When you say 'weeps' do you mean leaning outward??

How tall would you like??

Bambusa textilis is a bit more cold hardy and forms a neat and tight clump that has a slight 'vase' shape to it. It is an easy bamboo to keep with little care.

An even more vertical clumper is Bambusa oldhamii. The culms grow very erect with almost NO leaning at all. It is less cold hardy but survives here in our z8. It is a bit more vulnerable to high winds when the culms are young.

Good Luck

Kt

I lost all top growth on my oldhamii this mild winter. It grew back but no culms really just small leaves like a bamboo that only gets 1 ft tall.. I am in 8a, should I just pull it and plant something else, or will I ever get 2-4 inch culms that dont die off each year?

First, let me say that B. oldhamii is about the same cold hardy as B. ventricosa Kimmei, so it should be a great replacement for B.v.k.

My oldhamii froze to the ground it's first few seasons. I actually think it has gotten a bit more cold hardy with age and size. The leaves still get burned back during some Winters, but it increases in size each season.

The best thing that I have done to protect it though the Winter, is to keep it watered very well, which is something that I did not do when it was younger, perhaps adding to it's dying back each Winter.

I would recommend keeping it and seeing how it does. You are in a colder zone than I am, but with one or two warm Winters, it can really get huge. Mine have culms just under four inches in diameter and about 40 feet in height.

If you decide to replace it, try B. textilis. It never freezes back, except for a few leaves during the coldest Winters. Not quite as erect, but grows to 40 feet in height(here), and culms about 2.5 inches thick.

Maybe try both??

Good Luck

Kt

Thanks for the reply Kt.