Bananas.org - View Single Post - Banana planting depth:is it important and do they adjust themselves to their liking?

Olafhenny · 05-25-2012, 12:44 AM

There is another aspect to deep planting, that for frost protection. I planted my first banana
(a basjoo) at soil level equal to that in the pot. Only later did I learn that there was deeper
planting recommended for additional frost protection.

I did that with one of her pups, which had spent the summer outdoors in a pot, planting it 1
foot below previous pot level. - Failed BIG TIME. I gave it the same above ground protection as
the level planted ones, which at spring uncovering had still 7 inches of above ground healthy
PS left. The deep planted one was frozen/rotted to 7 inches below soil level. As of this
morning it had shown no sign of growth. I attributed that to lack of heat penetration down to
the corm.

Therefore I dug it out this morning. The roots and corm looked very healthy, as did the 4
or 5 inches of the PS above the corm. I sliced anything above that off and am now waiting for
the plant to do its “duty” under improved conditions.

Notably the level planted basjoos have been actively growing since early May

05-25-2012, 12:44 AM	#11 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 297,528 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: Banana planting depth:is it important and do they adjust themselves to their liki There is another aspect to deep planting, that for frost protection. I planted my first banana (a basjoo) at soil level equal to that in the pot. Only later did I learn that there was deeper planting recommended for additional frost protection. I did that with one of her pups, which had spent the summer outdoors in a pot, planting it 1 foot below previous pot level. - Failed BIG TIME. I gave it the same above ground protection as the level planted ones, which at spring uncovering had still 7 inches of above ground healthy PS left. The deep planted one was frozen/rotted to 7 inches below soil level. As of this morning it had shown no sign of growth. I attributed that to lack of heat penetration down to the corm. Therefore I dug it out this morning. The roots and corm looked very healthy, as did the 4 or 5 inches of the PS above the corm. I sliced anything above that off and am now waiting for the plant to do its “duty” under improved conditions. Notably the level planted basjoos have been actively growing since early May __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.