View Full Version : Mushy mess...
Eric1221
02-21-2017, 12:31 PM
So my system of overwintering my bananas does not seem successful.. I took cardboard tubes, placed them over my stalks and filled with hay and the leaves over the top and then covered with several trash bags and then covered dirt over the sides as high as I could.. Problem was they got soaked and the hay became saturated in water.. I took off the tubes to see how the stalk was and they were a mushy mess.. What is the next step now? I uncovered them and put more dirt over them but is there any way that the plant will still survive and send up a pup this coming April?
edwmax
02-21-2017, 01:54 PM
Trim off all of the mushy stalk down to the ground. Mostly the stalk froze. Then cover and wait for warmer weather to see. ... The mush can cause a fungus, get rid of it.
beam2050
02-21-2017, 02:59 PM
Trim off all of the mushy stalk down to the ground. Mostly the stalk froze. Then cover and wait for warmer weather to see. ... The mush can cause a fungus, get rid of it.
yep exactly what you want to do.
Tytaylor77
02-21-2017, 07:24 PM
I always cut them down and remove all mulch around them. It helps dry the ground out around the corm. You should get pups unless the ground froze.
cincinnana
02-22-2017, 04:58 AM
Going back to your original thread I hope your plants were not too young and the corm was somewhat established in the soil.
If all is well underground with the corms your good.
From the freeze you could have just lost your stem to the cold..
They(the corms) should be as if you had mulched (https://www.flickr.com/gp/hostafarian/j4g9na) them for the winter.
Click on the links for more information.
I left this uncut mulched Basjoo in place for the winter for the purpose of a photo.
Plant was left to perish naturally .
.https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2183/32729309932_c5d0ecf67b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RSbgz7)
Basjoo winter kill. (https://flic.kr/p/RSbgz7)
by
Hostafarian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hostafarian/), on Flickr
.
Closeup of stem at ground level....notice the new winter killed leaf(rat tail) that was coming up last fall
Corms are still good 12-+ inches under the wood chip mulch.
.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1525/24943076643_f3aa72f30e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/E18MFz)
stem (https://flic.kr/p/E18MFz) by
Hostafarian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hostafarian/),
on Flickr
Eric1221
02-22-2017, 10:24 AM
Thank you! So if there is part of the stalk that is not mushy and can be cut and is still crisp is it okay to cut it down to this point and then just cover with more dirt ? I cut it down to a point where the stalk is still crisp and sturdy.. There was like 2 feet of stalk I saved but I cut it down to probably a foot or so.. the top part was soggy and mushy but when I cut more towards the bottom it was crisp..
Eric1221
02-22-2017, 10:28 AM
Going back to your original thread I hope your plants were not too young and the corm was somewhat established in the soil.
If all is well underground with the corms your good.
From the freeze you could have just lost your stem to the cold..
They(the corms) should be as if you had mulched (https://www.flickr.com/gp/hostafarian/j4g9na) them for the winter.
I left this uncut mulched Basjoo in place for the winter.
.https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2183/32729309932_c5d0ecf67b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RSbgz7)
Basjoo winter kill. (https://flic.kr/p/RSbgz7)
by
Hostafarian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hostafarian/), on Flickr
.
Closeup of stem at ground level....notice the new leaf(rat tail) that was coming up last fall.
Corms are still good 12-+ inches under the wood chip mulch.
.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1525/24943076643_f3aa72f30e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/E18MFz)
stem (https://flic.kr/p/E18MFz) by
Hostafarian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hostafarian/),
on Flickr
Wow okay well mine didn't even look like that.. they were still stalks but they were soaked and mushy that I could rub water out of them if I pulled the stalk upwards. So I decided to cut it way down and it was crunchy and crisp where I cut it so I just put more dirt over it and then covered it with a plastic cover... I should prob go by mulch now and throw that over it too.. Even though the entire plant dies back down to the ground can you still get a huge plant? The whole reason I wanted to save the stalk in the first place is because I wanted to get a big tree this year like at least 6-10 feet tall.. but I heard that some people don't do anything to their musa basjoo and they die to the ground every year but come back as huge plants (10-15 feet tall) every year.. what has been your experience when they die down to the ground and come back?
Eric1221
02-22-2017, 10:30 AM
I always cut them down and remove all mulch around them. It helps dry the ground out around the corm. You should get pups unless the ground froze.
When you are cutting them all the way down to the ground how big do they usually get the following growing season? Do they still get big or does it take them a long time to reach a decent height? I wanted to save the stalk just to ensure a big tree this growing season but I heard some people don't do any overwintering and their plants come back 10-15 feet every year.. What happens to your plants when you do this?
Tytaylor77
02-22-2017, 08:40 PM
Yes it should still get decent sized. If this will be its 2nd growing season it may get 7-8'. I'm totally guessing. Someone on your climate can tell you better. Each year the corm and mat of corms will grow and expand. This means more total energy. That's how they get the 15' ones every year. Corm size=stored energy. So this year say 8'. Next year 10' etc. it should still be a nice looking plant all through the growing season. And you will have pups also "taking energy" in my openion. So depending on how you want it to look you can remove all but 1,2,3, 10.
Eric1221
02-22-2017, 09:43 PM
Yes it should still get decent sized. If this will be its 2nd growing season it may get 7-8'. I'm totally guessing. Someone on your climate can tell you better. Each year the corm and mat of corms will grow and expand. This means more total energy. That's how they get the 15' ones every year. Corm size=stored energy. So this year say 8'. Next year 10' etc. it should still be a nice looking plant all through the growing season. And you will have pups also "taking energy" in my openion. So depending on how you want it to look you can remove all but 1,2,3, 10.
