British Columbia: Bamboos as a screen...Questions

Can anyone share some of their wisdom/experience with me regarding bamboos?

I am helping design a garden where the homeowners would like a bamboo screen, and for it to work effectively as a screen, it must be about 30-35' tall.

Here are my questions:

1) Phyllostachys aureosulcata seems to be the most common and readily available bamboo in the Lower mainland region. I have seen a variety of numbers for how high it grows in in our region, ranging from max 20' to max 35'. Can anyone confirm which number is closest to the truth?

2) Can anyone suggest any other bamboo species that are readily available (i.e.: can be bought already at a tall height, and found relatively easily) that grow quickly to about 30-35'? Phyllostachys bambusoides, Ive read can grow to 45'...this might be too high.

3) Are all bamboos recommended to be installed with a rhizome barrier?

Thank you

 

Barrier, definitely. Even the clumping ones run (well, walk). Limiting water seems to limit growth but that's hard to do in a garden setting around here! We keep ours minimally under control by not watering it during the summer.

Also have a look at Phyllostachys nigra, black bamboo. Ours is at least 25' tall. I've heard it's tenderer than other bamboos but we haven't lost any, even in the hard winters lately.
keke

 

Phyllostachys aureosulcata and P. nigra both bend way over in the rain and snow. I would use Semiarundiaria fastuosa instead, anywhere this bending could be a problem.

Any of these will have to be doing quite well to reach the desired height, and it won't happen overnight. In a cool region such as this it might be safer to use a timber type, except the ones that grow here have their own issues as well: Phyllostachys bambusoides is prone to aphids and not completely hardy, P. vivax is prone to breakage under snow, and P. pubescens (not remembering current binomial) may not be completely hardy, can also be subject to damage from animals.

But boy is it beautiful.

 

thanks everyone. The nursery i'm dealing with suggested their Phyllostachys bambusoides, so I decided to go with that. Should reach the required height, hopefully it won't grow too tall though.....but if it does, I don't foresee any major problems.