Accidentally severed rhizome on parvifolia

[Jerry Hamilton]

Steve, the tip of the rihzome that is going up was in the ground covered before you put it in the pot?

[stevelau1911]

Yep. That's why it is still creamy yellow unlike the whip shoot with the milk jug which already decided to come up before I decided to make it straighter. I think this makes it even harder to establish since there is no chlorophyll on the bare culm to take in more energy. I hope the sun returns and gives this division a chance. Neither of them made any progress today due to the cool temperature.

[millerlightman02]

Its magical

[movenosound]

Maybe its due to the fact that I have only participated in one online forum in my life, this being it, but am I detecting a somewhat incredulous response to the idea that a rhizome can be forced to whip-shoot? Or is there a significance in a rhizome turning to whip-shoot after being severed? I dunno, these finer points expression through the digital medium is enough to make a guy try to re-read the California Press edition of Mellville's behemoth or figure out why I am supposed to snicker at Borges talking about some jack#$$ re-writing Cervantes in exactly the same wording. Just come on out and say what ya mean!

The idea that I've been trying, that is being somewhat documented in the Experiment thread, is based on the notion that you can guide a rhizome to a degree, and that once you have sufficient rhizome length in da pot, or enough nodes to satisfy the concern for viable node-buds, you can either break the tip, in an attempt to initiate a new rhizome from a bud further back on the existing rhizome that has grown into the pot (or possibly multiple rhizomes, as some folks seem to indicate that when cutting back the growing tip of a rhizome in the trench-control method, they experience multiple rhizomes arising from the cut rhizome, and growing in the same direction), or you can force the growing tip into the air, forming a whip-shoot, and thus giving you the option of cutting the pot with rhizome and whip-shoot from the original plant, and there you have a new plant with leaves to support itself. Please, shoot holes in this if I'm wasting time.

Steve, nice job propagating a Parvifolia, aren't they supposed to be a struggle to multiply?

[needmore]

You may be picking up on my incredulity that a subterranean culmless, severed rhizome will grow longer.

[stevelau1911]

Here's the difference of a few days which was only a little bit of swelling of the leaf/shoot bud and greening of the shoot/rhizome. It still seems to be very firm although it didn't really grow in the last few days so hopefully it will pick up its growth again once it warms back up. Maybe it did uncurl itself in the pot after I planted it making more of the rhizome visible, but I still haven't given up on the division. The benchmark culm has grown 2-3 inches in the same amount of time. If there is any further signs of recovery such as budding or branching, I'll put up more pictures, but by the time the benchmark reaches 8ft, I think this division will do something if it doesn't fail.

Before


After


Benchmark shoot before


After

[Alan_L]

You do realize that in the test rhizome photos the measuring tape is worthless, right? Why didn't you hold it with the tape end at the "ground" as you did with the "baseline" rhizome?

I can't speak for others here, but personally I'd like you to use more discretion when choosing photos to include with your posts. I appreciate noteworthy, interesting, or beautiful images of bamboo as much as anybody, but having to scroll past 3 or 4 images that don't seem to be any different from each other or from images you've posted several times before gets to be a drag. For those here who may have slower connections, it must be even more so.

[stevelau1911]

I got the idea that some people wanted to see results soon so I showed that there was some change, but I'll wait another month or 2 to take a photo of it if it survives just so its not a time lapse.

[Alan_L]

Yeah, but what do those photos show? Since the tape measure is held in an arbitrary position, and backward, there's no information being communicated.

[stevelau1911]

The 2nd photo was held at a pretty bad angle, but still showed it to be around 9 inches which shows no progress yet, but the other one with the milk jug does show some clear progress from going at the top of the milk jug to 2-3 inches above it.

I am expecting the division to eventually gain some inches once it warms up a bit and gets adjusted to the sunlight. It still shows no signs of going soft and aborting so at some point I think it will be longer than 9 inches. I think the immediate growth of a few inches at the beginning may have been due to the rhizome uncurling itself in the pot a bit which made it look longer, but by using the tape measure and focusing it on the same node I'll be able to see if it makes any gains.

[movenosound]

I think Alan means that you should be more empirical when showing photos to document what you are trying to explain and when you are showing the progress of an experiment. Data, more data, as much data as a guy with asperger's who also has severe OCD would compile if they were into bamboo... or just good measurements that are clear in every photo.

[tomgun]

Brad, I share your questioning curiosity, but just as a severed, rootless rhizome can put out shoots from its buds, I'm pretty sure it can continue to grow a tip.

How much, for how long, and whether it will be at all viable is doubtful. But, the longer the section, the better. A sliced onion will often grow, swell in a refrigerator with no light or water.

[millerlightman02]

Ill be the bad guy here, i think that people are getting a little perturbed at stevelau1911s posts about knowledge of bamboo and how he comes off a little "crazy" and maybe he needs to take a break for awhile. soooo hopefully i wont get booted for this thought. But speaking for myself im tired of tip toeing around this.

[needmore]

Brad, I share your questioning curiosity, but just as a severed, rootless rhizome can put out shoots from its buds, I'm pretty sure it can continue to grow a tip.

How much, for how long, and whether it will be at all viable is doubtful. But, the longer the section, the better. A sliced onion will often grow, swell in a refrigerator with no light or water.

I'll try to be open minded about it but photo proof would be helpful to me - especially when using a new section of rhizome and using mostly the growing tip end. I've tried it, and it has failed every time. Perhaps Steve will have betterluck but I remain quite skeptical. I think a bare rhizome growing new rhizome branches or new culms is a different animal than growing itself longer.

[tomgun]

Well, by doubtful I meant I don't think there is any way it will make it. Unless, of course it is putting out roots and shoots that have leaves quickly.