SeattleBoo,

I'm interested on peoples comments on this too. I have an unstable P. vivax a. plant that is going into its 3rd winter, and just recently started putting out "runners". It started late last fall, but the cold stopped it. The past 2 summers were wet and mild followed by harsh winters. This summer was dry and hot. It also had almost total topkill each winter. This spring I was posing the same ? as you and dug down around the perimeter and found nothing. Don't know if it was weather related or my unstable plant. I would assume that it's my plant since my Yellow Groove is out of control. This year I've been rhizome prunning it about every 2 to 3 weeks. Guess that the "sleeps, creaps, leaps" can also go "sleeps, sleeps some more, creaps, leaps".... Now that it is running, since nothing is in the ground to impact the travel, the rhizomes are staying in the top few inches.

rfgpitt (Rick): After posting my question, I wanted to be sure I wasn't just being lazy. First I root pruned my yellow crookstem this morning (in the same soil and "sunline" (as the aformentioned) bambusoids, and took out about 12 rhizomes, some of them 2 to 3 feet long, but again I found no new rhyzomes around the bambusoids allgold. Yet the allgold looks so healthy and has many, many, new shoots. Color me puzzled.

SeattleBoo-
What are your growing/light conditions? We're probably within spitting distance (I'm in Bothell), and that generally hasn't been my experience. I'm on an open lot that gets lots of sunshine and I've tried to rototill good quality topsoil into my hardpan that starts about 4" down, but I don't have really deep, good quality soil. I have several timber/medium bamboo (Ph. bambusoides 'Allgold,' Ph. vivax, Ph. vivax 'Aureocaulis,' Ph. vivax 'Black Spot', Ph. dulcis, Ph. viridis 'Robert Young,' and Henon). I've only been here 8 months, and many of these were somewhat mature transplants from my other yard. They're all putting out decent runners right below the soil surface. The runners often pop up a little, or I can easily find them if I just brush aside a little mulch.
The Black Spot has put out 13 runners of substantial size this summer since being planted in March. The Ph. vivax was about a 30' tall specimen with 2" culms that I found growing in a somewhat wooded/shaded area. It had no surface runners when I dug it, and the whole root ball was only about 16" in diameter and 8" deep; the runner it came from was within a couple inches of the surface. As for Allgold, I have two. One is about 8' tall and has never seemed to do much above or below ground in 3 years (I transplanted it once), and the other one is a 25' tall field division that I dug this April. It has put up two culms and sent out 3 runners in the last couple of months.

My guesses: 1) your plants are just taking their time to get established; 2) if they get a lot of shade it may slow them down a bit; 3) you have better soil than I do and they are interested in diving deeper. (I'm just blowing hot air here...none of these may be right!)

The only thing I can suggest, if you're really curious, is to dig down gently in a couple of spots with your finger several inches away from the base of the plant and see if you encounter any underground runners. Be careful and gentle and only probe where the soil is soft.

Reply to kudzu9: Thanks for blowing the hot air. I will dig deeper, as I do have (old dairy farm) excellent soil, and the runners may indeed be deep divers. Also (picture man palm slapping himself on the head), the Allgold may be robbed of some afternoon sun by the mature (35 foot) Black Bamboo 14 feet away. Anyway, these bamboo are such individuals, aren't they; each with an attitude. You mention ÂBlack SpotÂ, which I donÂt know, so I will Google it, and attempt to educate myself further Â

I was curious about Moso's growing habits and its root systems....any comments from some people that have mature moso? I have my seedling in a half whiskey barrel.

Kurt