P. nigra rhizomes acting strange

[Ego1607]

Hello!

I have a 1 year old P-nigra planted. I've recently noticed it's pushing rhizomes realy near surface (1-2 cm maybe), and lot of them tend to rise above ground after some length, and start growing as a clum. After I've mulched around the plant, I've found rhizomes rising above the soil to grow through mulch, and then some of them diving back into the soil forming "ankle breakers", and some going up as clums.

Now I know rhizomes grow very shalow, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a normal bamboo thing, or is my boo having problems with something? My soil is not great, with some burried brick pieces and gravel, but is quite well drained and other plants grow in it normaly. I mulch with thick layer of grass, fertilize every month with urea or other high nitrogen fertilizer, and during summer I watter daily with a drip system.

Thank you for your insight

[needmore]

Very common for young plantings, don't worry.

[Ego1607]

Thank you very much!

Should I try to burry those stray rhyzomes, or is it better to leave them as they are?

[stevelau1911]

I'm guessing this is something similar to what you're seeing right? A lot of bamboos tend to do a bit of rhizome whipping or half rhizome/ half shoots, but the best thing to do is sit back and watch. Some might curl up and turn in to whip shoots, but I'm probably going to put some nursery pots over those to make them a nice division.

Here's my dulcis trying to figure out what it wants to do.


It has 2 real shoots too, but this species doesn't tend to generate that many new shoots each year, and these are upsized so they might be my only ones this year.

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