How big does the bamboo get- depends on soil depth

[unknownjulie]

This was being discussed somewhere, but I cant find it. I bought some clumping bamboo and was told that it will get much smaller here in puna than in India or Indonesia because of the lack of soil in most areas. So, specifically what I was told was that in 3 feet of cinder that a timber bamboo that might get 100 feet tall somewhere else would only get 30 or 40 feet here. If there was more soil, then it would get giant. Anyone have experience with this? I think a smaller variety like alphonse karr might be fine, because it wouldnt need so much soil to begin with.