weak bamboo

i live in nanaimo on vancouver island bc.
i have several types of bamboo on my property none of which will 'stand up' they droop or simply break between culms they are not woody.
one species i used a backhoe to rip out of a friend's yard it was so agressive and resilient to removal.
@ his house @ mine a few wispy shoots not going anywhere less rigid then my lawn. the area has strong afternoon light. i water daily, mulch and fertilise.
vivax the last species to go in was given every care planted in high % of manure and rich soil. regular watering. had half a dozen shoots come up shortly after it was planted. grew to 6' and stayed soft. the best looking of the original canes bent broke between culms. all the other plants i have are spindly and weak.
don't need a rhyzome barrier if it spreads to my lawn the lawn would win.
hasn't been spreading and the distance is too great for it to get to.

help, my 'agressive' invasive won't invase.
;-{

 

I have no help for you (my experience of running bamboo is that it ran like the Mongol hordes), but I enjoyed your post so much, thought I'd tip my gardening hat at your way with words even though not so much with bamboo.

 

You mentioned Phyllostachys vivax specifically, that produces thin-walled culms that break under snow loads.

 

i specifically mention vivax because it is the only one i truey know the identity of[ a thin walled timber bamboo is anti climatic but understandable of a fast growing timber; i thank you for the insight to their true under achieving efforts ]. though the bamboo i ripped out of my fiend's yard was a mix of some very heavy walled bamboo by the look of old cut cane bases.
i didin't check the bamboo with last yrs snow. or if i did i wasn't overly concerned i'd remember having kittens if it had been a concern.
i am looking to clear my property of the current alder residents as a bamboo grove gets established. i know i won't get any magnificent stands right off but even an expanse of 6 ' high hard canes would be nice. but @ this point i'll settle for 2 upright solid canes.i am patient. i have perhaps 50 yrs left to see it mature. 10 would be prefered.
with my curent success even 2 generations from now the neighbors won't be complaining of "That plant encroaching on our property".
it has to fill near to 1/2 an acre before we would give them reason to whine.


i'll wait patiently another year. before i stomp around on them. @ which time they are firm enough to take it or die from being weak and break.

 

i apreciate the compliment.
now to transform my turn of phrase to bamboo success.
i find it odd that some apreciate my writing <happens off and on in forums i write in> while others are simply not fond of it @ all
[ like my boss]
;{
i think i need your mongol horde to strample my bamboo on their way to invade my property.
:)
no mercy for the lazy under achieving.
i reserve all mercy for my laziness. abandoning my laziness i went to the effort of nurturing them. the least they could do is give me a grove to laze around in.
in the center; a park bench big enough to nap on.

 

Due to the thin walls P. vivax isn't a timber bamboo.

 

that's ok only intrest in timber bamboo was height. i was steered clear of moso for it's slow growth to faster growing P. vivax; if it achieves a better then average height i am happy. if not i will go back to moso and hope for the best growth possible for it. inject it with bamboo steroids. probably is something out there just have to find it. or get a lesser species to experiment on.

 

I've had moso develop plenty rapidly here. The only problem I have had is keeping up with the watering, some larger culms aborting and being replaced by smaller ones - I would have much bigger stems now if there had not been this problem. I attribute it to the planting site and the planter rather than the plant, all bamboos need abundant moisture during the growing season to develop fully.

 

you live close enough to be similar zone. if i can get to be a moso disciple , i'm in put some in this spring.
site main attributes? lots of water i know i have that one.

 

Sun and shelter.

 

thanks Ron. i can provide that.they will be boredered on 2 sides by trees or a bank . with a nice east west coridor for sun morning evening plus enough south for midday get tall enough will get more south sun and wind.
now to find some moso. the local bamboo nursery sold out. go abit out of local area. higher shipping cost but could offset if i find cheaper plant prices<can>