Fargesia Jiuzhaigou Deep Purple

The Fargesia sp Jiuzhaigou Deep Purple is a brand new variety of non-invasive bamboo that is truly breathtaking, discovered at an altitude of 3000m (9842 ft 6 in) in the northern province of Sichuan, China. This highly promising Fargesia is unique for the colour of its culms, a deep purple leaning towards red or even mahogany. Its modest size, less than 3m (9 ft 10 in) in height, does not prevent it from showing vigorous growth and a dense upright habit. Its tiny evergreen leaves, dark green in colour, adorn branches of the same reddish-purple, making this bamboo a very beautiful plant for partial shade. Like all Fargesia, it grows quickly in height but spreads slowly over the years without ever becoming invasive. Place it in a pot on the terrace or display it as a work of art.

The Fargesia ssp.Jiuzhaigou is sometimes considered a subspecies of Fargesia nitida, although it is no closer to it than F. denudata is to F. murielae according to some specialists in these plants. It is a plant of the grass family, a type of woody-stemmed grass that develops from a non-invasive rhizomatous rootstock, known as a clump-forming species. In this type of bamboo, the very short internode rhizomes slowly develop on the periphery of the rootstock, gradually expanding the clump, but they also develop towards the centre of the clump, keeping it very dense without thinning out in the middle. The Fargesia ssp.Jiuzhaigou 'Deep Purple' is part of a collection of 11 varieties imported from China, specifically from the Jiuzhaigou mountain. The different clones have recently been imported and propagated in Germany for the European market. This variety is perfectly hardy, withstanding temperatures as low as -20/-25°C.

'Deep Purple' forms a dense clump from bottom to top, reaching a height of about 2 to 3m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) at maturity. Its growth rate is quite fast, around 20 to 40cm (7.9 to 15.7 in) per year, depending on the growing conditions. When fully established, the plant will spread up to 2m (6 ft 7 in) on the ground. The culms are upright, straight and slender, about 1cm (0.4 in) in diameter, but sturdy, with a plum colour and covered in bloom when young. Over time, they take on a deep reddish-purple colour with strong brown undertones. In the first year, the culms bear only a few leaves. The foliage on the culms is evergreen and mainly concentrated towards the top of the plant.  Abundant, the leaves are small, narrow, lanceolate and tapering at the tips. They are a fairly dark green colour, with a matte finish, forming a striking contrast with the dark colour of the culms.

The remarkably colourful, tall and fast-growing Fargesia ssp.Jiuzhaigou is perfect as a standalone shrub or in a large pot or container on a balcony or terrace. It can also be used, on its own or mixed with other Fargesia,  to create a small hedge or a green screen. It blends well with a shrub bed with Japanese maples, hydrangeas, Mahonia. For example, you can plant Brunnera macrophylla Jack Frost at its base and surround it with lush perennials: tall grasses, hostas, giant cannas, as well as tall dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) or climbing aster Aster carolinianus will also make good companions for this beautiful bamboo. To add an unexpected touch to its foliage in summer, you can pair it with a red-flowering viticella-type clematis (Madame Julia Correvon, purpurea Plena Elegans, Avant Garde) whose stems will intertwine with the black culms, their small leaves blending naturally with the foliage of this stunning bamboo.