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Prepping basjoo for winter
Prepping my basjoos for winter.....
I want to leave as many in the ground, I started with 6 inch stall seedlings this spring and now the biggest ones are around 1.5-2 feet. I was thinking of just letting them rot down to the ground and cover with as big a pile of mulch as I can pile on them for the winter. Would that be adequate enough? I doubt I'll save any PS, especially considering how small they are. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Hi Doug, it depends very much on how much mulch you pile over them. And if it is lose mulch, the minimum should be covering the truncated pseudo stems wit upturned flowerpots, to ensure some separation from the soggy mulch and to prevent rot as much as possible. Your post sounds, as if you are not prepared to put a lot of effort into preserving them. In case I am wrong, you may want to look here: http://www.bananas.org/f2/permanent-...ing-17855.html. Alternatively you might want to pot them and bring them inside. If bright indoor space is a problem, you can easily bunch several of them in one pot, depending on size of plants and pots. Since they are not likely to grow a lot during the low light period, they will not need much soil per plant. Good luck, Olaf |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I want to definately keep them alive. What about covering with a plastic bag and then putting mulch over and around them? I find it hard to believe that unless I'm putting 3 feet of mulch over them that my p-stem won't freeze and rot out, am I wrong?
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I should add that whenever I bring them indoors and keep them in a pot, I see the largest stem rot out and the pups that are there make it fine. Nothing of substance makes it.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Do absolutely NOT wrap them in plastic. Contact with plastic will promote rot for sure!
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
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Not necessarily. See here: http://www.bananas.org/f2/e-maurelii...tml#post229400 These guys, though not basjoos, which I always winter outdoors, did not have any problem. My first basjoo was fairly big before the first winter and after that I separated them off to spend the winter as orphans by themselves after they were at least 2 1/2 to three feet tall including leaves |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I'm thinking I should dig everything this fall then, I have two basjoo that are 2.5-3 foot that I got from a nursery with a good start this spring, and they're the biggest at this point, I'd hate to have them not make it this winter and have to start from scratch again. I may leave some of the smaller ones and let them rot to the ground and cover with mulch and uncover in the spring and see what happens.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I have made a cage from wire fence covered in frost cloth it seams to work very well.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Hi Wayne (Swayne?)
"Don't mean nothing" :ha:, unless you tell us, where you live or at least in which HZ. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I just bought a few rose cones to put over my basjoos that I plan to keep in the ground. They have four holes in the top I believe to put stakes thru so that they don't blow away. I was curious if I should leave those open or stuff something in them to keep the cold out?
Also, at what point do I want to cut the stalks down and cover them? Wait through a few frosts? Or after the first? Thoughts? |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Hi Doug,
I have no idea, what ‘rose cones’ are, but having wintered Basjoos for several years now, living also in HZ6, I know, that they will ‘survive’ with 8 to 10 inches of leaf mulch, probably without the mulch too, but it will take a long time for them to recover. If you want to preserve some of the above ground PS for quick leaving out, you will have to do more than that. You will have to provide some air space (not direct contact) between any kind of mulch and the PS, to prevent the stem from rotting. I am a great proponent for wintering basjoos in the ground, because it leaves root and corm undisturbed and ready to go as soon as uncovered in spring. I have in the past erected a little fence around each banana and filled it up with leaf mulch. That is quite a bit of work, but less than digging the plants out, storing them indoors and then planting them in spring and is also less disruptive to growth. For this year I have devised the http://www.bananas.org/f2/permanent-...ing-17855.html, which costs less than $60.- for the basic shelters for two singles or small pads and one large one (5 PS this year), will be a cinch to install in fall, can be removed on warm days in early spring in seconds and reapplied, when frost threatens, also in seconds. Best, Olaf |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Rose cones are essentially what you have with your structures. They're just round. I bought 4 for about $20 but that doesn't cover all the basjoos I have. I'm thinking I may do what you have there for the remaining plants that I have to cover.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Hi Doug,
Is that $20 for each or for all 4? I have just looked up rose cones and came up with this picture: If that is indeed, what it is, it does not look anywhere enough insulation to protect any of the PS in HZ6. Also, I have used Styrofoam Packing material for one of my basjoos last winter and that left a hole almost exactly like the one shown in that cone, and that let enough cold air in to destroy most of the PS, despite of a reasonable amount of additional cover of leaf mulch. So, if you use these cones with additional insulation, make sure, you cover that hole. Good luck, Olaf |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Mine are about half inch styrofoam (white). I am planning on getting a few sheets like you have to build some boxes for my two larger mats. I'll take a few pieces to put on the top of my cones to cover the holes before I put a brick on top of them.
