I live near Birmingham, Al in zone 7b, maybe 7a in the past. I seem to have the ideal, all around climate to grow bamboo. However, only the running type. I’m not aware of a good performing, cold hardy, clumping bamboo for zone 7. The good news is that some of the running bamboos can be grown in zone 5, (-20 F) perhaps even zone 4.

The Jmbamboo catalog will show the temperatures and climate zones that individual species can be successfully grown. The bamboo should stay green and leafy down to the minimum temperatures given. Where the bamboo is planted, how protected it is, if it’s mulched or not are big factors in how well the bamboo does. A well established grove can usually tolerate even lower tempertures than those given, especially if planted in a sheltered location. In colder parts of the country the bamboo is sometimes killed back to the root but sends up new shoots in the spring. The bamboos can survive in this manner to temperatures even lower than those listed. You should always mulch heavily. Some of the more cold hardy species are cataloged here.

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