Don't waste your money. The bamboo won't even slow down for this. Either use the real stuff, or control it by rhizome prunihg. Robert Young does not spread very fast anyway.

how much pruning would i have to do? if i get a barrier, where can i get it the cheapest?

My guess is that you have nothing to worry about with Robert Young. In your zone, it will topkill every winter, remain under 10 feet, and not spread very much. I am basing this on my experience with it and I'm a bit warmer than you. After 4 years it has not yet reached 10 feet, nor spread out of the area that I planted it in. The green form of Viridis is way bigger, but the R Young is still a runt even though I've had it longer.

I'm afraid that it may disappoint you; you may wish to consider Ph. Aureosulcata Aureocaulis or Spectabilis instead. They have similar coloration and they will get larger for you.

plumiandbamboo-
As far as how much pruning, I'd say about 1-2 minutes in late-September. Get a sharp shovel and chop down 10"-12" all along the perimeter you want to maintain. Any rhizome that's chopped off will die in the ground beyond that point. I really think barrier is overkill in your Zone.

I got my barrier special ordered from a company called "Field Lining Systems" in Arizona if I remember correctly. The sales rep quoted me with a volume discount by mistake, but even without it was way cheaper than I could find elsewhere (searched forever too). I ordered 60 mil thick by 35" by about 115'. I think prices have come down at online nurseries though. Send them an e-mail and get a quote and see. Not guaranteeing anything. Good luck!

oh yeah...
at the time their 60 mil rolls were 25' wide, so they would have to melt the seams if it was beyond that. The seams weren't bad, but I used leftover barrier (couldn't dig anymore!) to put in front of the seams so the rhizomes wouldn't get caught and poke through. If this doesn't hold in my zone 5/6 clay soil i quit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Field Lining Systems

Barriers are bamboo's version of fool's gold: they look good but aren't worth much. As Kudzu says, dedicate yourself to rhizome pruning each year and you'll be fine.

thanks a lot guys
ill look into saving my money and pruning, however that might be an issue if we move...

plumiandbamboo-
If you are successful growing Robert Young, there will be no shortage of bamboo nuts who will volunteer to come dig it up when you move...

o by the way how difficult would it be to control p.vivax or viridis in my zone?

haha thats true.

plumiandbamboo-
I don't think you would have problems controlling any running bamboo with regular rhizome pruning (and your climate Zone is going to limit growth in the first place). I've got both in a much more hospitable climate and they're not going anywhere they shouldn't.

I don't think you have anything to worry about in your zone.
If you move to the SE contact me about prices for barrier :)

how high do yours grow? im trying not to be too picky but i love the look of the giant timber bamboo... i wouldnt want anything too high but 30 ft or around there would be nice:) would my winters allow it? last year i think we only had one day or maybe none that dipped below 0.... even at night. im looking into ph. atrovaginata and vivax... maybe even ph. viridiglaucescens... theyre all very lovely... and thanks a lot for the responses kudzu... and everyone else :-D

Kudzu, although plumiandbamboo may or may not be too far north to share summers such as ours, the great midwest here may actually see more rhizome growth than the PNW. Yes, the winters are much harsher and that does somewhat impact rhizome growth, but our summers are much hotter, more humid, with decent rainfall and these conditions produce significant rhizome growth.

My summers are much like Georgia/Alabama etc. but they start a few weeks later and end a few weeks earlier - my winters are like New England without the oceanic moderation. We get the rhizome growth but not the culm size of the SE US.

hoosier52-
Thanks for the info. I grew up in the Midwest, so I know about those seasons, but never grew bamboo when I was there. It would be really interesting to see the results of controlled experiments where identical plants were planted in your climate and mine, and growth was assessed a couple of years later. In any case, what are the typical kinds of annual rhizome spread you get from some of your mature, established bamboo?

Kudzu, I would not describe any of my groves here in Indiana as mature yet plus I dig from the outside edges every summer to control spread so I can't really estimate rhizome growth distance from the older plantings. The mature groves I dig from in zone 6 Tennessee same thing, we dig from the outer edges.

Newly planted specimens amaze me as to their spread, often times I'll have to make some divisions in the year after planting as culms are being produced already outside the 'allowed' growing area. It is not uncommon to see newly planted Phyllostachys coming up 10-12 feet away in the spring after they are planted - even topkilled plants that had done their roaming the previous summer. I dug out some Japonica the summer after I planted it as it had already spready way beyond the space allocated for it so I moved it to a shadier spot, plus I took 19 divisions off it.

