
