Your best bet for zone 6 are fargesias and many of those will look a little ratty after winter. My favorite is fargesia rufa. I put mine in the ground a year ago, and it looked very good all the way through our very cold winter here in the northeast. I'm a little unclear on how you want to use these. Fargesias may not get tall enough for an effective screen.

I would say Fargesia robusta or Fargesia rufa. In SW. Ohio most fargesias do poorly, but robusta and rufa seem to fare the best. Just don't expect it to size up very quickly. Most fargesias here in SW. Ohio barely make it to 8 feet in height, that might be from only being planted within the past 10 years or so though. There reputation of poor and/or slow growth in areas with hot summers I think has deterred many people from using them.

My fargesia robusta topped off at 12feet this year.Had it for 4or 5 years and give it plenty of water and fertilizer.
It's in morning sun/afternoon shade.I noticed that if I put burlap around it with leaves for the winter thru early spring it protects from leaf loss and gives it more energy for new culms[alot]in early spring.It is one of the first fargesia's too shoot and continues throughout the summer periodically....

I saw a picture of KoniferKid's F. robusta in NJ and it looks fantastic.

Did we simply get stalled on the Fargesias here or are there really just no other good options? I have recently been wondering what the tallest clumper that would work for me would be. I'm in 6b, but will soon be making a short distance move- maybe to zone 6 and maybe to zone 7, depending on the direction that I choose. I've looked at several properties where I would have neighbors at a higher elevation and since I'm working with an architectural plan that calls for lots of ceiling height windows, I'd really rather not feel like I'm living in a fish bowel when I move around my home. I hope to find better, but want to keep my options open.

Make that a fish BOWL.

Definitely don't want to live in a fish bowel though either. Heard from a cat named Jonah that its definitely not a good thing.

That's funny.....

Another bamboo that might be an option is Thamnocalamus tessellatus. Mine has froze to the snowline the last two years but has came back larger than the previous year. It looked good at 0 degF but was damaged at -5 and windy.

Bill

I am going to trial the Tham Tess outside next year. I got one culm[9ft] and 2 smaller culms in a 20gal container which I'll bring in for the winter...My winters here usually coldest is -2 to 0 degreesF. My nitida hasn't really much done anything as far as height in 4 years.I got 1/2dozen or so new culms but no new height...I really recommend robusta for zone 6 clumpers if you want nice height and screening...

Well Fargesias are the safe option in zone 6. If I were going to be daring, I would find a sheltered location and try one of the chusquea that are rated to zero degrees.

If you get to zone 7, hoe hoe hoe, you can certainly go with many chusqueas, thamnocalamus tessellatus, yushania anceps, and of course, fargesias. Tallest potential is likely the chusqueas.

Thanks BambooBob. I'll take a closer look at the chusqueas. I've gotten away with several types of zone defying plant material, but mostly by planting close to the south side of my home. It seems like even a clumping bamboo might get a little hairy next to a house foundation down the line, though. Maybe I'll find a south facing rock outcropping or something for a little extra heat.

BambooBob, I tried a Chusquea culeou here in Indiana and they just won't survive our summers, it's just too hot for them.

Hi foxd. Summers here in RI are pretty moderate. Lots of people don't have air conditioning. But it's a good point. Heat and cold can both play a role. Phyllostachys does poorly in Hawaii because it needs a reasonably cold winter. The adventurous recognize that every place is a little different, and some aren't satisfied until they prove it won't work for them. You sound like one of those intrepid planters.