clarejoe

We are having some real nice warm temps latetly and into next week as well 70's and low 80's, should I uncover my musa basjoo's? This is my first winter in the ground, the stems are mush, I will cut down to the ground, and then what? Do I add fertilizer? Thanks

Bob

I haven't uncovered mine yet. I have one in a cold frame that seems to have turned to mush but I haven't given up hope yet. Strangely the one I mulched and covered with a tarp I did check and seems to be ok but I covered it back up. I'll probably uncover today just to air out but plan on being able to cover it again if we get any more extended rains. I wouldnt fertilize till May when the outside and soil temps hopefully will be consistantly warm.

My palms are uncovered for the year though and suffered damage only to the spots I hadn't wrapped with tar paper... I'll know better when I cover them next winter.

Keep us posted how yours do.

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natej740

Ive had mine uncovered for almost a month now in ohio. They are doing great too. I cover them back up if the weather gets cold though.

john_ny

I'm not in NJ, but just a few miles away. Haven't uncovered yet. Last year, I did it on April 17, and everything was fine. We are supposed to have temps in the 70's and 80's for the next week, but when I look at the 10 day forecast, it says that next Friday (April 10) we might get a low of 38° F. We haven't had any freezing weather for a couple of weeks now, but I guess I'll wait another couple of days.

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John

Bob

Well I did uncover my basjoo today that was covered with mulch and a tarp and the p-stem was mush but the large corm is just fine. I cut off all the mushy stuff and the remaining corm is drying in the sun right now. I'll be ready to cover it back up when the temps get back too low as its only early April. From talking with John_ny and now some good experience I'm firmly convinced that starting with larger plants/corms is key to succesful overwintering basjoos in a marginal climate.

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