Hi

to the Bamboo experts since I saw the other posting of them dying.......

First this is bamboo in Los angeles , so not much rain to water it , we can water it to get it started but after it got growing I am sure the watering would stop/slow down

anyway My buddy has a concrete block wall at "legal height" at the back of his proberty, but the area behind the fence is higher so people can look over the 6 foot fence,

The idea was to plant bamboo on the backside of the fence and let it grow as high as possible , 8- 10 feet would be nice ,

is there one kind of bamboo that grows pretty fast and straight up ?,

and how far away from each other should they be planted ?

Bamboo grows around here , now in the "wild" as it escaped from the gardens where it was first planted

thanks for you ideas

I know the non tropical bamboos pretty well. Most bamboos are very difficult to control and I earned a lot of money digging out errant rhizomes growing 5 - 6 metres under ground before reappearing near the neighbours house or something. So you need a clumping bamboo which withstands drought and heat. Fargesia is the only one suitable for temperate climates but probably won't work for you as in heat the leaves fold up and it doesn't look nice or present a barrier. The tropical clumping bamboos (Bambusa and the like make VERY BIG CLUMPS and go up to 15 metres high. Buddha's belly bamboo (Bambusa ventricosa) grows to 6 metres. I wouldn't plant bamboo sir, you will have complaints from your neighbour as it starts to grow over the wall and hang into his garden.

You will find the internet full of dishonest growers recommending bamboo for hedges and even more of people asking how to get rid of bamboo or advising against it.

There must be othe rpossibilities for a hedge? Fast growing means more work to control. How about a 'temporary' wooden fence or even a woven bamboo fence?

Check with a local nursery. There are many plants that are illegal to import into the US, labeled as "noxious" plants. Some of them have undesirable growth habits such as spreading to neighbors, and some get into the wild and take over.

It is illegal to import English Ivy into the US because it can clog stream beds and spread into the woods. It's not native.

If there is a legal bamboo, it will have a determinate growth habit which is probably what you want anyway, and your nursery can get it.

BTW there are not only federal laws, but some states have additional bans such as some have for Vinca.

Thanks for the info ,

the property behind is waste land / dirt owned by the storm drain people and there is no one that sees it ,

the legal fence is at the 6 foot limit on his side so he cannot really raise it....... no one would ever see it from the back but sometimes homeless thiefs are around stealing bikes and metal to scrap , better they cannot see in....

the rest of the yard has 3 large 50 year old trees that are overgrown and need to be cut back or cut down but that costs $$$$ he does not have

anyway is there another plant that will grow pretty quick and do the same thing as the bamboo ?

There are indeed, you can find them on google. Fast growing? Can mean pruning back three times a year.

Another concern with bamboo is that it constantly sheds leaves. We have two large stands at one side of our property and raking/sweeping of the leaves is a daily chore. If close to your house, the leaves just love to clog your gutters and downspouts!

Visit the website of The American Bamboo Society, especially its Southern California Chapter, where you get reliable information on bamboo!
Apart from location and your purpose, choosing the right bamboo is mainly a question of selecting the right bamboo species that meets your requirements. Los Angeles climate is not suitable for species of Fargesia. Do choose a species of Bambusa, one of those that reach a low maximum height and don't need being trimmed, e.g. Bambusa multiplex including some of its variants, Bambusa heterostachya, Bambusa glaucophylla, Bambusa sp. 'Richard Waldron'. All species of Bambusa are clumpers and not invasive.
If leaf litter is an issue, it's better to plant out palms rather than bamboos.