Abstract: It has been shown that in many clonal perennials, when light is limiting, shoot natality decreases and shoot mortality increases with increasing stand density. In this paper, emergence and survival of new shoots in a giant bamboo Phyllostachys pubescens, were observed in 25 permanent plots, each 6 m × 6 m, over a period of eight censuses at weekly intervals. Our results show that in this bamboo, shoot natality (the number of newly emerged shoots per plot) significantly increased with increasing density of adult shoots. More precisely, the number of newly emerged and/or surviving shoots, significantly increased with increasing density of adult shoots carrying new leaves, but not with that of those carrying old leaves. Furthermore, shoot mortality was density independent. This may be due to the fact that the stands where P. pubescens exists always remain relatively open, and the growth of the new shoots is not directly light-dependent.