Rhizome pruning tip

[kudzu9]

I'm not a fan of barriers -- too lazy to install them and don't think they're foolproof -- so I practice rhizome pruning. Mainly I get by with a sharp shovel, but some of my ground is pretty rocky. Fortunately, most of my rhizomes seem to travel within 6" of the surface, and lately I've been using a different technique to zap runaways. I take my pickaxe and swing the pointy end crosswise to the runner so it goes in just underneath it. Then I lever the handle and the rhizome pops clear of the dirt. I repeat in a couple of other locations, if needed, working back until I get to where I want to terminate it, and just clip it off with my pruners. It goes fast and doesn't disturb the rest of the ground much. I know this isn't a profound insight, but thought it might be useful to a few of you.

So...do you have any little tips on the care, feeding, or control of bamboo that might help the rest of us?

[DCBa]

I'm sticking with pruning as well but have a different obstacle. I have a raised bed that is 6' wide and planned on doing the lawn edging and rhizome pruning at the same time. My wife wanted to dress things up a bit and I installed a mini retaining wall around it: 8" concrete edgers, 2 or 3 high. Now, do I prune inside the wall or right along the outside? I figure inside will miss a deep dive but outside will end up knocking the blocks out of square. At least the ones that try poking out between blocks will be easy to spot and prune.

[Bamboomoon]

There's probably nothing new under the sun, but as far as tips go, I think quickly snapping down the new limbs while they are green (when "legging up" to expose the beauty of the culms), is a quite useful tip, since it's so much easier than clipping them later.

[philinshelton]

DCBa, I have found that my bamboos run 8" or less from the surface. If you put the wall about 2' (ideally) from the edge of your raised bed, and fill in the gap with a light compost or bark mulch, the rhizomes (of most runners) will run in the top layer rather than the soil beneath, and will be very easy to prune out. Check them frequently, though, or they will be in the lawn.

Phil

[Joseph Clemens]

There's probably nothing new under the sun, but as far as tips go, I think quickly snapping down the new limbs while they are green (when "legging up" to expose the beauty of the culms), is a quite useful tip, since it's so much easier than clipping them later.

However, if you do have to trim branches off after they have grown and hardened up, I recommend using a Dremel tool with a metal cut-off blade. Cuts easily and leaves a clean, smooth scar.

[boonatick]

for de-branching I use a flush-cut saw,one or two pulls from the underside near the culm and its a nice and smooth