Bambusa ventricosa, also called Buddha Belly Bamboo, is a very versatile bamboo. It grows very tall and gracefully in the ground, but in containers the culms become stunted, and swell between the nodes giving the canes a pot bellied look to them.
This bamboo makes a great privacy screen, as well as good hedge when pruned regularly. A tough plant, Buddha belly bamboo is much more cold tolerant than many other Bambusa species, as well as being rather drought tolerant once established in the ground. This is a good bamboo for someone who doesn’t want to have to pamper a plant.
Origin
China
Binomial Nomenclature
Bambusa ventricosa
Common Names
Budha Belly Bamboo
Description
Bambusa ventricosa, also known as Buddha belly bamboo, is a tough, medium sized, cold tolerant, drought tolerant bamboo plant. With thin to medium diameter, light green culms, this plant quickly produces thick, dense, stands. One interesting fact about this bamboo is that the culms and the branches grow in a zigzag pattern. When stunted, due to lack of water or root space, the culms bulge in the center, which is where the common name “buddha belly bamboo” comes from. This should not be confused with Bambusa vulgaris wamin , which is a better choice if you want a specimen in the ground with bulging canes.
Diameter
2″
Height
30-55′
Temperature/Zone
15° F, zone 8 or higher. The specimen in my yard has sustained ten days in a row, of sub-freezing temperatures down to the low teens without any damage at all.
Light
These love full sun. If you live in a zone lower than zone 8, then plant it in the protection of a larger tree. You’ll sacrifice growth for safety through the winter. Otherwise, full sun is good.
Water
At maturity, a large stand of this plant is very drought resistant. However, with less water, the plant’s growth will be stunted. More water really does mean more growth. If grown in a container for a stunted buddha bellied effect, then it will need to be watered more frequently. Standing water for any length of time will rot the rhizome of the plant, and cause it to die.
Fertilizer
All-purpose fertilizer applied monthly during the spring and summer.
Pests
There is a scale insect in Florida, that specifically attacks bamboos. I use systemic imidacloprid.