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Poaceae FAMILY

Pleioblastus simonii

Pleioblastus simonii

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Bamboo
GrowthFast

Pleioblastus simonii is a very hardy plant, it can tolerate temperatures down to between -20 and -25°c. A very easily grown bamboo, it succeeds in most soils but prefers a good loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1]. Dislikes drought[1]. Tolerates maritime exposure[2]. The rootstock is running and very invasive[3, 4, 2]. Another report says that it is a vigorous grower but not invasive[5]. New shoots are produced from May[4]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[6]. Bamboos have an interesting method of growth. Each plant produces a number of new stems annually - usually in the spring and early summer, and these stems grow to their maximum height in their first two to three months. Any subsequent growth in the stem is limited to the production of new side branches and leaves Bamboos in general are usually monocarpic, living for many years before flowering, then flowering and seeding profusely for a period of 1 - 3 years before usually dying. This pattern can vary - sometimes flowering is sporadic, with plants flowering annually and not dying; at other times it is gregarious with all the plants in a specific species coming into flower at the same time. Unlike many bamboos, this species quite often flowers and sets viable seed, the plants do not usually die as a result of this[7]. However, if they are fed with artificial NPK fertilizers at this time they are far less likely to survive[7].

Propagation

Seed - if possible, surface sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse at about 20°c. Stored seed should be sown as soon as it is received. Do not allow the compost to dry out. Germination usually takes place fairly quickly so long as the seed is of good quality, though it can take 3 - 6 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a lightly shaded place in the greenhouse or cold frame until they are large enough to plant out, which could be a number of years. The plants only flower at intervals of several years and so seed is rarely available. Division in spring as new growth commences. Very easy, single canes can be used. Pot them up in light shade in a greenhouse. Make sure the foliage is not allowed to dry out - misting 2 - 3 times a day for the first couple of weeks following divsion can be very helpful. Plant out in the summer once they are growing away strongly. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pleioblastus+simonii>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]Bamboos. — Lawson. · Faber · 1968 · ISBN - ↩︎Fairly comprehensive, it was once the standard work but is now rather dated. Deals with species hardy in Britain, giving cultivation details and some uses.
  5. [5]The Book of Bamboo — Farrelly. D. · Sierra Club. · 1984 · ISBN 0-87156-825-X ↩︎Very readable, giving lots of information on the uses of bamboos, both temperate and tropical.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]The Plantsman. Vol. 1. 1979 - 1980. — ? · Royal Horticultural Society · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants. A good article on the flowering of bamboos.
  8. [8]Bamboos of India: A Compendium — Seethalakshmi K.K., Muktesh Kumar M.S. · Brill. · 2002 · http://www.inbar.int/publication/txt/tr17/default.htm · ISBN 8186247254 ↩︎A very good book giving botanical descriptions of the plants with brief notes on subjects such as uses, habitat and range. It is also available to view on the Internet.
  9. [9]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