geissene

Hi there

So after growing basjoo outdoors for several years now, I just came across this patch outside of Philadelphia, PA. Are they cheating and using a green house over winter or is this kind of growth possible with a large mat of plants? I am 5'9 so these are some big plants!

If I can find the owner/caretaker, I'll ask them but I wanted to get people's opinions....

Thanks

Erik

RobG7aChattTN

I'm zone 7, not 6 but if you mulch the mat to survive the winter this size should be doable in zone 6.

RobG7aChattTN

I just saw a Facebook post from a guy in Pittsburgh who has tons of huge basjoo clumps. He cuts them down after the first frost, covers them with mulch and then covers with tarps.

geissene

Thanks, I've been growing basjoo for 4 years and do keep them outdoors covered in leaves or insulation. I even had them flower but I have never seen them grow this large. Usually they top out around 10' if you count leaf height by the end of summer. These plants still have more than a month left of the growing season....

cincinnana

Just tossing this out ....

Basjoos/ and many banana plants will get very large and grow very fast in the correct manmade conditions as all of you know.

I am at a disadvantage growing in zone 5/6.

So we have to make the soil the best we can.
Good soil and gardening practices are the great building blocks for your northern banana plants

There are countless posts on how to amend/enrich your soil, which folks should follow.


These are some Basjoos which I care for.

As you will see basjoos will get some size.

Before...... Early spring.
.
Small leafless pups April 15th
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr
.
After

August 23rd, 4 months later..6 foot ladder for scale
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Mat.

24 foot ladder for scale
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr.

Girth.

pseudostem girth
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr
Typical mat in zone 5/6.
.
Untitled
by

Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Grow them like you stole them.

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geissene

Thanks for the info! I guess I need to fertilize more and also improve my soil. Things to try next year. I've been more of a casual grower I guess.

Since my basjoos have flowered at 6' I never saw any get bigger than that. But here's to hoping for next year!

Erik

obdiah

there seems to be some difference in size within the family I have basjoos that get 18 feet tall before flowering and some from a different group that never get over 10 ft .water availability makes a large difference also

cincinnana

Here is a link back to some good reading..
Do they exist....well I know some had escaped
Upham giant Basjoo

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cincinnana

Eric, you are totally banging out the buds up there and that is something that I cannot do down here..... awesome job, I want a flower so bad on our plants.

Patupi.....well we will see maybe a couple more grow cycles(years).

I Gotta get those velutina......

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geissene

Thanks, I guess I have a closer to 10' flowering type. I had 2 nice yellow basjoo buds last year but they emerged in October so not much growth happened before the first frost. My plants seemed to hit a terminal height around 7' of p-stem after 2.5 years of growing from a pup. I'm working on improving my soil and this year I was busy with other projects so I didn't fertilize as much as I normally would.

I have 2 types of velutina (I think). Are you looking for the redish one that I have? I probably will have extra corms.

Erik

Pic below - red is on right. The one on left is a normal velutina. (as far as I know)

cincinnana

Awesome photos ....
You have some quality plants...

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MBindy2000

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Here is my basjoo. It's the talk of my neighbors and family members. It is also three years old. We live in Speedway(Indianapolis) Indiana. We are zone 6a. I really love this plant.

cincinnana

Those are nice looking.

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MBindy2000

Thanks
It is one huge plant(a lovely beast). It is actually moving away from the garage. Originally it was one plant and now its several. I have transplanted some of its pups in other parts of my yard. I'll post them on another thread. I just wanted to share my Basjoos and that it can grow well in zone 6.