ABS - Growing Bamboo in the Northeast: "How can bamboos grow in this climate? To grow bamboos, New England gardeners must be willing to accept the challenge of working with a plant that normally doesn’t grow in their climactic zone. And they must also understand that the taller bamboos will not grow to the height they would reach in Zones 5 or warmer. In a particularly hard Zone 4 winter (worst case scenario: a bare ground January, minus 30°F with wind) most bamboos will act like herbaceous perennials, losing leaves and stems to ground level. For most Zone 4 gardeners, this shouldn’t be too much of a shock since this is the norm for most plants in our area. "