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saturn · 11-17-2005, 01:54 PM

I am getting ready for a forecast low of 24F.
My plan was to make a wire cage and fill it with leaves around my mat of 4 basjoo pseudostems.

I did this last year with my basjoo, but it was shorter and had one p-stem. After the winter, I was expecting to remove the cage and find a mostly green and firm p-stem. But the 5' p-stem was pretty mushy even though there was at least a foot of leaves on all sides. There was probably 2' of leaves on top, but they kept compacting down.

I left the mush alone for a while, hoping the new leaf would come out. I started to worry about rot, so I eventually cut it back to about 2', which still was rather mushy. But the new leaf did come out fine. I thought the leaf cage would have kept most of the p-stem from turning to mush. I did not cover it with plastic, so maybe that's the problem?

I have been busy collecting leaves this year, but now that I have fit the cage around the p-stems, I used all my material just to enclose the 4 p-stems to a height of 4'. That will leave 2' to 4' of the tops exposed. Even if I did get another cage to cover the top, it would be really difficult to fill AND keep from falling over.

My goal is to keep some of the height, and hopefully get a bloom next year.

So now I'm a little worried about leaving the tops of the p-stems exposed; I wonder how much die back there will be, and if I need to preserve all that height to get a bloom next year?

I'm mostly just thinking out loud here (hopefully it's not too confusing); any insights are appreciated.
s.

11-17-2005, 01:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
saturn Member saturn's Photo Gallery Location: NC Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 94 BananaBucks : 61,153 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 24 Times in 17 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	getting a little worried I am getting ready for a forecast low of 24F. My plan was to make a wire cage and fill it with leaves around my mat of 4 basjoo pseudostems. I did this last year with my basjoo, but it was shorter and had one p-stem. After the winter, I was expecting to remove the cage and find a mostly green and firm p-stem. But the 5' p-stem was pretty mushy even though there was at least a foot of leaves on all sides. There was probably 2' of leaves on top, but they kept compacting down. I left the mush alone for a while, hoping the new leaf would come out. I started to worry about rot, so I eventually cut it back to about 2', which still was rather mushy. But the new leaf did come out fine. I thought the leaf cage would have kept most of the p-stem from turning to mush. I did not cover it with plastic, so maybe that's the problem? I have been busy collecting leaves this year, but now that I have fit the cage around the p-stems, I used all my material just to enclose the 4 p-stems to a height of 4'. That will leave 2' to 4' of the tops exposed. Even if I did get another cage to cover the top, it would be really difficult to fill AND keep from falling over. My goal is to keep some of the height, and hopefully get a bloom next year. So now I'm a little worried about leaving the tops of the p-stems exposed; I wonder how much die back there will be, and if I need to preserve all that height to get a bloom next year? I'm mostly just thinking out loud here (hopefully it's not too confusing); any insights are appreciated. s.