Best Bamboo for containers

Hi new here this is my first post.
Can you advise me of the best bamboo I can plant in a container, that is mainly in a shaded area of my garden. Also what size of container is best to buy and what materials are most suitable for Bamboos.
I would like to buy a Bamboo with black canes if that would be possible.
Thank you

 

I have found the Black bamboo (Phyl. nigra ) to be well behaved. It thrived for me grown in a dustbin sized container against a fence and facing North. In my present garden I also have Phyl. aurea which grows in a similar sized container. The container itself is against a wall but the main growth faces South.
I can't remember now the exact makeup of the growing medium I used but think a mix of soil, compost ( home made if possible ) and some BFB. I'm sure others will also have more info/ advice for you

 

Bamboos grow outwards to create more canes so the width of the container is important as well as the depth. Growing them in dustbin sized containers like @Philippa suggests should be fine. I would use a loam based compost like John Innes no 3 which helps to retain moisture and it’s heavier which helps to stabilise the container in high winds. I feed my bamboos in the ground with blood, fish and bone in late February in advance of the new canes forming in May. The black bamboo is Phyllostachys nigra, usually stocked by most garden centres. It is a running bamboo but I’ve never found Phyllostachys varieties to be invasive in my garden.

 

There are black stemmed Fargesia sp, which are clump forming bamboos and very well behaved in my experience. Fargesia rufa does really well in pots and I would expect other cultivars to be the same.

 

There’s Fargesia nitida “Black Pearl” with near black/dark purple canes but Phyllostachys nigra is the bamboo with the blackest canes I think, although they are green at first, turning black with age. I’ve grown three different Fargesia varieties in the ground and found them very slow growing for the first two years or so. Worth considering as another option though @Dermot.

 

Agree with what's been said above
Phyllostachys tends to spread by runners, but Fargesia is clumping, so is probably more suitable to grow in a container

Fargesia scabrida "Asian Wonder" is nice if you can find it. The new culms are a nice reddish colour