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View Full Version : What's the correct way to dig up this pup?


Want Them All
07-29-2011, 04:15 PM
I need to dig it up, carry it in the car for 2 hours to its destination. Any advice on how to cause the least damage while separating it from the parents? During transport, do I need to wrap the roots in wet towel?
Thanks,
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a67/delldude/Photo_73692204-7A00-FFD1-1FFD-AF8902EE053A.jpg

john_ny
07-29-2011, 04:33 PM
I think you have to use the search. I know that, over the years, I've seen lots of posts about how to do this, some with pictures, and others with diagrams, showing proper blade angle, etc.

momoese
07-29-2011, 04:38 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=7946 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7834)

Want Them All
07-29-2011, 04:59 PM
A picture is worth a thousand words, at least!
:bananas_b

Gabe15
07-29-2011, 05:29 PM
My advice is to go deeper than you think is necessary and closer to the mother than you think is necessary and then usually is comes out ok. You want to be sure you've completely severed the connection between the sucker and the mother before you attempt to pry it out. It also sometimes helps to dig around the sucker a bit to see how deep it is connected, and also to sever any visible roots coming from the sucker.

Transporting is no issues, don't worry about the roots, even if there are some that look ok coming out, you just tore it out of the ground, broke a bunch of roots and damaged the ones staying on. When planted it will quickly grow new ones. You should wash off any soil that is remaining on the corm, and it is normally good practice to cut off the roots too, but this isn't as serious an issue outside of the tropics. With leaves that big too, you may want to consider cutting off most of the lower ones and trimming the top two to about 1/3 their length, this will reduce stress on the plant.