Common Name: kamuro-zasa
Type: Ornamental grass
Family: Poaceae
Native Range: Japan
Zone: 6 to 10
Height: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 5.00 feet
Bloom Time: Non-flowering
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Insignificant
Leaf: Colorful
Other: Winter Interest
Tolerate: Drought, Black Walnut, Air Pollution
Culture
Grow in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerates shade, but best foliage color is in full sun. Tolerates wide range of soil conditions. Invasive. If left undisturbed, can form large colonies or patches. If planted in an area where unlimited spread is not acceptable, underground barriers should be employed to control outward growth. Growth can also be minimally tempered by growing in drier soils with less fertilizer. Evergreen in warm southern climates. Shows green foliage color in mild St. Louis winters, but turns brown and may die to the ground in harsh winters. Remove dead culms (stems) in spring after new growth begins. Can be mowed (string trimmer) to the ground every 2-3 years to restore vitality in the event plants become too scraggly. May not be reliably winter hardy throughout USDA Zone 5. Space starter plants 12-24" apart.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Pleioblastus viridistriatus is classified as a running bamboo in that rhizomes from the parent plant spread in all directions from the plant forming an underground network from which new shoots periodically appear. It typically grows 4-5' tall and features slender, erect, 1/4" diameter, green stems which are divided into segments by distinctive nodes. Showy, variegated leaves (to 8" long) are irregularly striped with green and gold. Plants infrequently flower. Sometimes sold as Arundinaria auricoma.
Genus name comes from the Greek words pleios meaning more and blastos meaning bud with reference to the several buds, later shoots at each node.
Specific epithet means green-striped.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and scale are sometimes observed.
Uses
May be used to cover areas where invasive spread is either desirable or acceptable or where appropriate barriers have been installed. Leave undisturbed to roam in open woodland areas. Also may be used as a screen.