I've finally located affordably priced Bambusa Lako in the Los Angeles area. I'm considering removing the Nigra that I planted in Nov. of '08 & replacing it with Lako. I had issues with the rhizomes & whip shoots & I would feel more comfortable with a clumping variety.
However I was wondering how long after I removed the Nigra should I plant the Lako? In addition how difficult is it going to be to remove the Nigra @ this point after it being established for a little over 2 years?
We've had heavy rains here in Los Angeles for quite sometime & the soil is still quite damp. The Nigra has already began to send up shoots & sent out rhizomes which are larger in diameter than most of the culms on the plant which are covered in a sheath & very hard.
Normally in a high visibility bed I would spend a bad afternoon by locating and snipping/pulling all the rhizomes I can find. Wear gloves, I do not and usually the rhizomes cut my fingers pretty good. Then I'd replant where I'm sure I got the rhizomes out, keeping an eye for new culms if they shoot where I missed and cull those. They would be easy to tell apart from the Lako shoots.
If you want to avoid that bloody, dirty, sweaty afternoon then cut all the canes down; encourage it to produce new ones; let those start to make their first branches, cut those down...rinse...repeat. Replant after you clear out an area of old rhizomes to make room for the new rootball.
needmore wrote:...cut all the canes down; encourage it to produce new ones; let those start to make their first branches, cut those down...rinse...repeat.
But what time period is this? A whole growing season? I've maybe got a plant to remove this year and although I'll be digging/pulling rhizomes primarily, I expect I'll miss some. Instead of digging (although you really make it sound fun) if I cut the plant down, let it shoot, cut those down, etc. will I be able to plant in the fall, or will I have to wait until after next spring's shoots emerge (or don't)? It's not quite clear.
Well...if you are going to replant in the same area then you'll need to pull rhizomes out of the planting site, right? So if you do that initially then you can plant immediately, knowing that new shoots from the old species will come up in the general area and you'll need to cull those. If you clear enough rhizome out before you replant the area then those shoots will not be easily confused with the new ones eh? The original poster plans on replacing a runner with a clumper so it should be easy for them to ID the shoots to cull.
If I don't want to replant in a hurry and don't bother digging rhizome out, then I plan on at least a year of mowing that area b4 I replant - new shoots will come up almost immediately after you cull and will continue to come up multiple times. Some Yellow Groove last summer I must have machetteeddddd at least 7 times and I suspect is not done yet.
Totally digout all rhizomes for a diameter 3 to 4 times the Lako root ball. Enrich the soil and plant it. Then you can take your time removing the rest of the Nigra. By the way the P.nigra looks real nice sad to see it doesn't fit your requirements. Maybe you can pass on sone of its rhisomes to some one that could use it.
But with you enriching the soil around your new B.lako (Manure or other oganics ect.) it should do fine.
MarCat
