Re: Uncovered basjoos in zone 6
Even though I'm in z6, I'm in such a cool climate, that bamboos, even the most aggressive runners are limited around here as far as the amount they can spread. The growing season only lasts around 5 months here, and it takes them 3 of those to fully develop new shoots in preparation to spread rhizomes, and we don't really get that warm in the summer so rhizomes don't seem to grow that long, even on mature groves I've seen around here.
This bamboo in particular is phyllostachys parvifolia, a runner and you can already kind of tell how little it has run after 2 growing seasons. I've sold bamboo to people in warmer climates that have more spread than me already, so I can see why some people are concerned about the aggressive aspect, but that's definitely the least of my concerns. I'm actually hoping to get some more rhizomes so I can get more divisions. I've also done a couple years of research on these plants, and even in a warm enough climate, it should be pretty easy to control these guys without ditches or barriers. Lets say it suddenly got warm one summer and my bamboos finally spread out a few feet, I could still easily locate the rhizomes, turn them back, or turn them into a whip shoot to make a division.
I have 11 running bamboos in the ground, and the only one that shows any sign of invasive-ness is bissetii which kind of makes sense because it's a screening bamboo.
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