Bamboo anyone?

So I was re acquainted with some old friends of mine from a lifetime ago. Did the catching up thing etc. One of the people in the family got into gardening as a hobby to keep herself busy. Just random stuff really. I got to looking around her garden and admiring the work and we talked about veggies, trees and whatnot. She ended up gifting me 4 bamboo clones that were at that point tiny little guys with roots sort of sprawling out. They were all rubber banded together and in a glass jar with these jelly water crystal things.
So they've sat in my window behind a curtain for months on end. Now these suckers are getting pretty big and I honestly don't want to leave them in there all jumbled together. I've read up on them here and there and figured I'd ask here about them. Live responses are much better than E How.
So can anyone give me any pointers for these guys or anything. I was gonna hit up the garden center and grab some 1 gallon pots for them for the winter. I'm going to throw them in ground come spring time somewhere because it actually grows around my area with no problem and survives through the seasons. I'm really past my window though on actually throwing them in the ground and them acclimating and surviving this year though.
Basically what I'm looking for would be soil suggestions. I have enough hempy mix to just toss them in there so they can ride it out if need be from seedlings left over from last spring/summer.
Also any nute suggestions? Go extremely mild or anything like that? I just want them to be happy and continue what they're doing pretty much. In doing so you'll gain the satisfaction of knowing in spring time they'll be put out in a pretty awesome spot out in the woods I like to go to out and get away from the world
Where they'll thrive and grow to their hearts content under summer suns all day long.

bamboos loves mildly acid soil rich in nitrogen, and fucktons of water

the little bamboo plants (usually in groups of three) are "Lucky Bamboo", a houseplant.

in chinese tradition it brings good fortune, but they are quite sensitive to cold, and sunburn.

this variety of bamboo rarely thrives outside the tropics, under at least partial shade (jungle canopy)

planting it outside anyplace but the southern states (particularly florida) or in full sun will snuff it.

this guide is pretty good:

http://houseplants.about.com/od/typesofhouseplants/a/LuckyBamboo.htm

there are many varieties of bamboo which will thrive in the US, but they can get out of control fast.

they spread rhizomatically (by root expansion and runners) and grow fast. a little patch of bamboo can take over your whole yard if not contained by some sort of physical barrier.

bambo is almost as aggressive as ivy or kudzu but it can be contained by concrete sidewalks or pavement.

without a physical barrier youll be digging out shoots constantly as they spread wild through your yard, and killing it when you get sick of trying to manage it is a pain in the butt.

They'll grow in any decent well draining potting soil; light to moderate fertilization. Bamboo is a grass, just like fescue or bluegrass. There is a plant, forget its name that is sometimes sold as bamboo but its not true bamboo. Also bamboo has two types, clumping and spreading; which describes its growth habit. The clumpers will stay in a relatively defined area, whereas spreaders send horizontal roots all over and can become an invasive pest over the years. So keep that in consideration.
When you plant them outdoors it won't do much for a year or two as it is building up its root system. If you have one of the thicker types ( the canes or poles are thicker than 2") new growth will gradually get thicker one it has a well developed root system.

One last problem: its propagated by cloning, very seldomly by seed. It flowers once then dies, flowering time is genetically programmed. About 25 yrs ago I spent a few hundred dollars on one of the giant timber types( Phyllostachys), with the intent of having a "wood lot" to give me project and construction material. Everything was going fine for around 6 yrs, the poles were getting thicker and then growth started looking a little odd...the whole damned wood lot went into flower mode and died over the course of a couple months. I went back to the nursery (350 mi away) to get more stock and build it up again....all the nursery's stock of that species had died as well and they wouldn't have any more til the following year (of that particular species). Apparently this habit is a limiting factor in Panda bear survival....whole forest die and those Pandas starve

Yeah these are lucky bamboo from what I've found out. I guess tossing them outside in my climate will be a death sentence for them cause the winters here can get pretty bad. I guess these guys will stay in the window to do their thing then. Thanks for the quick response though.

i live next door to inlaws, in 2003 or 04, my mother in law's brother brought her a single bamboo plant, a cutting. they planted in her yard, next to my chain fence. Today 2013, that one has multipied, fast, we have a 30' long by 4' wide bamboo garden, that's what i call it, every spring it drives me nuts, trying to spread, everywhere, 20' away even. you do have to maintain it, we,ve had some cold winters with heavy snow, ours survive, no problem, here in the mid atlantic states. it does make a great privacy barrier and i get bamboo poles for the garden every year when i thin it out, has to be done, mine grow 10' to 12 ' hi, some 3/4" thick to 1". no maintance with feed, just nature takes care. again, just in spring, drives me nuts, overnite it seems, 6" hi, out of no where, several shoots popping up.