Have you ever considered just growing it without a barrier? The rhizomes usually never get that deep especially with phyllostachys nigra which produces thinner rhizomes that stay closer to the surface.

If you happen to be in the northeast, or a climate with cool summers, you may not even need to rhizome prune as some species will struggle to spread due to the short growing seasons.

I have attached some pictures of my bamboo, none of them with rhizome barriers.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing bamboos without barriers

True bamboo barrier should be the same quality wherever you get it. Go with 60 or 80 mil.

Stevelau, Your bamboo looks in control, but I will have to try a barrier or containment of some type. I have just let myself buy running bamboo, it may be easy for you to control yours, but I have heard that no barrier is not the best idea. I need to find a source for barrier or a large pot of some sort.

Go to this site: Click Here.

Kt

It also depends on what kind of running bamboos you go with as well as your shade and other conditions. Some species such as the aureosulcatas will run very far in almost all conditions while something like moso, or dulcis will only grow rhizomes that reach 1-2ft at best each year.

The biggest reason why rhizomes are not much of a threat no matter how far they grow is because the plant itself has an energy cycle so if all the rhizomes are pruned right after a strong shooting season, those underground rhizomes that have been severed from the main plant will likely barely have enough energy for survival growth as all the energy goes into the the new shoots, and a lawnmower will take out whatever comes up causing that section to rot away over a couple of months.

I think a rhizome barrier may work well being used right on the property line to prevent rhizomes from crossing into a neighbor's yard, and I think it should be used along with rhizome pruning before rhizomes hit the barrier. The problem with barriers is if you use them to completely surround your bamboos, it will create the same effect as a potted bamboo where rhizomes end up belting around the perimeter right on the barrier itself, and sometimes barriers will either get punctured, or rhizomes go under if the barrier is not installed at the right angle. Sometimes a barrier can create drainage problems if the contained area is too small, and it becomes much harder to dig divisions out of your grove. It also makes it harder to add layers of manure as you will be raising the soil level inside the barrier.

I think a much easier way is to grow bambos on slightly raised mounds if you are worried about the spread because that will allow you to see exactly where to rhizome prune. If you go with one of the least aggressive running bamboos, I can almost guarantee that you will be surprised at how easy it will be to maintain without a barrier.

Okay, Stevelau. If I plant Phyllostachys Nigra and make a mound of approximately a foot high and 7 ft wide by 10 ft long with Barrier about a foot out from the allowed spread of the bamboo. Is that okay? The really important question is, can Black bamboo, Phy. Nigra be grown in containers?

I might have missed it poaky1 but what is the need to keep it so tightly contained? I could honestly care less about my neighbors yard..if he dosent like the bamboo mow over it. if it get someplace you don't want mow it down or cut the culm off. why does it have to stay so contained?

Bamboo grown on a mound will still grow underground as it gets to the end of the mound, but it does help contain it by making the escaping rhizomes easier to find and easier to severe.

I have grown black bamboo in containers for many years, but here in this perfect climate for P. nigra, it gets rootbound very quickly. In the ground, running 20 feet in one season is not unusual.

Barriers can fail, but installing them correctly will help you keep the bamboo in check.

Bamboo barrier can be bought in Perkiomanville, PA.

Kt

That size of a mound should work. 8 inches should be high enough as it allows you to put in bricks to support the higher ground. A mound simply encourages rhizomes to grow at a higher level so when they reach the edge, they will be easier to spot as they often come out of the ground.

It is OK to grow running bamboos in containers in the short term, but they will eventually become root bound which requires you to split them up every few years.

If you do install a barrier, I would suggest simply installing it as a means to prevent rhizome spread into the neighbor's yard, so simply installing it right on the property line should work well. The deepest I have ever seen rhizomes get is around 14 inches on my parvifolia so a 30 inch rhizome deflector installed at a slant should catch any potential stray rhizomes given that your grove is close to the property line.

