Gardener972

I checked my musa basjoo stalk this week and it's mushy. Is this a bad sign or just that it got frozen back pretty badly? The stalk is about 5 foot tall, same as it was when I bought & planted it last year. It feels mushy most of the way down but feels somewhat more solid very near the ground. Should I cut it back and, if so, how much? When can I expect to see some growth, if at all, here in north Texas?

Dean W.

I would cut it back to solid growth. I just did some here yesterday that were having the same problem.

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stumpy4700

Definately cut it back until all the mush is gone. I just got done cutting all mine down to the ground as none of mine that stayed outside made it. I used the chicken wire and about 6 bags of mulch each around them. I then put a tarp over it to keep out the water, and still they didnt make it. I now know the only way to overwinter in these parts is to dig em up and put them in the back of the garage. Killed was Basjoo, Ice Cream, Veluntina.

island cassie

Definitely cut it right back to past the rot - even if nothing happens from the main plant, eventually you should get pups from the corm. I had one new small plant that rotted away completely, and the new pups took 2 months to appear from apparently bare earth. Just resist the urge to dig it up to see what is happening! I have just had to cut my main 1000 fingers plant down to the ground as the rainwater from our excessively wet spring had burst and rotted the trunk. Be brave and bold!!!

Abnshrek

I would lop the first 4ft off just to save time the peel the outer layers off unless all you find is mush. If that's the case, cut it to the ground and let it dry out.. The pups will be up right shortly :^)

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Bob

Couldn't have said it better. Cut off all the mush,.... dry it out best you can.... It will pup when it warms up more....easy to say... hard to wait for! That's how it is for us in the north.

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Gardener972

Thanks everyone! I'll cut it back and see what it looks like under all the mush. Stay tuned...

raggedyredhead

Hi, my sister lives in Conroe Texas. This happened to all her banana plants. She cut them all back beyond the point of mushiness. She said the inside looks much like the inside of an onion. All of hers sprouted from the center and are pupping like crazy. I live in NJ and my Basjoo have come back for two years. Good Luck to you!
Raggedy

Gardener972

So far... nothing. I cut it back a couple weeks ago to the ground but it's mush into the core below ground level. Doesn't look good. This was a banana that had a solid 5 ft. stalk when I planted it and the new leaves appeared at the top of that, as opposed to a small plant about a foot tall.

john_ny

Unless you need the space for something else, I would just say leave it. Cut any mushy parts off, and see what happens. I had some basjoos that I didn't get covered properly this year, and they pretty much turned to mush, (last year, I got them covered properly, and saved all of 'em to the top of the p-stem) but there are still shoots coming up. I took several inside, shook most of the soil off roots, put 'em in a black plastic garbage bag, with another bag over the top. The room probably runs about 50°F during most of the winter. All four survived very well;I had to cut about 6 inches off of one, but the others were good to the top, and I didn't even look at them for five months; no water, nothing.

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John