There is a cane-like plant that takes up the entire flowerbed of my aunt's home. It has grown there for 40 years and she called it Scottish Broom. When I looked that up, it was referring to a 'noxious, yellow flowerd shrub'. This is not a shrub. It is a 3 foot tall shoot as wide as an ink pen and has flexible sides (unlike bamboo that is very rigid.) This plant does have a hollow center and has sections along the length of its shaft. It spreads by means of sending out shoots from its roots. My main interest is in taking it back to my house in Nashville, TN. Will the outside cold kill it in the winter? How much water and fertilizing should I do? Do its roots seek water and, therefore, should not planted near a swimming pool? Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
Might you be thinking of Japanese knot weed? http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/jknotweed2.htm If so think twice before putting it anywhere as it will be with you forever! I'v been trying to get it out of my herb garden with no luck!
It doesn't look like Japanese Knotweed I looked at the information you sent attached about Japanese Knotweed and this isn't what I have. Japanese Knotweed has yellow flowers and broad leaves. This softsided cane that I have consists of straight shoots evenly spaced about the flowerbed with no leaves to speak of and no flowers of any kind. Thanks for your ideas.
There are hundreds of varietys of bamboo, don't rule it out. Some are 100ft tall, and some are as high as your ankle. It can be as invasive if not more so than Scottish broom, you could call it Asian broom! Carol Ja
Hello spuryear, Equisetum hyemale or some other Equisetum sp. fits your description. If that turns out to be the plant you are thinking of, I would discourage introducing it to your garden. It is invasive and can be very difficult to remove once established.
