This is a Basjoo, planted in the ground in May, 2007. It was a TC liner, delivered in spring, 2005, was potted, and overwintered in a greenhouse during the winters of 2005/06, and 06/07.
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Above, is what it looked like, in the summer of '07, after it had produced 4 pups.
In the fall of '07, all plants were covered and protected. In the spring of '08 they were uncovered, and all made it.
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In '08, the four pups each produced a pup of it's own.
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However, in late summer, '08, the mother plant was broken off, by wind, or an animal. A very little of the top part of the corm was attached to the broken p stem. Covered everything, in fall,'08. (See diagram; camera was broken at the time.)
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I cut the stem off at about a foot and threw it in a pot, and took it inside, for the winter. It didn't do anything all winter, but toward spring, I noticed the stem had fallen over, but had produced a pup.
After uncovering, on April 17, '09, I found everything, the 4 '07 pups, and the 4 '08 pups, made it, green right to the top of the pseudostems. After another couple of weeks, I left the largest (4½ ft. p-stem) in the ground, and potted up the other 7. Actually, the stems were rather yellow, from lack of light but within 20 minutes, a leaf began to unfurl. They were back to normal green, within a couple of day
Here it is, in June , '09, with about 6 pups.
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Here's one from a couple of days ago.
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Pups #8 and 9 appeared today. The plant is also on it's eleventh leaf, since uncovering. I now have 9 pups on the one I left in the ground, but not a single one in any of the other pups, that I potted up. (They're growing just as fast as the one in the ground, but no pups. I wonder why.)
My conclusions, or at least observations, here, are that it is important to have plants well established is very important. I have read, many times, that if you want to leave a plant (protected) in the ground, over the winter, it is important that you get it in the ground as early in the season as posible, so it can be well established before the cold hits. I, now, believe that a plant, or mat, that's been in ground for a couple of years is in better shape that a first year one.
The guys in our local botanical garden, had some basjoos planted. Afew years ago, they decided the wanted them in a new place, so they planted some new ones, and just abandoned the old mat - no protection, or anything, - and they come back just as good as the new protected ones.