Needmore Bamboo Co.
 
               
         
Phyllostachys edulis or more commonly known as 'Moso' - is probably the most desired bamboo species among us zone 6 pushers but it is surely one of the toughest to grow outside of a limited area of the US.   To some extent, this bamboo does well in parts of the PNW achieving heights of 40 feet by 3 inch diameter but the southeastern US offers ideal Moso growing conditions.  Hot/humid summers with ample rainfall, combined with cold but not frigid winters will create conditions that are conducive to Moso exceeding 60+ feet in height with 6+ inch diameter culms.
     My climate is almost perfect for Moso with the sole exception that our winters are just too cold and that is enough to keep this bamboo from achieving great sizes.   I feel very fortunate to have had a 2 inch diameter shoot break ground in March of 2007, but a few days after emerging, this shoot was thrust back into winter with 6 nights in a row of temperatures hovering around +20F - shoot killing temperatures when they follow a few days of 82F!   We were able to protect this shoot but the growth was vastly stunted and the cane quickly narrowed in diameter.   A small shoot emerging a couple of weeks later grew into a similar sized culm as it did not have to endure the stunting cold snap.
      The dark brown, spotted & hairy shoots with multiple tip blades elongate into young canes that are heavy with a felt-like or fuzzy covering, thus the previous name of Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens.    The timber size culms have short internodes and yet this massive plant has very small, delicate leaves creating a look of massive ostrich plumes, but the thick culm walls provide great strength for wood working purposes.
     Phyllostachys edulis is an important commercial bamboo species.   The majority of bamboo flooring, cutting boards and lumber is made from Moso and a large portion of the canned bamboo shoot market is comprised of Moso shoots.   The movie industry has also added to the allure with beautifully orchestrated fight scenes taking place in a Moso forest in China, where this bamboo covers tens of thousands of acres.   
     As if growing Moso is not tough enough, it tends to shoot very early and should be sited in a location that is slow to warm up in spring, hopefully pushing back the shooting date to lower the risk of frost damage.  This bamboo is not at all forgiving of being disturbed, and great care in handling must be taken when making divisions as even a modest weakening at the culm/rhizome attachment point can cause the division to fail.
     I do not recommend this bamboo for zone 6 unless you have ample room for other species that will surely be more rewarding to grow.   If you have the space and the patience, then give it a try, I think that under ideal conditions in years following mild winters it is feasible that Moso may approach 3 inches in diameter for that season, only to size down with the next subzero winter.    I think that the -5F temperature rating often given to the Anderson clone may be overstated and at best unreliable.