The Neverending Nigra Rhizome

[Lot 112]

In my first post(http://www.bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4636) I discussed the difficulty I've had in removing a Nigra rhizome that has lodged itself under concrete.

Well I left the trench open & today I discovered new growth on the rhizome that has been severed from the mother plant for months.


The existing portion is upwards of 8 inches & has successfully wedged itself under a concrete slab & I have not been able to remove it. I used round up on the shoot that had emerged from the space between the brick border & the concrete. I though that would be sufficient but obviously not.

I also discovered three large rhizomes & four shoots upon closer inspection after removing the excess waste leaf.


We had tripple digit temperatures followed by heavy rains which I guess have triggered the Nigra to start shooting in October.

Any input as to how I can remove the rhizome that was wedged itself under the concrete. I want to address it before it becomes an issue.

I'm seriously starting to consider removing the Nigra & replace it with a clumper. I'd hate to do that because my tallest culm from last season's growth is in excess of 15ft.

[stevelau1911]

A rhizome stuck in a slab of concrete, but already severed should not be a threat since it is probably running out of energy and sending out its last burst of energy in that little shrubby growth which you see. It is not going to send huge shoots that can tear your driveway apart. You don't have to remove it. Just cut off the green growth, and as long as that section doesn't have photosynthesis, it will rot away.

If you have only 1 species of running bamboo, that should be pretty easy to control with regular thinning perhaps twice a year or you could put down a barrier to prevent rhizomes from getting into the concrete.