Alfredo-

I've been growing bamboo for many years, and can tell you that propagation can be a hit and miss thing. Generally with running bamboo, you can not propagate from a culm or branch cutting. You can propagate from a healthy piece of rhizome; however, even if you succeed, it will be a number of years before it sizes up to be a decent size plant. I did grow from rhizomes when I was first starting out, and I had success rates that varied from 0%-50%; but I got tired of waiting for several years for the plant to get several feet high. You will have better luck if you can get a decent size chunk of root ball, preferably with one or more mature (i.e., at least last year's growth) culms. I've gotten a number of bamboo from people who had let theirs get out of control and were happy to let me dig big chunks out. I typically try to extract a rootball that is at least 12" in diameter, if not bigger. However, it is very hard work to do this successfully without having an arsenal of saws (including a Sawzall), branch loppers to cut through rhizomes in the ground, and steel handled shovels and a steel demolition bar that won't break when you are prying. The benefit is that you can get large plants this way and not have to wait years until they are taller than you.

If you are growing clumping tropical bamboo, you can do various things, like air layering to produce new plants, but this takes a bit of skill and the right environment.

You can also grow from seed, but, since bamboo only flower rarely -- like once in 20-150 years -- you can't just go to the store and pick your species. You can only choose from the few that are available at any time, and they need to be fresh: preferably no more than a couple of months old. If you are ordering seeds, say on eBay, you can never be sure that you are getting the species claimed, or that they are not a couple of years old, or even that you are being sent actual bamboo seed. And it is illegal to buy seed that is offered outside of the U.S. I would also discourage buying rhizomes online as they are often dried out and unlikely to be very viable.

If you want to learn more about propagation, check out the forums at bambooweb.info. There is a lot to read there and you can ask specific questions from diehard bambuseros.

Good luck.

Kudzu knows what he's talking about, he is THE bamboo expert! :D