They were about $5 each at Lowes |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
So at what point should I actually put the cones over them? Wait til the first frost and then clip the leaves and cut the PS down to fit in the box? Does that sound good?
Side note, I dug up all of my dwarf brazilians and brought them in for the season. I'm hoping that this year I'll save alot of the plants this year by having them potted vs. dry root storage. I had to separate some pups and not sure if I got enough corm with them, but they all had some roots, so I'm hoping those pups will take. fingers crossed that next year I'll be putting out some nice established DB's and I'll get some decent height for the season! |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Here's a bunch of them potted up.
 And the garden I took them from.  |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
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inch polystyrene 'rose cones', unless you add substantially more insulation to them. Compare that with two full inches of Styrofoam augmented with a layer of fiberglass insulation in between in my shelters. The corms of your Basjoos will most likely survive, but it will take a long time for the bananas to regrow in spring. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
it Kind of makes you sick when you dig up the babys for the winter that you have cared for all summer. I had to cut most of the leaves off of mine to get them in. Not sure how they will do. The biggest has an 8 foot PS in a 9 foot garage, I put some grow lights around them But its a first for me.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
[quote=wheelman1976;231150]So at what point should I actually put the cones over them? Wait til the first frost and then clip the leaves and cut the PS down to fit in the box? Does that sound good?=qoute]
Yes that is what I would do. However try this test first. Take a soda or beer can unopened and wrap it in your most fluffy warm bath towel or warmest winter coat. Put it in your freezer.....leave it in a few winter days.:08: Open it up few days later ......if the can is frozen or exploded....... well ??????? |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
That Test made my mind up Mike, Thanks for the advise too, It is all new
to me But we love our Nanners. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I have about 8 basjoos with roughly 6 feet tall p-stems each. Ive decided to go the route of digging them up and wrapping the corms with burlap and keeping them in the crawlspace in my basement. Ive also seen people using copper fungicide powder and dusting the corms and p-stems to protect from rot. Does this technique seem to help? Has anyone have good success with keeping basjoos dormant overwintering in basements?
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I winter all my basjoos outside and thus have no experience with dry root wintering.
However I do have experience with the rot promoting properties of concrete. If you have earth or gravel flooring in your crawlspace, your method seems okay, however in the more likely event, that the floor of your crawlspace is concrete, it is mandatory for the survival of your plants, that you cover the concrete first with polyester sheeting and then with cardboard, before you place the bananas on top of that. If the burlap serves any purpose other than additional insulation, I do not know. If the air in your crawlspace is relatively humid, the burlap may do more damage than good. Good luck, Olaf PS: If you are short of cardboard, two layers of burlap may serve the same purpose. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Thank you Olaf! I would have totally forgotten about the issue with concrete flooring which I do have in the crawlspace and we do have some issues with mold and mildew on occasion. I will definitely start layering the floor with some cardboard I have perhaps spraying it down first to with a cleainng solution too. I'm using the burlap for a few reasons insulation for one and some added barrier protection from mold that is breathable. The two root balls I have just tied up first are slightly damp, not wet and I very lightly dusted them with a copper fungicide to aid with keeping n the corm hopefully pathogen free. 2 bananas down about 10 to go! Lol long day ahead.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Don't forget the polyethylene underneath the cardboard. A few garbage bags sliced open
will do nicely. If you crawl space is mildew prone, I would be leery about the burlap. But as I said, I have no experience with bare root wintering myself. Is your crawlspace not frost proof, that you think you need burlap for insulation? Olaf |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
After seeing some of the replies I'm torn as to what I should do with them.... cone them or dig them..... I've already made the cones but I'm thinking I may dig the smaller ones as there's not much ps to begin with.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Question, would stuffing the cone with fiberglass insulation make any difference? Even if it's touching the ps?
