Bambusa multiplex alphonse karr in Los Angeles

Black bamboo was mistakenly installed on this site in 2001 with no rhizome barriers in the ground by someone who did not ask for our advice.  They did not understand it was a running bamboo.  It was given a lot of water and grew fabulously well, getting 18-20' tall.  But - in 2003 it began to show up in the neighbor's yards.  So they asked us to dig out the black bamboo and replace it with a clumping bamboo.  We showed them some of our oldhamii and alphonse karr projects in the area.  We recommended oldhamii.  The owner felt it would be too tall and chose alphonse karr.  The black bamboo was pretty easy to dig out because the previous contractor had surrounded the plants with 2' deep collars of plastic rhizome barrier, which the rhizomes had run under and over.  We cut the foliage down to 2-3' in height even though it was beautiful because we knew it would not take the severe trimming of their root systems without an equally severe trimming of their foliage.  We installed the alphonse karr and should be finding the time to go back and take some progress photos pretty soon.

          existing Phyllostachys nigra (Black bamboo)

after removing the nigra

nigra root masses dug out

new alphonse karr installed, spring 2004