In article .com, "La
Puce" wrote:

PigPOg wrote:
I also want to use bamboo as a screen but I thought I'd grow them in
large containers. Don't know how this will pan-out - especially given
that I know very little about gardening let alone growing bamboo!

There's nothing to it. If they go out of hand, just dig them out. I've
had bamboos and I've never bothered doing anything to them beside
removing the dead stems, ideal to start my fires with. This 'out of
control bamboos' is really annoying me. My friend has landscaped an
area in central Manchester with bamboos 12 years ago. The bamboos
haven't spread, nor did they grew up walls, suffocated people, or
jumped on passers by.


Exactly. I've seen some real problems with Sasa Palmata and
I know a feral wood of Sasaella Ramosa which makes me very scared
of it, but in general the problems are much exagerated.
There's a page of advice at
http://www.americanbamboo.org/Genera...ingBamboo.html
Its really for california - where things allegedly grow faster -
so I'd expect far fewer problems here.

Bamboos come in two sorts; runners and clumpers (or leptomorphic
and caespitose if you like more impressive terminology). You
want clumpers to avoid the invasive tendency.

If you really want to see impressive hedges of bamboo, Burton Agnes
near Bridlington, E.Yorks have them of Yushania Anceps - which has a
slight tendency to run but is basically a clumper.


Bamboos in pots are more difficult because it is a container, and
containers dry off quicker and are prone to frost etc. Use a good
container, plastic preferably, it's lighter and easier to move around,
start well with a good drainage at the bottom, crocks, gravel and you
shouldn' t have any problem.

Bamboos in pots are problematic. They hate being dried out and
always look much happier in the soil. They have almost no water
storage organs. Depending on species and how dry you get them, you'll
get leaf curl - or they might even shed all leaves.
If you insist on containers,
be prepared to give some serious thought to irrigation in hot weather.