Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to share with you my first attempt at overwintering my basjoo. It's a first-year plant that put on a terrific amount of growth this past summer. It was planted in mid May with a 6" p-stem and I finished it off in mid October with a 3' p-stem. The diameter was 16" at the base and flared out drastically at the bottom, telling me that there is a sizeable corm under there. It was planted right next to the foundation to make sure I'm getting as much winter radiant heat as possible. I think part of the reason it did so well was because my dryer vent is right next to it and so the ground was kept quite warm periodically (there are 2 babies in the house, so the dryer runs a lot!).
I'm in Ottawa, Ontario (z5b) but based on it's location (next to the house, in a corner, under a 3' overhang from the second floor, SE facing) I'm guessing it's closer to a 6a or 6b. Starting in early February, there's always a 3 foot strip of bare ground along the brick wall where the heat has melted the snow, which tells me fairly certainly that there is a micro climate there.
Anyway, knowing that information, here is what I did to attempt an overwintering of my basjoo. Tell me what you think in terms of its chances at success!
The setting, before the massacre. I also have a Zebrina there in a buried pot, and a Sugarloaf Pineapple. I've been growing delicious pineapples for awhile, but this is my first Sugarloaf. Can't wait till next fall! The rest of my bananas are in the backyard.
Chop Chop
Chopped down to 2', wrapped in foam sheeting. The box is 2" foil-lined R8 styrofoam, then stuffed with straw. It's held together with caulk; the duct tape strips are only there to make me feel better. : )
Ready for the lid.
To top it all off. Dirt was placed around the bottom edge of the box, and it was angled slightly away from the house, so that water runs along the edges and drops off the front. There is also a 3' overhang above it, so there is not a lot of rain landing directly on top of it.
Wired and wireless thermometers were also placed in the box at different locations.
I didn't get a picture of it, but once the temperatures started dropping below 0c consistently, I put a black tarp over the whole thing. Once it gets even colder, I'll start piling up snow on it. We had one night where it dropped down to -17c (unusually cold for November) and the internal temperature of the box got down to +2c (near the outer walls), so I think I might be fine to not only save the corm, but *possibly* even save the p-stem.
Fingers crossed!
KJ