Thank you for explaining this to me.. that makes a lot more sense now.. So it's not entirely necessary to save the stalk unless you're trying to get them to flower or something? & Yes this will be the second growing season. I have 4 of them. 2 of the four had a pretty thick stalk and had 1-2 babies poking out from the base. I would assume those are the pups starting to spread?
Tytaylor77
02-24-2017, 06:55 PM
Some people try to save some pstem. You could fight it and maybe save 2-3' of pstem. It may get you a larger plant by winter or not. What I would do if it was me is cover very thick with mulch then put a tarp over the mulch (if you get lots of winter rain) being wet is bad in winter and will rot them.
When spring comes uncover some mulch to let the sun warm the soil. Pups will shoot up. After a few has popped up a foot or so select the strongest, fastest growing one and keep it. Chop/remove the rest. All the mats energy going to that one pstem will get it larger. After it gets up 4-5' then keep however many pups you want to leave on the mat or whatever you wanna do. Come late fall about a month before winter I would keep the pups all on.. removing them will weaken the corm for winter and also all the pups left will increase survival in case of an extreme winter.
If you did want to save a pstem over winter get one you will get results from like an Orinoco or even a Veinte Cohol. It's super hard to kill an Orinoco. You can store it dry over winter. VC is a short cycle grower. It will still be hard to fruit but maybe keep it inside as a potted plant during winter then in ground the rest of the year.
Good luck and if you are dedicated you will succeed. It may take a dwarf Orinoco 2-3 years to fruit but if you keep the pstem alive it will eventually.
Eric1221
03-25-2017, 11:44 AM
I noticed that the temperatures are going to be more mild for the upcoming weeks so I dug up the three banana stalks that were mushy. They were only mushy like 6-8 inches of the 2-2.5 feet I saved of the stalk so I dug up all of them and some of them had some mushiness in the center but the stalk is still firm and strong and upright. So I left them uncovered and i'll see how they do otherwise I think I'm just gonna cut them to wherever they are still crisp and firm and then let them recover. There are baby pups that were there last summer still by the base of the main trunk, a little browned at the tips but still green going further down so even though part of the overwintering failed I'm happy to say that they made it ! And by this point the weather will be more mild so I THINK THIS IS SUCCESS !! LOL
a.hulva@coxinet.net
03-25-2017, 11:06 PM
Eric I checked out you average daily highs and Lowes. Looks like your probably passed any freezing temps. I had the same problem with a few plants this year. My thinking says hay/straw holds too much water. Mulch has similar but somewhat less tendency to hold as much water. I think wrapping with plastic and capping creates condesation that can't escape. What I am doing is clean up the best I could. Remove all mulch etc. and let it dry out. Keep a pot handy in case of a frost or freeze and put the pot over the plant until danger is over. Your weather looks better than mine.
cincinnana
03-29-2017, 08:31 AM
Update of mulched basjoo.
http://www.bananas.org/f15/mushy-mess-46978.html#post302817
This is a small established mat.
I trimmed all the dead stem off to expose the new growth.The stems were coming out of the mulch pile
.Same plant uncovered...note the healthy red pstem.
Daffodils are still in bloom..so it is still early spring.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2911/33678112026_2011984fca.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Tj28nU)
Spring basjoo (https://flic.kr/p/Tj28nU) by
Hostafarian (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hostafarian/), on Flickr
Eric1221
05-25-2017, 08:24 AM
All of my musa basjoo lived! After I took the carboard tubes off filled with hay I realized the stalks were very wet and mushy so I cut them further down, left about 10 inches of the stalk and covered with dirt and left them like that... they were able to handle the rest of the late winter cold weather because at that point it wasn't freezing temperatures as much.. I'm so happy they made it ! They are all already about 2-4 feet of stalk with bigger leaves coming out. I'll try to post some pics to show you their progress but it seems I was worrying too much.. certainly are tough plants !
cincinnana
05-25-2017, 08:46 PM
All of my musa basjoo lived! After I took the carboard tubes off filled with hay I realized the stalks were very wet and mushy so I cut them further down, left about 10 inches of the stalk and covered with dirt and left them like that... they were able to handle the rest of the late winter cold weather because at that point it wasn't freezing temperatures as much.. I'm so happy they made it ! They are all already about 2-4 feet of stalk with bigger leaves coming out. I'll try to post some pics to show you their progress but it seems I was worrying too much.. certainly are tough plants !
Your plants are beasts.......do not make them Hangry!!!!!
first year they sleep
second year they creep
third year they leap
Eric1221
05-27-2017, 12:57 PM
Your plants are beasts.......do not make them Hangry!!!!!
first year they sleep
second year they creep
third year they leap
lol well this is the second year so I guess they're gonna be creepin'! They have some small pups emerging from the base.. one has like 4-5 of them.. crazy how much growth they had in only one year.. they started out as like barely 4-5 inches tall and now they're already like 3 feet tall with big leaves emerging..
cincinnana
05-27-2017, 06:01 PM
lol well this is the second year so I guess they're gonna be creepin'! They have some small pups emerging from the base.. one has like 4-5 of them.. crazy how much growth they had in only one year.. they started out as like barely 4-5 inches tall and now they're already like 3 feet tall with big leaves emerging..
Yeppers,..... as long as you allowed some room to grow when you had first planted them.....I mean a big hole ..they creep.
Awesome job!!!
Eric1221
05-27-2017, 07:08 PM
Yeppers,..... as long as you allowed some room to grow when you had first planted them.....I mean a big hole ..they creep.
Awesome job!!!
Thank you ! & Idk if I want to allow a bunch of them to grow anyways I think I'd rather have one beautiful big specimen to a spot and then when the pups get big enough I'd like to take them from the bigger tree and plant in other places.. gotta figure out how to do that next lol
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