The Semiarundinarias seem to put most of their energy into rhizome growth. SY Kimmeii runs so fast that I've started using it for erosion control, it runs at least 15 feet but is only producing 3-4 foot culms. The Okuboi is at about 6 feet and runs like the wind. I dig more of it and the Kimmeii each year than any other species, but it looks like the Rubro & Bissetii are about to enter that category.

hoosier52-
Very interesting...I'm in a much more kind-to-bamboo growing Zone and my experience has been that very few of my runners make a run for it! For example, I transplanted a number of plants earlier this spring from my old house to my new one, and they have put up lots of shoots, but they're all in a really tight pattern. For example, I planted a Ph. aurea with about 3 mature culms (1"+ and 12' feet high), and I got over 15 major shoots coming up within a 16" diameter circle, with the old culms at the center. This pattern is something I had at my old house, as well. I'm currently growing about 25 different running species and most of them have shot by now. However, none of them has sent up shoots more than about 6" from the existing shoots. I spent a lot of time preparing the soil: I rototilled in about 25 cubic yards of topsoil and compost), so that may be a factor since they don't have to go far to find nutrients. Maybe your more vigorous extension of runners has something to do with survival strategy...who knows?

I gather from reading "Taming the Dragon" that this more moderate running occurs in maritime England too. In fact Whittaker states that Rubro pretty much stays put, spreading only 2.5 to 5' in 10 years.

Phyllostachys just plain like hot, humid growing conditions and I water as needed in the summer so they can keep running. Add in the 6-8 inch annual application of horse manure and there they go. On the flip side, the cold winters keep the culms small. so we see large groves of small to medium sized bamboo. The Fargesias do not seem to like our summers and I've started to plant them all in the woods in heavy shade plus it's a tad cooler.

Yesterday I found a source that will deliver 20 tons of composted cow manure for $100. They had been stockpiling it for years and now need the room; he said he has around 1,000 tons of it. Sweet mother, where's my check book?

hoosier52-
I don't suppose they deliver to the Seattle area for that price, do they?

hoosier52
They will also run in hot and dry climates if you have moist ground. My 2 year old P. aureosulcata has new shoots 12 feet from the original plant. The interesting thing is all of the new shoots follow the dripline that I put down last year. The 2 gallon rubros that I planted last spring have shoots two to four feet from the original plant and the nuda I planted last spring sent up shoots last fall in a 6 foot diameter circle around the original plant.

Most of my plants have a circular dripline around the original plant and that keeps the soil moist about 4 feet from the original plant so we will see how far the plants travel into the dry soil.

Bill
16 inch annual rainfall area.

Kudzu - if he won't deliver that far, I'd be willing to ship it to you if you'll pay the postage ;)

I remember about 3 years ago I ordered 8 mail-order Nuda. Just before they arrived I hurt my back and did not feel up to planting them where I wanted them, so I put them in a temp spot that was easy digging. The next spring I proceeded to dig them out and transplant them. Every one of them had at least 6 rhizomes going 10-12 feet out in a wagon wheel pattern. It took me 2 hours to dig out each one, as I was trying to keep as much rhizome intact, as possible.

Last summer I saw an Aurea shoot coming up WAY out from the mother plant that had been there 2 years. I carefully got underneath the wayward culm and walked it out of the ground all of the way back to the raised bed border, where I snipped it off. I stepped it off at 18 feet of rhizome! This was 1 seasons growth. I chopped off the 3 feet of rhizome tip with no viable buds and then somehow, for some reason?? I planted the culm and 15 feet of rhizome in a 20 gallon pot. This year you'd never know how much rhizome is coiled up in that pot by looking at the few, short culms. Next year, I bet it looks like a jungle in there. Now I need to find a new home for it, as the dang stuff doesn't appeal to me in this climate zone.

Hoosier, actually I bet it's making a run for Alabama.

I have Golden Golden bamboo, about 9 feet tall, which I planted in a flower bed about two years ago. The flower bed is lined with concrete blocks on all sides, about 2 feet deep, after which there is lawn. The bamboo has really taken off; after two years it has sent out shoots to the boundaries of the bed, ran into the concrete and then gown vertical. Will the concrete contain the bamboo for the next few years? My fear is that it is spreading underground and suddendly it will appear everywhere in my lawn. Help!!! :)