Height: Up to 6 metres

The Irish peer, Lord Annesley, introduced this magnificent, clumping Himalayan bamboo into Europe at the end of the 19th century, but it is still a rarity. As far as we know, we are the only European nursery propagating it. We collected our original plants from the subtropical gardens at Derreen in Co Kerry, where it has become naturalised. The young shoots are a lovely, reddish colour, and they elongate to form glaucous-green canes with wine-tinged leaf stalks. When mature the culms are a muted yellow-green. The soft, light-green leaves are about 12 centimetres long, and on older clumps they start approximately 2 metres up the cane. This clear-stem effect and the upright stance of the plant makes this bamboo a nicely-poised, space-saving specimen for an enclosed courtyard garden, either in a pot or in the ground. This genteel giant also thrives in woodland or semi-shade in moist soil.