Growth habits
Bamboos exhibit seasonal growth patterns that fall into two or three basic phases. In springtime, usually as the soil warms up, bamboo puts up new culms. This phase takes approximately one to two months, from the time the new culm breaks the surface of the ground until it reaches its full mature height and then leafs out. Each bamboo culm then stays the same height and diameter for the entire time it is alive (generally less than ten years). Once above ground growth is complete, bamboo starts growing new underground rhizomes that store energy used for the following year's growth. The third phase is dormancy and this generally occurs due to colder temperatures. This dormant phase may not be evident in tropical bamboos.
Barriers
Barriers are needed to contain running bamboos but are not necessary for clumping bamboos.
The most natural barrier is water. Almost all bamboos are stopped by ponds and streams because their roots cannot endure being waterlogged since this cuts off the oxygen that the roots need. While it's not a foolproof method, some people water (and fertilize) only in the direction they want their bamboo to spread and never water where they don't want it to go.
A relatively easy way to control running bamboo is with a plastic barrier. It should be 40 to 60 mil (1/1000 of an inch) thick and at least 30" wide. It comes in rolls. It should be buried in the ground at about a 45 degree angle, away from the bamboo at the top. This material is capable of deflecting the bamboo rhizome up towards the surface where it can be clipped off from fall to early winter, before it can escape over the top of the barrier. The ends of the barrier should be joined tightly together using either redwood boards and stainless steel screws, or stainless steel strips and bolts.
Running bamboo can also be controlled by mowing the lawn around the bamboo. When the bamboo puts up new shoots they get mown down. This uses up the energy stored in the rhizomes. They will send up smaller shoots which get mown down the next time. Eventually the rhizome has no energy left to send up new shoots. Deprived of the leaves necessary for photosynthesis, the rhizome dies back. Others do the same thing (where there is no lawn, such as in a garden situation) by cutting off any unwanted shoots at ground level just when they start to leaf out, using up the maximum of the rhizome's stored energy.
If your bamboo is in a pot, the pot should be moved or lifted in late summer to see if any rhizomes have followed any excess water out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Just cut the rhizomes off by the holes. Or push the rhizome through the hole in a second pot, fill with soil, and eventually you should have a second bamboo that can be separated from the first.
Soils
Most bamboos are not very picky about the soils they will grow in. They will grow in soils that vary in pH, although a few (such as Shibatea kumasaca) will get tip burned leaves if the pH is incorrect for the species. Most bamboos will tolerate soils that contain rocks which only cause the growing rhizome to grow in a new direction. They can grow in solid clay or solid sand, or even in sawdust or peat moss. I have personally seen bamboo growing through a pile of pieces of broken concrete.
There is anecdotal evidence to support the following statements regarding running bamboo. It has been said that bamboos grow more quickly in warm soils, and some running bamboos tend to clump if the soil temperature is too low on a year round basis. This means that bamboos generally will grow faster on the sunny side of the grove than the shady side because the sunny side heats up first in spring and will tend to be warmer year round. It is also said that bamboos tend to grow down hill faster than up hill. This is supposed to be because the rhizome gets deeper as it goes uphill until it hits a hardpan layer. This greater depth causes it to use more energy putting up a new culm, thereby slowing growth. Growing downhill, the rhizome will eventually reach the surface at which time it will turn downwards back into the soil. This shallow growth means it is warmer and therefore more vigorous, and it consumes less energy putting up new culms.
Fertilization
The most obvious response by bamboo to fertilization is to 'green up'. This means that there is more chlorophyll available to convert more sunlight into energy to store as carbohydrates for future growth. Bamboos, like its relatives, corn and rice, tend to be heavy feeders, so, fertilization is important. They will grow more vigorously with fertilization than without.
Of the three main constituents of fertilizer, nitrogen is more important than phosphorous or potassium. Nitrogen is needed by bamboo for growth of the culms, branches, leaves, and rhizomes. Potassium is needed for root growth. Phosphorous is maily used by plants for flower production, but this is of little importance to bamboos as most flower very infrequently.
Silica is used by bamboo to harden the surface layer of the plant but it has not been shown that it needs to be applied to bamboos as a form of fertilization. If you intend to use it then it is suggested that a water-soluble form is the way to go. My belief is that bamboo forms a symbiosis with soil organisms that provide the bamboo with the silica they need by converting the non-soluble sand in virtually all soils into a soluble form the bamboo can use.
Some people like fish emulsion as a fertilizer, both to soak the soil and as a leaf spray. Others believe that fish emulsions contain salts that will cause leaf tip burn. I think that it is too low in total N-P-K to be of much help for long-term fertilization.
For plants kept in pots, a slow-release lawn fertilizer, which contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium as well as micronutrients, is almost ideal and is cheap and readily available. In temperate climates where there is winter dormancy, it should be applied three times a year: in early spring, early summer, and early fall. If fertilizer is applied in winter while the plant is normally dormant it may cause growth that cannot take the harsh conditions and will die back, losing stored energy in the process.
Bamboo planted in the ground can use slow-release fertilizers as well as various manures (nature's slow-release fertilizers). Manures should be composted before use if they are considered 'hot' manures. Some people pee on their bamboos which gives them a source of, mainly, nitrogen, but other people say that this can lead to tip burn of the leaves if it is overdone.
Watering
Most bamboos like moist soil, not too wet or too dry. This is especially important if the plants are in pots. Bamboos that have been established (at least a full year) in the ground tend to be fairly drought tolerant. If the soil is too dry the roots dry out and the plant suffers. If the soil is too soggy then the roots can rot and the plant cannot uptake enough water for survival even though the soil is wet.
One obvious indicator of the wrong amount of soil moisture is the leaves are curled up. If the plant is in a pot it is best to pick it up to gauge whether the soil is dry or soggy.
There are some bamboos which tolerate (or enjoy) soggy soils and others which tolerate dry soils. For example, Phyllostachys purpurata (now P. heteroclada) is one of the few bamboos which can grow submerged in water and may be able to grow under a small creek and emerge on the other side. Moso (P. heterocycla pubescens) sizes up much quicker when it receives large quantities of water in the spring shooting season. I once divided a Pseudosasa japonica 'Tsutsumiana' (Green Onion bamboo) where the soil was so dry it literally fell off the rootball when I picked the plant up, even though there was no leaf curl to indicate the dryness of the soil.