Fargesia rufa is very cold hardy for a bamboo. It tolerates one-night exposures down to -10º F in still air and only loses its leaves. Colder or windier nights or prolonged cold spells will kill the culms or even the roots. Mine was completely flattened and lightly buried by a snow storm, but it sprang back without harm when I brushed the snow off.

Fargesia rufa prefers some shade and tolerates considerable shade.

{Edited to reflect information from OldGardener}
According to the American Bamboo Society, Fargesia species in general do not tolerate very high summer temperatures,
but humidity must be a factor, as OldGardener points out below.
http://www.bamboo.org/BambooSo...
http://www.bamboo.org/BambooSo...

Maximum height is 10 feet.
Maximum culm diameter is 0.5 inches.
Clumps droop into a "mushroom" or "umbrella" shape.
Clumps expand by only an inch or a few inches per year. Rhizomes are shallow and easily contained by shallow barriers.

Flowers are said to be shaped like toothbrushes.
The culms are smooth and have very few branches.

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