I don't use rhizome barrier if I can get by with rhizome pruning, but, in your case, I think it will be better in the long run.

As for buying rhizomes on eBay, I avoid it. The success rate with even getting a plant from a rhizome is probably 10-50% when you have really fresh rhizome and you know what you are doing. Secondly, I have grown from rhizome (using my own stock), and I would expect that it would take you between 5-10 years to get a plant 15' high. Even when you have a full, potted bamboo plant, it will take 1-3 years before it sends up shoots. If you seriously want a 15' high bamboo hedge any time in the next couple of years, you will need to get some decent size plants to start with. While there are sellers on eBay who sell bamboo plants, my experience is that many of them don't know what they are doing. They generally aren't bamboo growers, but people who have bamboo growing in their yards and want to make a little cash by getting rid of some of it. You may get a plant which has been topped and had most of the dirt removed from the rootball to cut down on shipping costs; it may arrive with the exposed roots dried out. If such a plant survives, it will need a couple of years to recover from this.

I am not trying to discourage you. I am giving you a dose of reality so you won't become discouraged by trying to cut corners. Find a local seller of potted bamboo plants so you can see what you are buying, and so that you will have an immediate start to your screen with something that will do well and look good from the start. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, this is really helpful. So in your opinion, is the golden bamboo my best choice? It's probably the easiest ones to find from a local nursery.

Another idea I had was, instead of the rhizome barrier, I can build up a planting bed along the fence, something like 2' or 3' max. Is this high enough that I can avoid using the barrier, and still not worry that it'll grow into the neighbor's yard? Since I have limited space, the soil will only be 2' wide with the planter... is this wide enough for the bamboo to grow properly?

jimmyland-
Before I give you any more answers, let me make sure I understand one thing. I just noticed that your screen name indicates you are in Zone 3. If that is the USDA Hardiness Zone that corresponds to about -35 to -40 F, that will prevent any bamboo from making it through the winter. Where are you exactly?

Actually, I totally read that zone map wrong...
I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area... Zone 8B

Well, that's a relief!

Golden is widely available and usually at the lower end of the cost range. However, I am familiar with the Bay Area and the climate and there are many bamboo choices available to you there. You may wish to take a trip to one of the bamboo specialty nurseries in the Bay Area to see if there are others that you might like even more. You also have a number of clumping bamboo choices available to you, which would avoid the rhizome control issue.

If you plant a runner, putting it in a mound will definitely help. I've done that a number of times and the runners tend to stay near the surface or even break surface. However, you will need to do rhizome control each year if you don't use barrier with a runner. And from what you describe, I'm still a little nervous. When I plant along a fence line, I like to stay at least 5' away because runners can make good progress in a year and you want to be able to get between the fence and the planting to rhizome prune.

If you are interested, I can give you the names of a couple of places near the Bay Area where you can look at a wide selection of bamboo and get info about choices and prices. (You can click on the link for "My Page" here and email me.)

I'm thinking of planting clumping bamboo in front of some windows to block the neighbors (would rather see green than them brushing their teeth!)...privet is too dense, I like the leafy/airiness of bamboo. The space is 3' wide but unlimited length. Which bamboo? I would only want it to be about 10 feet high max so either "shorter" kind or taller that would be OK with being topped off. Full sun for most of the afternoon - hot in late summer, some marine layer in mornings, otherwise temperate all year (Long Beach, CA)