Sneaky rhizomes

[Alan_L]

Phy. bissetii rhizomes. Came out of the holes, stayed along the flagstone, then dove down at almost a right angle as soon as they hit the crack. I didn't know they could turn so sharply! Plus, how did they know that the crack was penetrable?



Got to remember to move those pots around every couple of weeks or so!

[tomgun]

They knew because they tried.

[Alan_L]

I actually thought of the most likely explanation:

they hit the stone edge at the opposite side of the crack and that turned them down.

If they were "trying" to go down all the time, wouldn't there be evidence of this? Turn down, hit stone, so straighten out and continue along stone; turn down, hit stone, straighten out, etc. That's what I was trying to ask in my original question: how exactly does this work?

[tomgun]

Same mechanism. It is what told the rhizome to go down and not up. I remember learning about that back in junior high biology, how a root or branch finds it's way. I get the same thing without an edge to stop - as soon as the plant can go down it does. I vaguely remember something about the cells on one side stimulated to grow faster, causing the curve . . . . . very vague and unreliable memory.

It looks like there are other rhizomes running. If you had the interest, time, or boredom, time lapse photos every so many hours would be cool.

[Alan_L]

My "Botany for Gardeners" book says that:

"In roots placed in a horizontal position, auxin accumulates in the lower side, as it does in stems. However, it is the lesser amount of hormone in the upper cells that promotes elongation and causes the root tip to grow downward."

But that can't be the same thing that's going on the rhizomes, can it? Rhizomes don't just go straight down. Plus, if the rhizome tip were always trying to bend downward due to geotropism, the rhizomes on the flagstones would end up all curled it seems.

Does Meredith's bamboo book cover this?

[GrowingHabit]

They're sentient. How can you live with bamboo for very long, and doubt this?

[ghmerrill]

I had some pots of pleo. humilis last year that knitted themselves together by running rhizomes into the drain holes of each others pots....

It would not have been much longer before they were looking for blood...... "feed me seymour"

[kudzu9]

I've finally just accepted that the rhizomes are smarter than I am, and will usually win if I turn around for too long...

[EBinNC]

Unfortunately, they grow whether we pay attention or not.

[foxd]

I remember leaving a bag of top soil near my Yellow Groove and finding it fastened to the ground by rhizomes.

Hmmm...

[Alan_L]

Here's one escaped Yellow Groove rhizome I dug out today:





I'm not sure if the main rhizome escaped this year or last. Total length about 8'.

[ghmerrill]

I would be burying that puppy, and see what grows!

[Alan_L]

I was tempted, but decided not to and let it cook on the driveway all day instead.

That rhizome is very Seuss-looking, don't you think? Compare the photo above to this...

[stevelau1911]

Alan, what do you usually do with all these rhizomes that escape out of the drainage holes?

I'm getting lots of them on my divisions too. I'm thinking about either snipping them off or lifing the plant out of the pot to slide the escaping rhizomes back in the pot.

[Alan_L]

I try to catch them when they're just barely poking through the holes, then I'll cut the pot slightly and carefully bend the rhizome in. I've only manged to do that a couple of times though. Usually I wait too long (like in your photo) or I damage the rhizome tip getting it back into the slit.

Looking at your pot there, last year I probably would have cut the pot, then potted the whole thing in a larger pot. This year I'm not so worried and have just been snipping them all off. From what I've seen on in-ground plants that have been rhizome pruned, there's a good chance this will trigger at least one rhizome branch to grow, so I'm not really losing anything by cutting it off.

Plus it's a whole lot easier.