WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Fargesia nitida (Sinarundinaria nitida) (BAMBOO), WUCOLS IV

How often to water blue fountain bamboo in California

In July on the north-central coast, established blue fountain bamboo in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 4.6 gallons a week. Blue fountain bamboo is a slow-growing, evergreen clumping bamboo from northern and central China. Its slender, purple-flushed canes arch under the weight of narrow dark green leaves, which gives the clump its fountain shape. It stays in a tidy clump rather than running. It wants fertile soil that stays moist but drains, and shade from hot afternoon sun.

ShrubBambooRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water blue fountain bamboo, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for blue fountain bamboo and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 2 to 3 inches down under the leaf litter at the edge of the clump means it is time to water
  • Leaves that curl in afternoon sun can mean too much sun as well as dry soil, so check the soil before adding water
  • Leaves dropping in summer, with weak new growth and dying cane tips, point to a long dry spell
  • Yellowing leaves while the soil stays wet for days point to root rot from poor drainage
  • Foliage browning over the whole clump, with feathery flower plumes, means the bamboo is flowering rather than thirsty

How to water it

  • Water the base of the clump and a band around it with drip or a soaker ring, rather than spraying the leaves
  • Soak until water reaches about a foot down, then let the top few inches dry before the next watering
  • Leave fallen bamboo leaves under the clump as mulch, since they hold silica the plant can reuse
  • Plant in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that still drains, out of hot afternoon sun and drying wind
  • Widen the watered band as new canes come up around the outside of the clump

Through the seasons

Plant in spring, then water a new clump through its first two or three summers, until its roots spread. New canes rise bare and dark purple in their first year, then branch and leaf out the next. The clump stays evergreen all year. Even an established clump needs water during summer dry spells, since drought brings leaf drop and dieback. WUCOLS rates blue fountain bamboo moderate water on the north-central coast and on the south coast. Winter rain covers the cool months in both places. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Blue fountain bamboo is well suited to a large container, at least 18 inches across and deep. Pots dry out faster than the ground, so check the mix 2 inches down every few days through the growing season, and daily in hot weather. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer. Keep the pot in part shade, away from hot paving. Do not let the mix dry out in winter, or the evergreen leaves can shrivel. Divide or move the clump to a bigger pot every few years.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Blue Fountain Bamboo for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Blue Fountain Bamboo as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Blue Fountain Bamboo: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.78–––
Feb0.53–0.81–––
Mar0.87–1.15–––
Apr1.18–1.4–––
May1.46–1.61–––
Jun1.61–1.74–––
Jul1.61–1.98–––
Aug1.49–1.86–––
Sep1.24–1.49–––
Oct0.87–1.15–––
Nov0.47–0.84–––
Dec0.31–0.65–––
Year12–15.5–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like blue fountain bamboo. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Formosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingChilean Feather BambooChusquea culeou (C. breviglumis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlackbrushColeogyne ramosissimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGlaucous Scorpion VetchCoronilla valentina glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWillowleaf CotoneasterCotoneaster salicifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMadagascar SagoCycas thouarsii (SHADE)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingIrish HeathDaboecia cantabricanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingUmbrella BambooFargesia murielaenot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPrickly HeathGaultheria mucronata (Pernettya mucronata)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOtterbossieGossypium harknessiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBox-leaved HollyIlex crenatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBellyache BushJatropha gossypiifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMountain LaurelKalmia latifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBarbados CherryMalpighia glabranot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSiberian CypressMicrobiota decussatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes blue fountain bamboo, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does blue fountain bamboo need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established blue fountain bamboo needs about 0.7 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 2.6 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for blue fountain bamboo change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates blue fountain bamboo separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Is blue fountain bamboo invasive?

No. It is a clumping bamboo that stays in a dense clump rather than sending runners across the garden. The clump still widens slowly over the years, so give it room or divide it.

Can blue fountain bamboo take full sun?

It does best in part or dappled shade, sheltered from cold, dry wind. Direct afternoon sun can make the leaves curl. In a hot garden, plant it where buildings or trees shade it after midday.

Why are the new canes on my blue fountain bamboo bare?

That is normal. In their first year the canes are leafless and dark purple. They branch in the second year, and the leaves gather near the top, which makes the canes arch.

Does blue fountain bamboo die after flowering?

It flowers very rarely, and a clump can die after putting its energy into flowering. Cut out an odd flowering shoot as soon as you see it. If the whole clump flowers, keep watering and feeding it through the season, then cut it to the ground in spring.

Should I rake up fallen bamboo leaves?

No. Fallen leaves contain silica that the bamboo can take up and reuse. Left in place, they also shade the soil under the clump.

When should I thin blue fountain bamboo?

Thin it in spring. Cut weak, dead or damaged canes to ground level. If the clump is crowded, remove some canes at the base to let air and light into the center.

More plant watering guides

Purple SpurgeUmbrella BambooQueen of the MeadowDropwortPrickly HeathGentianOtterbossieChilean Rhubarb

Sources