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Old 10-31-2007, 02:19 PM   #63 (permalink)
mrbungalow
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Default Re: question on winterizing basjoo

Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsetsammy View Post
I think its very interesting to consider all the different conditions that people have to deal with in terms of overwintering their plants. Every area is different and with it's own challenges.

I live on Vancouver Island and while our winters can be on the mild side we have to deal with heavy rain and cold wet conditions. I have seen others in my area winter their Basjoos using the cage method however I think it really depends on the location and more specifically the water table of each microsite. Some areas with good drainage most of the year will become almost swampy in the winter months. Taking a walk in my backyard during the winter feels like walking on a wet sponge. My feet sink into the soil and puddles form where I have just stepped.

While building a cage and waterproofing it with a tarp may keep the surface around the base of the plant dry, I think that water would come up from underneath. I have limited experience but cold and wet doesn't sound good for any banana. Last year I dug all of my Basjoos (except one) and stored them in an unheated shed. We did have a colder than usual winter but every one of them survived and came back larger than last year. The one plant I left in the ground as an experiment was in my front yard where drainage is better. It wasn't protected at all and the stem that I left turned to mush and I ended up cutting it at ground level. The plant survived but grew very slowly all summer and didn't get much larger than the year before.

I guess it really depends on how warm/cold it is under your house.
Your words make perfect sense, and I know all about the "footstep-puddles"! We have them here too from october til early march. You should however, avoid planting these kinds of plants in such locations. Or atleast build a mound or raised bed.

You can look all over the world but it's hard to find a place with more rain than Bergen, where I live. I guarantee it rains more than Vancouver! When we speak of rain, we are not beat by any location at our latitude, probably only tropical locations.
I would have to say siting is critical for survival of these types of exotic plants, and siting is part of the equation to overwinter them successfully. If you plant a banana in a "lawn-lake" it will rot & die, no way around it - as would many other plants.

Having said that, Musa Basjoo continues to amaze me; It tolerates more than I would ever think. Last year (as an experiment) I left 2 plants in the rain outside enclosed in a wire cage with straw - no tarp/plastic! These plants were on a slight slope, but with saturated soil nontheless. Even though the straw/hay got soaked and we had several subfreezing nights, the plants survived and came back fine with much of the stem (musa helen lost stems however, but came back from the ground!). (Having said that, the ones with additional plastic-cover looked better and had a few inches more of stem.)
In comparison, all the ones I have taken inside, put in the basement, or set in the garage have either died, rotted, or gotten seriously "leggy".

It seems to me, the more we "fuss" with musa basjoo moving plants inside & out, uprooting them and putting them in crawlspaces, and stressing it, the worse it performs. I would leave this treatment to the more tender banana-types. Even though described as a fast plant, I have noticed Musa basjoo seems to be one of the slowest growing banana-species, and needs time to spread roots and settle in. When we uproot and move them, you loose alot of growth the next season.

I know of a guy in Saltspring Island, BC who has large, majestic m. basjoos, and only protects them with bubble-wrap.

My best tip, and humble opinion is therefore to avoid planting in waterholes, leave m. basjoo in its' place, and protect according to wich zone you are in.
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