Great Plant Pick: zig-zag bamboo
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 6, 2022
What: Shibataea kumasasa, aka zig-zag bamboo, is one of the finest small garden bamboos. The evergreen, almost teardrop-shaped leaves are arranged in a zig-zag pattern along each stem. It is a compact grower and a very slow spreader, not becoming rampant in the garden.
Where: Can be planted in light, open, dappled, or deep shade, but zig-zag bamboo maintains its best color in part to full shade, providing and interesting texture to a shady landscape.
Size: Grows to 4 feet high by 7 feet wide in 10 years.
Care: Once established, it only requires occasional watering during dry weather. This is a very slow spreader that does not require a barrier to control its growth, and is completely resistant to bamboo mites, a common pest that can damage the foliage of other bamboos.
