Shanghai 4

source: https://perkgroen.nl/phyllostachys-propinqua-shanghai-4

Phyllostachys propinqua 'Shanghai-4' is a giant bamboo that has surprised me in the past decade in size, girth and winter hardiness. This bamboo produces very sturdy, upright stems that remain upright even in a heavy storm. After the extreme frost of February 2012, this was one of the few giant bamboos (along with atrovaginata and parvifolia ) that continued to grow rapidly with thicker culms with minimal frost damage. This is in contrast to many other species. 'Shanghai-4' grows to a height of 8 to 10 m with wrist-thick culms around 10 cm in diameter. The plant differs from Shanghai 3 by its earlier shoot growth (usually 2 to 3 weeks earlier), larger dimensions and greater frost resistance. Older culms often show an orange-brown discoloration of the internoid.

Origin

This bamboo comes from imported plant material via the Shanghai botanical garden. It is difficult to identify the correct species name with certainty. It is quite possible that this is already an early selection, made by Chinese farmers who selected bamboos for quality construction wood, taste of the shoots, straight culms and sufficient frost resistance to give the plant to their children who sometimes went to live in colder areas. I suspect that many 'wild' bamboos have been influenced by human selection for centuries.

After five years of growing it is a disappointment to me. Is less hardy than Phyllostachys incarnata and Phyllostachys iridescens Heterochroma growing next to it. This year the maximum frost was -15°C. All the leaves are frozen.