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[clhw AT InfoAve.Net (clhw)]

Gene -- there is at least one bamboo email group or was years ago.
They have many varities in their database.
I believe all bamboo could be considered invasive if not controlled.
We eliminated one planted grove here years ago -- it was right next to the
barn -- by repeated mowing. It probably took 3 years for it to not come
back up.

What was suggested was when you make the initial planting to encircle the
area where you hope to contain the variety with metal which goes 6 or 7
inches below the surface. I'm trying to find more.

OK. One poster said:
** Bamboo lives in the top six to twelve inches of
soil as a rule. A narrow trench twelve to eighteen inches deep down the
property line will sever most roots and rhizomes and keep matters calm for a
couple of years at least. One of those handy Japanese type pull saws are
excellent for cutting off older culms. If you can get in touch with any
bamboo lovers in your area, they might come over to dig it for you in return
for the rhizomes dug up. For new plantings, zealots put down heavy plastic
barriers or pour concrete walls as deep as thirty inches. Others sink some
half-barrels in the ground as planting sites. Running and clumping bamboo
both take a little annual tending at shooting time to keep them in bounds,
the rest of the year they behave quite well. It is sort of like billy goats
in rut, I guess, happens only once a year. There are exceptions, of course.
But that is what makes life more interesting, yes?**

In 1995, the group was:
Internet Bamboo Group <bamboo AT housing.ucsc.edu>

One thread I saved some posts on was using bamboo in geodesic dome 
construction.
There is also a court case in which some 8 foot tall bamboo escaped and
supposedly ruined the deck of the home next door! The bamboo grower won the
case.

I found this:
Guadua angustifolia is the
>no. 1 contruction bamboo in the world due to its resistance to bugs and its
>ability to resist splitting when nailed.
(NOTE: This variety is grown primarily in Costa Rica and Columbia, SA)

There are many groups and books.
Powder post beetles and nematodes seem to be pest problems for some varieties.

This is probably more information than you wanted.


>I have long wanted to have a construction bamboo grove and have the ideal
>place for it. But I have not yet figured out how to ensure that it stays on
>my property. Does anyone know of a construction bamboo that is non-invasive?
>