Arundinaria Gigantea - Our clone of this bamboo is without peer in terms of cold hardiness, retaining green leaves to -19F in 2004. Because of its tendency to look a bit tattered (see photo upper right) unless groomed by annual culm pruning, A. Gigantea is not generally considered to be a very attractive bamboo, however the 2 bottom photos are taken at the Lee Sparks residence and represent the most attractive stand of Gigantea that I have seen. The photo in the upper left is a division transplanted from this grove to my nursery.      This species of bamboo is native to the US and once covered thousands of acres in the SE United States ranging north to the Ohio River valley. One of our clones was dug from a wild grove near Huron, Indiana. The passenger pigeon and 2 other species of birds were decimated by the loss of the vast canebrakes; Native Americans considered them to be prime hunting grounds; buffalo foraged on native cane and the Underground Railroad used the canebrakes as cover in the exodus from the South during the mid 19th century.         A Gigantea can be grown in sun or shade but in my experience it is extremely slow to establish and spread. For these reasons, I do not recommend this species for a privacy screen unless you are not in a hurry to establish the screen. At maturity this bamboo should reach 10-12 feet by 3/4 inch diameter culms.