I've seen black bamboo in pots and they look quite nice.
I also have it growing in my yard next to my house. I give it lots of water and it grows like mad. I don't know where anyone gets the idea this stuff doesn't spread quickly. I guess it depends on climate, and Ph. Nigra species do *very* well in the Pacific Northwest, Willmette Valley climate.

4 main types of black bamboo - 3 clumping, 1 running.

of the running variety, a lot of varieties. mainstay is phyllostacus nigra (sp?).

It isn't the most vigorous of runners, but it is still a runner. With good soil and source of moisture, it will wander far in not too much time.

Many use watering as a method of containment. Many also use root pruning as another form of containment.

My limited experience with containment via HVLP (or whatever you call it) and concrete/block is not good...it will get out/hop over it most likely.

Nigra does okay in containers, but gets quickly constrained. A good idea to pull it out every other year or so to either divide the plant or prune the roots/runners. Also, runners will shoot out the drain holes, so make sure the surface it sits on is not soil.

In drier climates, particularly in southwest, it is prone to leaf burning. folks out here I have talked to have a host of possible causes, but water quality/nutrient issues seem to be the most popular.

I have both the runner P. nigra and a clumper D. asper 'Hitam'. The P nigra is in a pot, a very large pot. It does fill the container quickly. Looks good if it is in a large pot and it is cold hardy.
My Hitam is in the ground, and is great. Difficult to get, expensive, and I don't think it would be shown off to it's maximum in a container, it doesn't run but it does get big. Not are hardy as the P. nigra. It would need to be in a greenhouse in your area, and it's size would require a large greenhouse.

I planted a really nice two-gallon Ph nigra - $60? - in the back yard, a year ago this past spring. It's first season the rhizomes traveled about four feet from the original rootball. Over this past summer, it looks like they've run at least twice that, perhaps more.

Ph nigra isn't supposed to be as aggressive as some other members of the genus, but it's still quite vigorous under favorable conditions. I love it.

Any of the black clumpers are gonna bust through a pot within a year or two. and they will completely deplete all nutrition out of the soil (particularly nitrogen and trace minerals) in less time. It is hard work to repot the big clumpers every year and/or divide and repot. If you don't you'll end up having to supplement/feed those clumpers a ton of nitrogen after about 6-9 months. I tried a D. Giganteus in a half wine barrel. The plant was about 5' tall when I started. I put out two sets of two shoots over the next 18 months, then nothing for over a year. Finally pull it out and it was tough to find any soil. Basically, just a giant root ball. They just don't like being confined in a such a small space....

I have found the same thing about the bamboo in pots as socalboo. Just will not look good after a relatively short amount of time in a pot, they fill it in no time. My P. nigra is in a pot that is about the size of a bathtub and dont think it will last in there for much longer. The only reason I have it in a pot is I don't want a runner in my yard. After the initial starting in a pot, most of the bamboo will do much better in the ground. Better to find a species that you like & can be planted outside in your area than to fool around with the tropicals in a pot. There are many beautiful types that you can grow in your climate that cant deal with the FL heat and/or humidity.