WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Fargesia murielae, WUCOLS IV

How often to water umbrella bamboo in California

In July on the north-central coast, established umbrella 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. Umbrella bamboo is an evergreen, clump-forming bamboo from China. Its slender canes arch gracefully, opening bright green and aging to yellow-green, with narrow pea-green leaves. It grows as a tight clump rather than sending runners across the yard. It wants soil that stays moist but drains well, and it struggles in both dry and waterlogged ground.

ShrubBambooRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water umbrella 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 umbrella 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 3 inches down at the edge of the clump during a summer dry spell means a deep soak is due
  • Heavy leaf drop with thin, weak new canes in summer can follow a root zone left too dry
  • Cane tips dying back after a long dry spell show the clump went too long without water
  • Yellowing leaves over soil that stays wet and airless suggest waterlogging, which bamboo dislikes
  • A layer of fallen leaves under the canes is normal, and it is worth leaving in place as mulch

How to water it

  • Water around the whole clump with drip or a soaker ring, running it slowly so the water sinks in
  • Soak until the soil is moist about a foot down, then let the top couple of inches dry before the next soak
  • Plant in fertile soil that holds moisture yet drains, in part shade where afternoons run hot
  • Leave fallen bamboo leaves on the ground and add compost or bark mulch over them to slow drying
  • Widen the watered ring as the clump thickens, since the young rhizomes sit at its outer edge

Through the seasons

Plant in spring, and keep the soil evenly moist through the first summer while the new rhizomes root. Established clumps still need deep soaks during summer dry spells, since lack of water brings poor growth, leaf drop and dieback. It holds its leaves all year, though growth slows from fall to spring. On the coast, winter rain usually covers the cool months. WUCOLS rates it moderate water on the north-central coast and on the south coast. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Umbrella bamboo is suited to container growing, if the pot is large, at least 18 inches across and as deep. Use a loam-based mix that drains well. Potted bamboo dries out fast, so check the mix every couple of days in warm weather and daily in a heat wave. Water liberally until it runs from the holes, then empty the saucer. Do not let the mix go dry in winter either, or the leaves can shrivel. Repot or divide the clump every few years as roots fill the pot.

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

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

Monthly water need by climate zone

Umbrella 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 umbrella 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 ratingBlue Fountain BambooFargesia nitida (Sinarundinaria nitida) (BAMBOO)not 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 umbrella 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 umbrella bamboo need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established umbrella 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 umbrella bamboo change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates umbrella 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.

Does umbrella bamboo spread like running bamboo?

No. It is a clump-forming bamboo, so it widens slowly instead of sending long rhizomes across the yard. Clump-formers are far less invasive than runners, though a happy clump can still grow large.

How tall does umbrella bamboo grow?

It usually reaches about 8 to 11 feet, and sometimes more, with a spread of about 3 to 5 feet. The canes arch outward near the top. Full size takes five to ten years.

Why is my umbrella bamboo dropping leaves?

Lack of water is a common cause of leaf drop, weak growth and dieback in bamboo. Check the soil a few inches down, and in a pot check the whole root ball. Some steady leaf fall is normal, and the fallen leaves can stay as mulch.

Can umbrella bamboo grow in full sun?

It tolerates sun and wind, but it does best in part shade with fertile, moist soil. In hot sun the soil dries faster, so check it more often. Afternoon shade makes its water easier to manage.

What happens if umbrella bamboo flowers?

Bamboos flower rarely, and flowering can weaken a clump and turn its foliage brown. Cut out a single flowering shoot right away. If the whole clump flowers, keep it watered and fed through the season, then cut it back in spring.

Is Fargesia spathacea the same plant?

The names Fargesia spathacea and Thamnocalamus spathaceus have been wrongly applied to this bamboo in the trade. Plants sold under those labels may be umbrella bamboo. Look for the botanical name Fargesia murielae when you buy.

More plant watering guides

Abyssinian Coral TreePurple SpurgeBlue Fountain BambooQueen of the MeadowDropwortPrickly HeathGentianOtterbossie

Sources