Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""?

sman87 · 10-14-2013, 08:41 PM

I have two Mekong Giants that have grown to about 6 feet tall this season and now I am getting ready to dig them up and overwinter them in a crawlspace in my basement. Last week though, I was surprised to see a runner from one the mother plants nearly 4 feet away just about to poke up out of the ground. What do I do with these runners when I dig the mother out?? Do I leave it intact or separate somewhere along the rhizome? I examined it and it appears just a little smaller in diameter than a garden hose.

Dalmatiansoap · 10-15-2013, 01:20 AM

pot it up

sman87 · 10-15-2013, 12:04 PM

Thanks should I make the separation on the rhizome closer to the mother plant or to the pup?

Olafhenny · 10-15-2013, 05:46 PM

I have no idea, what you should do, but that has never kept me from voicing an opinion.

For all that it is worth, here is, what I would do:
If you want to keep the pup, I'd dig the whole thing up and try to wrap the runner around
the mother PS, to save storage space. But I would not cut it off at such a young stage of
development

Naz · 10-15-2013, 10:58 PM

i cut on of my pups for winter.
i cut it about 2 inches away from the stem(turns out the thing had a corm one inch in diameter and the stem was about 5 inches long and just sent a tiny leaf out)
its now potted up and inside with a bright light 10+ hours a day and it seems to be doing okay. its not growing right now but in time it will.

Good luck and hope me and you both can plant them in spring

griphuz · 10-16-2013, 06:30 AM

I'd not cut the pup of either,.....try to pot the whole thing up it you can,...

Kind regards,
Remko.

bigdog · 10-16-2013, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sman87

Thanks should I make the separation on the rhizome closer to the mother plant or to the pup?

Make the separation closer to the mother plant. When you get it cut, you can then cut the rhizome closer to where it meets the small corm of the pup itself. Another option is to just leave the pup in the ground and heavily mulch it, just as an experiment. Leaving all the runners intact when you dig the mother plant out seems a bit labor-intensive and difficult logistically to me, LOL... You could pot the pups up also, but you might have a hard time keeping them alive over the winter. They might survive dormant in a pot though. I've kept small Musa itinerans plants alive under my house with no water, just threw the whole pot under there and forgot about it til spring. They are more established plants though, not new pups. Whatever you decide to do, good luck with them!

10-14-2013, 08:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
sman87 Zone: 5-6 Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 130 BananaBucks : 23,379 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 80 Times Was Thanked 69 Times in 36 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 10 Times	Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? I have two Mekong Giants that have grown to about 6 feet tall this season and now I am getting ready to dig them up and overwinter them in a crawlspace in my basement. Last week though, I was surprised to see a runner from one the mother plants nearly 4 feet away just about to poke up out of the ground. What do I do with these runners when I dig the mother out?? Do I leave it intact or separate somewhere along the rhizome? I examined it and it appears just a little smaller in diameter than a garden hose.

10-15-2013, 01:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
Dalmatiansoap Let there be light Dalmatiansoap's Photo Gallery Location: Makarska, Croatia Find me on the map! Zone: 9 Name: Ante Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 9,161 BananaBucks : 668,712 Feedback: 10 / 100% Said "Thanks" 6,508 Times Was Thanked 8,384 Times in 3,032 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 720 Times	Re: Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? pot it up __________________ https://abnb.me/AXJty518xib

10-15-2013, 12:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
sman87 Zone: 5-6 Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 130 BananaBucks : 23,379 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 80 Times Was Thanked 69 Times in 36 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 10 Times	Re: Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? Thanks should I make the separation on the rhizome closer to the mother plant or to the pup?

10-15-2013, 05:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 271,018 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? I have no idea, what you should do, but that has never kept me from voicing an opinion. For all that it is worth, here is, what I would do: If you want to keep the pup, I'd dig the whole thing up and try to wrap the runner around the mother PS, to save storage space. But I would not cut it off at such a young stage of development __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.

10-15-2013, 10:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Naz Location: Portland,Oregon Zone: 8 - 9 Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 50 BananaBucks : 24,134 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 44 Times Was Thanked 16 Times in 12 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? i cut on of my pups for winter. i cut it about 2 inches away from the stem(turns out the thing had a corm one inch in diameter and the stem was about 5 inches long and just sent a tiny leaf out) its now potted up and inside with a bright light 10+ hours a day and it seems to be doing okay. its not growing right now but in time it will. Good luck and hope me and you both can plant them in spring

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10-16-2013, 06:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
griphuz Cold-tolerant collector griphuz's Photo Gallery Location: Netherlands Find me on the map! Zone: 7 - 8a Name: Remko Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 295 BananaBucks : 94,142 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 317 Times Was Thanked 290 Times in 114 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 827 Times	Re: Mekong giant.. what to do with those "runners""? I'd not cut the pup of either,.....try to pot the whole thing up it you can,... Kind regards, Remko.

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