basjoo breaking ground
 

well... through the chips... so they are about 2 feet tall
last weekend in the backyard


this weekend in the backyard


this weekend in the front yard

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

Nice!! Now go, go, go:woohoonaner:

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

This years growth will be awesome now that they are established.

Feed the beasts because they wake up hungry:)

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

i spent part of the day pulling some chips off the pile so i could add some amendments
some good news some bad news
the basjoo in the backyard... the stem from last year seems to have survived (a 1st for me)
the pups as well(5 of them) ... it was a mild winter


also in the backyard is my thomsonii.... which looks questionable
stem is green and solid but cigar leaf is rotten in the middle
hopefully it produces a pup


in the front yard last year there were 2 basjoo side by side about the same size but it seems only one of the two stems survived and at least 1 pup survived as well


also out front the mekong giant seems to be dead and last years pups as well
hopefully the corm makes some pups but its not looking good

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear the basjoo are doing well. Last year I lost several pups, including a big one, but the plant came back just fine so I am sure they are all good. Keep us posted on the other 2, hopefully they make a run for it.

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

i posted this pic of the basjoo one year ago today....


this year it is just a bit bigger!

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

also i had my suspicions about this pup being a bit of a distance from the basjoo...


well while digging a hole to plant my matoke i cut into something with the shovel

looks like the mekong giant survived after all

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

Excellent, that's great news:08: I am assuming that last pic is a wandering rhizome? And the basjoo is looking dandy:)

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

looks like it...
it will have to really grow to catch up to the basjoo

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

very cool. i am hoping to do this at my parents' (5b) next year.

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

subsonic — have you written a comprehensive guide to your cultivars and methods anywhere? Like I said above, I really want to try to get a basjoo in the ground near my parents in NH next year, probably pushing the limit for what is possible.

Re: basjoo breaking ground
 

i learned about it from cincinnanna on the forum here so check out his threads too
also check out mari@adams.net thread... donetta

how do i do it? the one in the front is perched on a slight mound and the one in the back is in a raised bed

i chop them down to 1 foot tall once the cold kills the foliage and pile wood chips at least 2 feet tall and 4+ feet wide
i also have hay bales and/or wood chips piled against the stone wall of the raised bed for the one in the back
i throw coffee grinds on the pile until the snow falls then leave it alone

then i throw coffee grinds, worm castings, urine and other nitrogen sources on top when things start melting

they will push right through the chips and after it warms up
i remove some but not all of the chips and spread them around other gardens once i bring the other plants out and it has warmed up
this year they got a bag of manure which i bought straight from the farm on an impulse buy while on a rural drive in the spring which was added to the remaining chips

you can get wood chips from tree services through chip drop if you can accept a truckload or maybe they have a pile at their yard

some other little things too like home made fish fertilizer (faa) and compost tea occasionally and sometimes gaia green 4 4 4