I am only going to plant CLUMPERS anywhere near my property line. I have about 2 acres, but I am growing many oak trees on most of it. I currently have mostly FULL SUN yet, my trees are small yet. My point is I want a smallish grove of Black Bamboo. I have received my Black bamboo today, as well as my Fargesia Robusta "Campbells form". Luckily they are potted, so I can take a bit of time before planting both. Stevelau, do you have sandy soil? I don't think I've asked that already sorry if I have. I have about a foot of loam with clay underneath,but what makes it worrisome for me is the many rocks in my soil. I will try to use the mound method with barrier. In the meantime I can keep the P.Nigra in it's container, while I obtain barrier, and make the mound. I am glad the P. Nigra may be slower in zone 6. My zone 6 is actually like zone 7 as far as low temperatures we have been getting for a couple decades.

Kentuck- thanks for the link for barrier.

My soil is pretty much loamy in the higher layers, but it turns to clay with plenty of rocks when you get lower which may be why rhizomes never grow that deep.

I actually did use a barrier at one time on my bissettii however It was a fairly small space, and since I never angled the barrier, rhizomes did grow much lower than they could without obstruction, and made shoots on the other side so I ended up removing the barrier as I found that eventually, the bamboo made way too many shoots right on the barrier itself as the rhizomes circled the perimeter. I don't grow that species anymore since it grow very aggressively with many rhizomes that can stretch 4-7ft per year. Most of the species I have now only run 1-2ft per year.

Given that you are in PA, I know there are at least 3 people on the bambooweb forums who are in your state, and may be close enough to grab field divisions from if you get in contact with them.

I attached a picture of my largest grove phyllostachys parvifolia which is a moderate spreader, but it upsizes fast.

SteveLau,You have some Blue spruce (at least one) so you aren't much south of me. After much TORTURING) though, I have a raised area that I will have to clear of plants. I may try the Phyllostachys Nigra there. It is saturated along the side of this area. I think it may be the ULTIMATE barrier area. I will add barrier of course, but the extra moisture around the edges should help. I may add some upland with barrier too. Another question though, in zone 6 well drained half day sun does PHY. Nigra get 30 ft tall ? I guess it's hard to say maybe?

I've never seen p nigra get up to 30ft tall in zone 6 because it is not among the hardiest, but it is reasonable to expect it to at least reach the 15-20ft range with enough full sun.

I'm actually in upstate NY which is way up north right beneath Lake Ontario.

This is my p nigra so far which has only been in the ground since summer of 2011

Here's a very good forum thread on someone who happens to have grown phyllostachys nigra for 3 years in the ground with a barrier in case you are interested in some visuals.

The rhizomes don't run very deep at all with this species as shown in his latest pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: p nigra over 3 years

I guess it may be slower growing than I thought. To better explain the TORTURING I mentioned above. I have an area perfect for the P. Nigra, but there are weeds and jaggerbushes growing there now, the torture will be clearing the area. It is raised up already, I put in fill soil and planned on making it nice with plants, but it got neglected. If I can burn the weeds and jaggerbushes away and dig up any roots, then add more wood chips etc, t would be perfect. It's a round raised bed that is about 15 - 20 ft diameter. {{gwi:401897}} It is in the background of this picture, on the right side of the tree up front. You can see the wall barely, it has a little tree up against it. That area would be great when cleared.There aren't rocks in the topsoils upper layers because what I built up the bed with wasn't rocky. I don't have a closer picture of the raised area already on my computer. Well, thanks for answering my questions. I will post pictures once I get the P. Nigra settled in the area and it has grown some, I can let the grove spread more in this spot than I would have without the looser/ raised area soil. The plant up front is an oak tree, the bed is in the background to the right, just in case I didn't explain well enough.

I forgot to mention, I am in SW Pa. Fayette county. Of course I won't have anything to share for a while anyway.

If you are there, then you will need some protection for p nigra over the first few winters to allow it to build up some size, hardiness, and be well off on its own. You should experience colder winter extremes and wind since you happen to be on the west side of the Appalachian mountains.

Okay, I have found out that my area has reportedly seen below zero temperatures within the last 20 years, for however brief a time, it did happen, so I am really zone 6 after all. Thanks for the info everyone and the pictures Stevelau.