Fargesia nitida Trifina Black

The Fargesia nitida Trifina Black is a variety of non-running bamboo with a particularly structural appearance, with its almost black culms. Medium to large in size, it reaches a height of 4m (13 ft 1 in) at maturity. Its canes contrast beautifully with its long and wide evergreen leaves, of a dark bluish green, which adds to its decorative qualities. Like all Fargesia, it grows rapidly in height, but expands slowly over the years without ever becoming invasive. This one tolerates sun exposure in cool soil, but prefers partial shade, like the rest of its family.

The Fargesia nitida is a plant of the Poaceae family, a type of woody-stemmed grass that develops from a non-running rhizomatous stump, referred to as clumping. In this type of bamboo, the very short internode rhizomes develop slowly on the periphery of the stump, which gradually expands, but they also develop towards the inside of the clump, which thus remains very dense, without thinning in the centre. The Fargesia nitida is native to central China, where it grows in pine forests up to 3,400m (11 ft 2 in) altitude, it is one of the hardiest bamboos. It is cultivated up to Canada. The Trifina Black cultivar forms a dense clump from bottom to top, reaching about 4m (13 ft 1 in) in height. Its growth is rapid, around 30 to 40cm (11.8 to 15.7 in) per year, depending on the growing conditions. In the long run, the plant spreads out over 2m (6 ft 7 in) on the ground. The canes or culms are upright, slender, 1cm (0.4 in) in diameter, but strong, dark in colour and almost black over the months. In the first year, the culms do not bear leaves. The foliage present on the culms is evergreen and distributed almost throughout their height. Abundant, the leaves are quite large, long and wide, lanceolate and tapered at their tips, their colour is a rather dark bluish green, with a matte finish.

The Fargesia nitida Trifina Black, very dense in culms and foliage, evergreen and fast-growing, is of course perfect for creating a windbreak or a noise screen. Highlight it in the garden as a standalone plant. It integrates well into a shrub or large perennial border: tall grasses, giant cannas, and large dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) are also good companions for this magnificent bamboo. To add an exciting touch to the foliage during summer, one can pair it with a viticella-type clematis with red flowers such as (Madame Julia Correvon or Purpurea Plena Elegans. The clematis stems will wrap around the black canes, and their small foliage will blend in naturally with the bamboo vegetation.