Just measured the area, its 16 feet long by 3 ft wide, borders my front porch to the N, driveway to the W, lawn to the S and the rest of my bricked off planting area to the E.

I'm glad you recognize there is a lot of hysteria...which is usually from people who are passing on urban legends or who planted it and neglected it for 5-10 years and then wonder why they have a problem.

Bamboo will not damage an intact foundation. I suppose if your house sits on cinder blocks with big gaps in the mortar, it might by accident squeeze through, but even then will not likely do any damage. If you have a slab or poured concrete footings, it's not even a consideration. Bamboo roots are not like tree roots that sit there and get bigger each year. Their main characteristic is that they send out runners that can go into areas you don't want them to, and then new shoots/culms come up where they are not welcome. You can control this with maintenance or barrier. Barrier works fine if it's the correct material (i.e., real bamboo barrier) and is installed correctly to the right depth. For you, that would be 20"-24" deep.

If the concrete between the planting and the house is a sidewalk, the roots may go under the concrete, but won't crack it or cause it to heave.

I have many running bamboo that I grow without barrier, and I mainly control them with "rhizome pruning" once or twice a year. The only place I have barrier is where the bamboo are right next to my asphalt driveway because I have found that bamboo can cause bumps in asphalt: it's attracted to warmth, and can push up against the underside of the asphalt when it's warm out and cause a hump because the asphalt -- unlike concrete -- is pliable.

If you want to try control using rhizome pruning, take a pickaxe and chop around the perimeter you want to maintain, once in late spring and once in early fall. When you find a wayward root, chop it off. The chopped off portion should die in the ground, but, to be safe, just yank it out. You will probably find all of the roots are with 4"-10" of the surface. The only problem with manual rhizome control is if you have a lot of other plants/grasses close by: this makes rhizome removal a little more complicated when they grow under or through another plant's root system.

If you want to get fancy, another method is to dig a trench at least 12" deep all around and then fill it with sand or bark. This makes finding and removing rhizones easier.

'Koi' is a variegated form of golden bamboo with the same habit, including an ability to grow multiple yards before popping up. I've had it appear about 20' away from the main clump in one move, without any above-ground growth between.

I actually took it back, I am not adverse to a runner but it seems that Koi may be too aggressive for what I am looking for. A shame, its beautiful bamboo. Are there any "slow" runners that might fill this space? Or a good clumper that can take the heat and the sun?

Thanks.

Maybe 'Alphonse Karr'.

I ended up getting a nice Alphonse Karr for the middle of the hedge, and just picked up a Silverstripe. Will add one more to the hedge, not sure what variety yet, Home Depot just got some Fernleaf in that looks pretty healthy.

It still shocks me when I see people saying they got bamboo at Home Depot. I guess it's a regional thing.

I've seen 20 ft high Giant Timber at Vegas HD, in PHX, I've bought Giant Timber, Golden Goddess and Buddhas Belly, and have seen Black Bamboo Nigra and Silverstripe, Fernleaf and Golden. But this is the first year I've seen it at HD. And, its the first year I've seen Dragonfruit and Manilla Mango as well.

Some good news.... I planted golden goddess in early August, big mistake, the plant was a bit distressed, and the weather changed to several weeks of 110 degree heat, and to top it off, I did a terrible job planting it, not enough drainage. Predictably it dried up quick and lost all its leaves, I dug out a few feet around it, put in fast draining soil and have watered like crazy with a bit of fish emulsion and compost. Finally, I'm noticing some tiny green leaves forming on culms that I thought were doa. It helps that its still in the mid 80's here, hoping for a good recovery!