Carbon assimilation from photosynthesis provides most substrates and energy for plant growth. To date, the distribution of carbon in various plant species has been intensively studied. However, information on carbon distribution during the shooting period in bamboo plants is limited. In this study, carbon distribution in different organs of Phyllostachys violascens plants with one, two, or three ramets was investigated during the shooting period, which enabled further study of the mechanisms that regulate bamboo species development. The results showed that the organic carbon content was significantly different in various organs of P. violascens and that it changed significantly during the shooting period. Before the shooting period started, organic carbon content decreased in the order branch > leaf > stem > ramet > root; after shooting was completed, it decreased in the order branch > stem > leaf > ramet > root. Organic carbon initially decreased and then subsequently increased in branch and leaf and there was an "N"-like variation in organic carbon content in root, stem, and rhizome. The decrease in organic carbon content was negatively related to the shoot yield in both single and multi-ramet plants. The magnitude of the reduction in organic carbon content of various organs decreased with increasing ramet number and shoot output. Variation in organic carbon content was also found between plants with different ramet age. In the two-ramet plants, the reduction in organic carbon content was larger in 1-year-old plants than in 2-year-old plants, and in three-ramet plants, the reduction in organic carbon content was larger in 3-year-old plants than in 2-year-old and 1-year-old plants. These findings indicate that bamboo shooting affects organic carbon allocation, with a decrease in branch and leaf content and an increase in root, stem, and rhizome content. The potential source-sink relationship of different organs changes to provide organic carbon for bamboo shoots. Physiological integration of photosynthetic products occurs within the clonal segments of P. violascens. With an increasing number of ramets, organic carbon in the shoots increased and loss of organic carbon in the ramets decreased. The organic carbon content also varied with P. violascens plant age during the shooting period. These findings have important practical implication in terms of shoot output and economic benefit, by adjusting the natural above-ground structure of P. violascens.