Fargesia scabrida 'Asian Wonder' is a beautiful lush clump forming bamboo from China with rusty-orange culm sheaths and reddish stems turning to green in the summer. Fargesia scabrida 'Asian Wonder' in our nursery garden always looks beautiful with amazing deep green leaves contasting against the colourful canes. In our garden it is growing in less than ideal conditions close to mature Eucalptus trees and in quiet a breezy spot Fargesia scabrida 'Asian Wonder' has not only coped but has grown magnificently over the last 10 years. This Fargesia differs from many in the group by producing a large open clump making it ideal for planting as a decorative hedge or screen as well a medium sized specimen bamboo.
I'd describe the growth habit as upright with a slight tendancy to cascade at the top under the weight of it's luxuriant foliage. Fargesia scabrida is a very versatile bamboo tolerant of a more exposure than other Fargesia's and can also be grown as a spectacular specimen in a container.
As with all bamboo once you have chosen a suitable location I recommend good soil preparation, bamboo are shallow rooted and will really enjoy the addition of well rotted farmyard manure mixed with your soil when planting. Water the bamboo thoroughly before and after planting and make sure it doesn't dry out until established. By that I mean keep it moist but not flooded, bamboo don't like to be drowned either. Once established it shouldn't need additional watering but will benefit from an annual mulch with a good organic compost (I use composted horse manure) and the occasional feed (I use pelleted poultry manure, a generous handful) in spring and summer.
- Eventual Size: up to 3-4 metres, but can be pruned
- Position: shade to part shade out of cold, drying winds
- Foliage : Evergreen
- Habit: Fairly upright/Clump forming/Non-invasive
- Soil: all soils, but avoid waterlogged areas very dry soils will need extra watering
- Common Names: Fargesia scabrida
Before planting it is a good idea to soak the bamboo thoroughly to ensure the rots are well and truly saturated then dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball add compost then place the bamboo so that the finished soil height will be slightly lower than the top of the root ball. Backfill using your soil mixed 50:50 with good compost. Once planted gently firm down the soil around the base add a top dressing of a good fertilizer, we prefer poultry manure, then mulch with a good 8-10 deep layer of compost. Finally water again to help settle the bamboo. In dry periods it may be necessary to repeat watering regularly, if the bamboo looks dry and the leaves are curling this is a sure sign. After the first season we repeat the mulching and feeding each spring.
Now stand back and enjoy. Don’t expect your bamboo to grow away like a rocket, yes bamboo can grow incredibly fast but most of this happens over a 3 month period which is very generally late May through to early August so if you’ve planted either side of this period I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.
Pruning and Grooming
Bamboo can be very accommodating here. I’ve seen pristine clipped hedges and topiary shaped plantings of both Phllostachys aurea and bissetti showing easy how easy it can be managed. What I like to do though on any large bamboo is to remove all old, thin and spindly canes (or culms as us horticulturists call them) then prune away all the side branches off the remaining culms to a height of between 60cm to 150cm depending on your choice. This in my opinion show bamboos off to there best making them stately specimens.