The stem in question is the one next to the green stake with the pointed tip. I live in Houston, Texas so climate it sub-tropical. This thing looks like bamboo but am pretty sure it is not. Its stem is thicker than the giant timber bamboo you can see in the photos next to it, yet more fragile. It grows faster than the bamboo (over 1" a day!) and doesn't appear to have any leaves or shoots from the stem. Is this a weed? If so, how to I kill it as the root goes deeper than I can dig and I am scared to killing my bamboo as its roots seem to run underneath my bamboo roots. Can anyone help? #1 ( photo / image / picture from blanch_69's Garden ) #2 ( photo / image / picture from blanch_69's Garden ) #3 ( photo / image / picture from blanch_69's Garden ) #4 ( photo / image / picture from blanch_69's Garden ) #5 ( photo / image / picture from blanch_69's Garden )
bamboo, of that I am certain. Looks just like my thug in my garden. it will develop the leaves as the stem grows.
I am guessing, but this appears to be possibly an off-shoot of your bamboo. You said it was under your timber bamboo. As your bamboo gets older the new canes get bigger. The canes will grow over an inch a day (you can hear them growing). I don't harvest my canes until the following year because they are "soft" and "shred" easily when attempting to bend or use. Hope you have lots of uses for your bamboo and/or friends to give the harvested canes to. Like EJ said it can be a thug and I break new canes, like the one you show, off to help keep in check or harvest canes for garden, neighbors and strangers if they will take some. Happy gardening
