Plant in full sun and water regularly. Grows to 100' tall in native habitat and if given favorable conditions this extremely tall bamboo will grow quite rapidly producing several new culms each year in late summer that are hardy to 15-20° F and with clump hardy to around 10 F°, but plants will defoliate much below 25 ° F.

Dendrocalamus asper is native to Burma & Java. The genus name is from the Greek words 'denros' meaning a "tree" and 'kalamus' meaning a "reed" in reference to the giant stature of the plant. The specific epithet is the Latin word meaning rough in reference to rough pedicels or leaf-blades. The culms are used in contruction and new large shoots are the highest quality for food. We grew this big timer bamboo, also known as Dragon Bamboo from 2002 until 2008 and still have large plants in the garden. 

The information displayed on this page about Dendrocalamus asper is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.