Emerald – also called Royal Bamboo or Wong Chuk – is a stately and elegant cold-hardy bamboo

I often refer to Emerald as the “big brother” to Graceful bamboo because they are both members of the Textilis family of bamboos.  

The new shoots come up fairly close to existing canes, which produces a nice tight clump that will not only look attractive but help to provide a dense privacy screen.

Emerald is one of the cleanest, neatest looking specimens we carry.  The tall, straight canes on this timber bamboo have very few side shoots so they rarely need pruning.  The space between culm sections is unusually long, which give the bamboo an especially striking appearance. 

The new canes have a slight bluish tint

Another striking feature is the slight blue tint that appears on new shoots and remains throughout the first year of growth.  After that, the blue changes to an emerald green color, which means at all times the clump has multiple shades of color.

The four clumps of Emerald that I’m standing next to are just 1 year old.  Each one started with a single cane planted 4′ apart.  In only one growing season they have formed a tall, full hedge.

Many people who look at Emerald in our demonstration area say, “This is what bamboo is supposed to look like.” 

Planted in 2002, this mature specimen of Bambusa textilis Emerald also started out with just one single cane.  Look at it now!