HIMALAYACALAMUS (See also Drepanostachyum). Himalayan region. A group of elegant clumping bamboos, some of which you may have known under Drepanostachyum. Others are newly discovered and described. They make compact, slowly spreading colonies. The stems are usually slender but erect at first, sometimes bowed out later into broad fountains by the weight of the foliage. They are often beautifully colored, with contrasting markings at the nodes. There are several to many slender branchlets at each node, carrying lacy sprays of narrow leaves. Most of them need some shading and protection from wind to look their best. Reasonably well drained, preferably acid soil and constant moisture suit them well. Hardiness will vary, though few of them will endure hard freezes outside.
asper (Neomicrocalamus microphyllus). If you can get past fear of the name, you will find this to be one of the most beautiful of all bamboos, period. It forms well-behaved, many-stemmed clumps. From the performance of my own plant at home, I will guess it to be ultimately 15-20’ tall. The stems are slender and heavily tinged with red when mature. The branches are up to 2’ long, open and airy, making a lacy presentation of narrow, deep green 3" leaves. Its hardiness has been tested here only to the mid 20s; the final minimum is unknown.
“intermedius”. The quotes indicate doubt over how to place it, even among professional botanists; in this case horticulture is a sizeable leap ahead of taxonomy. The plant is in many respects similar to the blue bamboo (Drepanostachyum falcatum/Himalayacalamus hookerianus). It forms compact clumps with erect stems, 15’ high or more on mature plants. Young stems appear to have been dusted with blue chalk; later they show a light blue-green overall. Wiry branchlets 1-2’ long hold airy sprays of dark green 3-4" leaves. This should become a popular bamboo among coastal gardeners. It is more sun tolerant than other species. Its hardiness is poorly tested; assume about 25oF.