Hi Wendy,

I am surprised no one has mentioned Ph. Edulis (Common Name "Moso"). This is the tallest variety in the world, and I believe it would like the conditions you describe.

The quickest to reach the heights you descrie would be Ph. Vivax. Vivax is also one of the most beautiful. It's drawback is that it is fairly thin-walled and weak. So strong winds will snap the culms off making a bit of a mess to clean up.

Ph. Bambusoides is one of the strongest and straightest growing bamboos. It will take longer to establish though. It should do beautifully in your climate.

Back to Ph. Edulis (Moso), This is potentially taller than anything else (growing a reacord 155 ft. with a 16" round base in China, but maxing out at around 70 to 90 ft. under the best conditions in the U.S. This is a srtong bamboo that does well in wind. It was the bamboo you probably noticed in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

My tastes favor the look of Ph. Bambusoides (Especially the smaller 'Castillonis' variety... By smaller, I mean 40+ ft. vs. 60+ ft. for regular Ph. Bambusoides) But Moso is nice too, especially in a well groomed grove. And it will get bigger.

NOTE: This will be a pain to hear, but it is something to be aware of... For best health and vigor, a bamboo needs about as big of diameter to grow in as it has height. This doesn't mean that you need a 60' round area to grow a 60' high bamboo. But this is the optimal thing.

And, just like weeds take nutrients from plants around them, so will two or more bamboos planted together. Most people want an area filled in quick, so they plant several bamboos 5' or so apart. This works, but it slows their ability to achieve height, as each of the individual plants is fighting for the same nutrients.

If you want a really tall bamboo, buy the biggest single plant you can afford. Then till the area it is to go in with compost (composted steer manure is good) and peat moss... Churn it into a big thick bed of plant happiness with very light fertilizer. (With fertilizer, less is definitely more, especially for bamboo).

Then, plant your big single plant right in the middle and plant a weak ground cover that the bamboo can take over as it grows... I think Irish Moss or Creeping Thyme would be great for this.

In 3 or 4 years, you will have a real focal point in the area... in 10 years, you might have a few culms up there in the 50-60 ft. range. In 15 years, you should have a small forest.

As for containment, bamboo is strong but not magic... I didn't quite understand what you described, but I can say this... Asphalt will be cracked up by the bamboo rhizomes. It is flexible and is easily broken over the course of a few years.

Thin or unreinforced concrete can eventually be broken up, but is much more difficult for the bamboo to get through. People used to use concrete as a bamboo barrier. But usually due to poor construction, a high percentage of these barriers failed (Though it usually took 20+ years in the cases I read about).

Concrete cracks. So, if it is not reinforced, it is possible to wedge something in the crack and pry the two parts apart. Or, if a slab is small, like a sidewalk, it is not too hard to pry up on it and lift the slab.

Cheers!