Bambusa ventricosa "Kimmei"
pictures, information and more

Bambusa ventricosa "Kimmei" is essentially the striped form of Bambusa ventricosa, presenting yellow culms with green stripes. New shoots are a pinkish color that fades to yellow as the culm hardens. This bamboo is one of the few tropical clumpers that performs well in pots, and is often the only way to get the culms to swell at the nodes, hence giving it the nickname "Buddha Belly bamboo". However, when planted in the grown it will grow to heights of over 30 feet with a culm diameter of about 2.5 inches. A very tight clumper with weeping tops, it is said to be cold sensitive below 27 degrees F, and I can tell you that it handles temperatures lower than this. However, we hit temperatures of 18F in the winter of 2010 and it suffered quite a bit of leaf and culm damage.

This is my Bambusa ventricosa "Kimmei" that I purchased at a local Home Depot store. It was mislabeled as Bambusa vulgaris "Striata". It was severely pot bound so I decided to divide it before putting it in the ground. This one has proven to be a fast grower and truely lovely bamboo.
Bamboo out of pot, Sep 2004	Close up of potted culms and new shoots Sep 2004	Cut in half Sep 2004
Difference in size of the two divisions	Division 1 Sep 2004	Div 2 Sep 2004
Close up of culms Jun 2005	Division 2 Jun 2005	Division 2 Aug 2005
June 2007	June 2007	June 2007
July 2009	July 2009	July 2009

Bambusa ventricosa "Kimmei" pictures, information and more

Bambusa ventricosa "Kimmei"
pictures, information and more