Your area sounds very nice, The boo will eventually try to move into your center, but not to worry. You will see the edge of a stone or two lift, and then you just flip it up, nip the tip out with loppers, loosen the underground runner back as far as you think prudent, (It is atattched to the earth by smaller roots that are pretty scrong, and will sometimes need to be cut.) Cut it there and pull it up and out. . Level the soil back., and replace the stone. Its pretty easy to keep on it. The trouble is well worth the lovely spot you will have. Some one who is in your area will have to tell you about when to do it. Can you post any Pix of the project for us to enjoy?

zzepherdogg,

Thanks! These stones are really too big to lift up once they're down so I'm not going to be able to get to anything that gets underneath them, just nip off shoots that come up between stones. My guess is the area underneath them will eventually be criss-crossed with rhizomes.

I'll try to get an image up, there isn't much there so far.

I normally rhizome prune around now then again early November. If you can cut the rhizomes before they form roots they will rot in the ground. If you can put in a trench around where you want the grove it will tell you when to prune as the rhizomes poke through the side.

Bill

Bill,

Thanks. I am digging a trench. I figure I can fill it with leaves after they fall and then next year, remove the nicely composted leaves, check for spreading rhizomes, and later refill...