Janet, the rampant species and variants have given the entire family a
bad name, which is a great shame because there are plenty of non-
invasive bamboos that are easily accommodated where space is
limited.

Sasa species can be a nightmare if allowed to grow uncontrolled
although they have magnificent, 'jungly' leaves. Most don't grow very
tall, but boy can they spread and really need stern confinement to
prevent a complete take-over. Sasa palmata will appear many yards
away from its parent clump, sending out exploratory shoots into the
middle of your lawn, greenhouse or even the tarmac on your drive.
Christopher Lloyd once suggested it was best confined to an island and
he was probably right. So if you see 'Sasa' on a label, you know what
to expect.

Phyllostachys were once considered to be 'safe' with few predatory
ambitions for lots of space in this country. That was true when the
UK climate was a degree or two cooler, but in many regions most
species and varieties of the genus are now showing considerable
roaming tendencies. They are probably the most widely planted of the
bamboos and their substantial, often brightly coloured canes are
magnificent on well-grown plants. That said they are often large to
very large growing plants capable of taking over a small garden unless
contained within a barrier and are probably best avoided in very
confined spaces. You can keep them in pots, but you don't see the
canes at their very best.

Amongst the truly 'safe' bamboos that are generally available, all
Fargesia species are extremely well behaved and do not run about.
They form tight clumps to around 3ft across in time with very slender
canes and fountains of soft, small to medium sized leaves. Fargesias
make excellent screens or hedges and are very hardy, wind tolerant
bamboos. In exposed positions some of the foliage will be lost in
winter, however the culms (canes) rapidly leaf out again in spring.

F. murielae is relatively common and therefore comparatively
inexpensive; developing into a somewhat umbrella-like dome of arching,
greenish-yellow canes carrying masses of soft green leaflets. The 10
- 12ft. stems arch out under the weight of the foliage, so you need to
give it a bit of room to appreciate its form. You can trim it
although such treatment robs the plant of its elegant outline.

If space is really tight with no room for arching growth, Fargesia
nitida will fit the bill perfectly. On good soil it will grow about
as tall as murielae with pencil-thick, erect canes that darken
purplish with age. It makes a very good boundary screen and will not
run about. There are those who trim this species to form a 6 - 8 ft
high hedge and as such it does the job extremely well. It looks
better left to its own devices though and will not create an
overpowering wall of foliage.

Similar in height (maybe just a bit taller) with a more open habit is
F. scabrida, which is reputedly one of the food plants of the giant
panda. The clusters of leaflets are carried in a somewhat layered
fashion on old well established clumps and the growth seems slightly
more open than that of F. nitida. It takes some tracking down, but if
you inadvertently come across one you can safely plant without fear of
a triffidic invasion.

HTH.