It won't work. You'll kill it. Shoots are highly dependent on energy supplied through the underground rhizome system. If you sever the connection too early, it's like cutting an umbilical cord prematurely. If you want to transplant, you need to dig up an established culm and root ball during the dormant season, which is typically late-fall to early spring.

I transplanted some clumps the middle of last month, and yesterday I saw my first new shoot coming up. The clumps I had were dug up with a backhoe, and each clump was at least a cubed foot of earth/root. The larger clumps were over a hundred pounds and had culms of about two inches in diameter.

One clump had a six inch shoot pushing up when I transplanted. That particular shoot is losing some of its green color, so I don't think it will make it. Of course, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Josh