[3] In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Like most bamboos it can become invasive if kept in warm, moist conditions in good quality soil with access to full sunlight.

Cultivars include: P. aurea's lush foliage makes it desirable for ornamental purposes and privacy hedges, and its characteristic 'knotty' compressed lower internodes render it desirable among collectors.

The common forms of P. aurea are easily identified by their characteristic compressed internodes in the lower part of the canes which have a tortoise shell-like appearance.

[3] The canes turn yellow in full or partial sun, and deepen into a gold-orange color as the plant matures.