Here's a little bit of info on heights:

Heights

Of course, you can go to:
BambooWeb
and look at the data and photos for each species.

You can also go to:
BambooSourcery
[Click on the "Plants" tab at the top of the page] and look at their tables which give characteristics such as height, diameter, clumping vs. runner, etc.

However, I don't think you're going to get all of those things in one bamboo. For example, I know of no bamboo that stays under 15' and has large culms. And as to low price...what's that mean to you? Hopefully, these links will let you do some narrowing down.

Joe maybe dulcis will work for you. It does get higher(not 50 ft) than 15 ft but it is supposed to have big culms. its a runner though....probably not too cheap either. You are probably wishing for something that alot of us would like to have. Bill's site which kudzu listed is probably the one you are looking for. wouldn't it be nice to get a bamboo that can get 15 to 20 ft tall....nice 3-4 inch culms....not run...and is 10 bucks....hardy to z5....

Kurt

culm diam and culm height are positively correlated. The larger the diameter, the stronger the culm is to support height, so the taller it can and will be.

The only way to have large diam (3+ inches) and 15 ft height is to cut the tall culms back to 15 ft, which you'll probably have to do monthly through the growing season. A 3-inch culm is probably goint to reach 40 - 50+ ft.

Check jmbamboo.com and bambooplantation.com for Bambusa genus (clumpers), some of which are OK to 15F and 2 - 3 inch culms.

It would take several seasons, but the cheap way to have a lot of clumping bamboo is to start with one plant, then divide/propagate it after a year and plant the divisions farther away.

A clumper wouldn't need rhizome pruning, but cutting the tops at 15 ft could get to be a real pain. A runner would require pruning both rhizomes and height.

The lone exception may be Bambusa Tuldoides Ventricosa 'Wamin' or Lumpy Noodle, the original buddah belly, but it will not be cheap and it probably will not survive your climate. It is my understanding that it does get fat and stay under 20 feet. Roy Rogers may weigh in on how big & hardy this guy is for him in Florida...