I'm probably too far south to give you any advice on which bamboo would do best in your area, but for starters, how cold does it get in your area?

You may try here for some helpful advice:

Bamboo World

Kt

Hello Kt:

Thanks for your reply and the link.

Victoria British Columbia has the mildest climate in Canada, and is described as a sub-Mediterranean zone.

I believe my area (we have many micro-climates) of Victoria falls under Plant Hardiness Zone 8 or 9, and I am specifically at North 48 27.139 by West 123 26.501.

We average 2,183 hours of sunshine each year, and rainfall of 23" (592 ml) per year.

Cheers ... Mitch

Maybe one of the clumping Bambusas would do in your area. These would give you a narrower growth pattern and you would not need to put in a rhizome barrier.

Down here, I always plant a taller plant than it's listed height, in other words, if I want a bamboo to grow to 20 feet in height, I always plant one that grows taller, to ensure that it will grow to at least that height. Their listed height is usually a maximum, and the plants, under less than ideal conditions, may not reach this height.

Bambusa textilis grows up to 40 feet here with culms just over 2 inches in diameter. Once mature(in 3-4 years), it has no branches on the lower 4 to 6 feet of each culm. The culms grow close together for a great privacy screen.

There are several varieties of B. textilis, some that have smaller culms and grows a bit shorter in height. Most are green, but there is one that is green with white/yellow stripes(B. tex 'albostriata').

The good thing is that it is cold hardy, here, at least to 15F, which mine has survived more than once, with only some leaf damage, so it is definitely more cold hardy.

Plants may seem a bit pricey, but in a couple of years, you can divide each plant into as many as four seperate plants for faster coverage. I grow one mature clump of Textilis that I use for divisions only.

Go here to see some of the different types of B. textilis:

Tropical Bamboo Nursery

Perhaps some of the multiplexes are worth looking into also, although they are shorter in height.

Good Luck

Kt

Phyllostachys nigra 'Meguro' and P. vivax are the two main large bamboos you see around here (outside of collections). If the cedars are western red cedar or other large, shady conifers with dense mats of roots and low branches that are hanging right over the planting site you may have a struggle getting vigorous growth out of the new planting. You may also have a problem trying to dig a special bed and install root barrier. Hacking through roots of existing trees generally not a good idea, in some instances it could even destabilize or kill them.

If you've had a new condo or office building go in next door it might work better to put up a fence (if this has not been done already), and then plant understory trees like vine maples that are adapted to growth among conifers to provide taller screening. Although deciduous, vine maples provide quite a bit of screening in summer (probably the only time when most people here are likely to be sitting outside, noticing they are being looked at by the neighbors) where the foliage gets enough light to produce dense growth.

There are many other options for screening with plants, of course, Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK has a listing in plant selection guide section near the front.

There's a fence already.

Mitch,
check out the below link for Bamboo in Canada.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bamboo Seller in Canada

get some aurea or vivax. If you can get through the tree roots and put in a few good chunks of aurea(which you could probably find some to dig for free in the area if you look around). It will fill in fast. You still have to trim up the lower branches some to get the look. But make sure you use a barrier, or your neighbor will be consumed in a few years. To bad your not around here. I could point out about 15 wild groves that are huge and free to dig.