kjpalm

Hi! So fall is coming quickly it seems. Today we have a high of 58. I'm not ready to put the plants away yet! We are supposed to be in the high 70 to 80 range for basically the next two weeks then I fear we'll be down to 40s and 50s. As of right now, night time temperatures are high 40s and low 50s. When is it too cold outside for the potted plants? I have basjoos, DC and veinte Cohol in pots. Of these, which can be stored bare root over winter and which must be kept alive? Lastly, I have a Basjoo I planted deep but it took forever to begin to grow after I got it (strong corm but buried too deep). It only grew to about 1.5-2 feet... Should I dig it up after the first frost as I live in zone 5?

Longwoods Tropicals

I would bring in the Cohol and the DC, you should leave the Basjoo out and protect it.

The Basjoo will take years to get big if you dig up every year, you should seriously consider leaving it out. Since it's fairly small I would remove most of the leaves (as opposed to hacking off a foot or two of P-stem), leaving just the growth point and maybe one leaf. Place 3-4 feet of insulation (dried and mulched leaves and grass) over and around. As far out from the P-stem as you can go . Then cover it up with a tarp to keep it dry and forget about it until next April. In the sprin you will likely cut off the topmost foot or so of stem but should be left some P-stem, from this point just be patient and watch it elongate out of the top surface, in no time you will have a big plant , by mid June for sure. Also be sure to weight down or stake the tarp well if your winters are anything like here in the lower Great Lakes. If you save P-stem through the winter you can get huge plants.



I would say anything south of the mid 40s is when the potted plants should come indoors.

siege2050

DC, and Viente Cohol are not good for storing bare root I hear. They usually die back to the corm, but I am trying it it this year by wrapping the root ball with plastic to hopefully keep them from drying out too much, with others like Orinoco they dont need to be wrapped. Being that small and in zone 5 I would take extra precautions with the Basjoo. If I have a small plant in the ground that has not grown much by winter. I get a very thick clay flowerpot (No drain holes is better, or lay something flat over the holes) or something similar and stuff it with leaves, etc. Then cover the plant with it. Then I put more mulch or leaves over the top of the pot. Hopefully the inside of the pot becomes the same temperature as the ground. I gave my sister a Basjoo last august and it was not very well established by our first frost. But the clay flower pot kept it alive with no damage.

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chris_zx2

Really informative stuff! Do you guys slowly bring your plants in for winter as in a bit at a time?
I was thinking to start bringing them in during the cold nights then back out during the day but I have at least 2 dozen plants and 17 are bananas... So this might just be unrealistic!

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--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

Longwoods Tropicals

Do you guys slowly bring your plants in for winter as in a bit at a time?

I have nearly fifty plants at last count to bring in this year....so yeah I bring them in slowly over the course of a month or so.

I find the regular dwarf Cavendish are the most sensitive to the cold so they come in first followed up by the Super Dwarfs Cavs (which seem a little better able to handle the cold). Then my alocasia and colocasia, then the palms and the last thing I bring in usually Late October early November are my cordylines (big spikes).

chris_zx2

Awesome, but want I meant is do you harden off the plants gradually for winter? I figure no with that many plants.

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--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

cincinnana

In time your plant will "reset itself" to a depth that it is comfortable with if you do not move it, and so will the new pups thereafter.

From the description of the height of the plant, it has not reached a mature level yet .....give it another year to set itself.
Basjoo is a spreader, so if it spreads to an area with poor soil then you will have poor results.

Height is determined by the large corm size and maturity and optimum growing conditions.

Expect your plant to become active when the soil temps are consistantly in the 60's...... late April May perhaps.
This plant usually is a month behind daffodils

If you site the plant in the sun or shade it will affect spring growth by as much as 3o +- days.

.

Small plants by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

For winter prep to bring them inside. I will line the plants up in a row for a week or two.

I will observe/spray them for insects and treat with precautionary insecticide soil drench.
Maybe repot or freshen up the soilless mix in the container.

Since I do not fruit my plants I use a systemic insecticide on most everything to control problem juice suckers.
Even with the precautions I take I will still occasionally get an uprising of critters.
.
Fern collection

by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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chris_zx2

What is your soilless mix?

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--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

cincinnana

Soilless mix's can vary per zone in my opinion.....However what to use as your mix can be up for debate.

There are folks in Southern Florida whom have awesome plants that use a soilless mix heavier(more organics) than mine with different ingredients and it works for them, the plants that are grown are massive and good quality but back here in zone 5 the mix promotes a little root rot with the overwinter process I use. Go figure

SOO, when I get the plant home in the Natti I will switch out the mix to the mix I use here in my containers.

Some tips.
buy what you can afford.
avoid gimmicks
buy in bulk if possible
buy supplies at end of season for next year.

Here is the link to the soilless mix I use.
Click the safe link below @ more of my photos.

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kjpalm

I decided to grow the Basjoo inside under grow lights. They became infested with spider mites and I am losing the battle against them it seems. Should I give up my fight and let them die from frost or is it better to keep the plants under the grow light and continue to fight? Again, I'm in NY and the weather is in the 50s during the day.

cincinnana

Well...
You could use this as an opportunity to both grow the plants indoors and win the battle with the critters.

I will use a systemic insecticide(Bayer Tree and Shrub) to control mites with good results. Cost is about 20 clams at a big box store.

But..

If you do alittle research on google and youtube you can get a few more ideas to wage war on the mites.

If you are using an insecticide mixed in a spray bottle, add a drop of liquid dish detergent as a sticker(breaks the water repellency of the critters exo.

Basjoos overwinter well under quality grow light conditions; you may also cut the leaves off at the pstem to gain immediate control and control from a fresh start.
Your plants should push new leaves like nothing happened.

Spray your soil and the whole container with the same.......mites will travel.
A couple years back I had an issue with them on my brugmansias and on close inspection these fellas had a superhighway about 20 feet long along a railing from plant to plant.

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