I have ordered several PHYLLOSTACHYS NIGRA (Black Bamboo) plants and
I would like to keep them in containers.

What sort of soil do they prefer do they like damp or dry conditions
any tips on keeping these healthy appreciated.

I've got another Bamboo in a container ( Phyllostachys aureosulcata
"Spectabilis") it is about 6ft tall and seemed to be doing well until
a couple of weeks ago when all of a sudden its leaves suddenly turned
brown. It looks as though it is dead, no sign of new shoots at all, it
is not pot bound as I have checked that. Sometimes in the mornings the
leaves seem to have a little bit of green in them but then that fades
away during the day.

Any ideas as to what could have caused this, is it worth keeping ie
will it send out new shoots from its base?
I have actually put 4 images on the following site if anyone would
like to have a look and offer some advice as to what to do with it.

Images are up to 100k in size so please allow time for them to load if
you are using a 56k modem

http://www.geocities.com/stormcrowuk/bamboo1.htm

The winter up here in Northumberland has been very mild this year so I
don't think it is the frost that caused it to look so bad, the bamboo
is situated in an area that is surrounded by 6ft walls so it is fairly
well sheltered from strong winds.

Any advice appreciated.