jeffreyp

biggest mistake some people make is they buy and plant small tissue cultured plants with absolutely no root ball (corm). My dad has been growing musa basjoo in East Lyme, CT for the past 5 years and it gets about 8 ft tall before the first hard freeze. He dumps a bunch of compost and dead leaves around the stem and by the end of May the stem is sprouting again. In Connecticut the soil freezes several inches if not a foot deep I can't help but think mixing hay/straw with the top layers of soil would be most beneficial. In regard to the idea of planting in a deeper hole, a good test would be to plant two corms 1 at a depth of 8-12 " and another in a hole 24 " with a little bit of stem above the soil line in early spring. The proof will be which on sprouts first on the following the spring.