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I would not be too concerned about filling the cones with fiberglass, providing you can
keep it dry and keep the draft of cold air out (patch up the holes). I would trust a couple of layers wrapped around the stump as well as on top of it, though that may be a bit costly. Fiberglass lets air through and does not promote rot as direct contact with plastic does. Good luck, Olaf |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
wheelman, I dug mine up at put about 1000 watts of 6500k lights over them for the winter, I dont grow
mine for fruit....I just like the way they look. I have wintered some last year by a window and it just wasn NOT enough light for them. They all made it , but were small plants. The green house down the road just cuts theirs down and multches over thick. I have watched that tree for 6 seasons and it it awesome. Now that I have grown some beasts and have a good base I will leave mine in the ground next year and mulch them in and just cut off the PS. I guess it just depends on what You want |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
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So what you're saying is a greenhouse down the road has one outside of the greenhouse and they cut it down to the ground and it still grows larger every year? What type of height is it reaching? I am really curious what is capable if you just cut it down and throw a heavy amount of mulch over top of it and lay a tarp over.... |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I have seen them get 16 to 20 feet tall down here , I am about 3 hrs south of you I used to live in the north west suburbs I know how cold it can get up there. I was going to leave mine out and cut them down untill i got on here, I probably will next year.I think I will always bring smaller ones in in the future. The thing I have noticed about the ones that get cut downis the stumps are about the size of a basket ball. I am new to banans still learning myself. when I tried to winter outside I failed.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
IMOEO there is a trade-off. If you pot them and have reasonable growing conditions,
it is of course win/win. But once the plants grow larger and you can no longer provide adequately for indoor growth, you have the choice between bare root wintering, which will hopefully preserve most of the PS, but sacrifices most of the roots, or you can winter them outdoors and sacrifice most of the PS, but have the roots in place and settled in, ready to “hit the ground running”. From my wording you can probably tell which method I prefer, and it is also less work. With my new shelter, which will allow me to take advantage of warm days in March and April (most of that month), maybe even February, I now hope to add the equivalent of more than one month to the growing season, which would otherwise not start here until early to mid May. That widens the gap in favour of outdoor wintering. |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
Well everything is cut down and fitted into my 1 inch foam square cones. I wrapped the PS with some fiberglass insulation, not enough to fill it completely, but something to say the least. I covered them with one trash bag to keep my duct tape seam tape from getting wet and letting lose and then mounded some dirt around the base.
With that bag over top will I have an issue with humidity/moisture inside or won't it matter? I did take the smallest ones and potted them up since I didn't think there was much there to weather the winter. We'll see how those go. Another question on my brazilians, do I still want to water them even though I am sticking them in my back furnace room where it is dark 24/7? |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
That sounds great, have you got any pictures? That bag over top is just what was needed.
If the plastic does not touch the PS directly, there is no concern the fiberglass will keep the PSs nicely cuddled :) |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I put tomato cages around them and fill with straw..put a plastic grocery bag on top to keep water out some what and there fine every year. I made some cages alot taller this year so I dont cut back so much stem..
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I wonder, Mike, if this is really reliable in a cold winter. I have done that tomato cage thing in my
first winter as augmentation to the base mulching, to save as much as possible . See the funny man here: http://www.bananas.org/f2/my-banana-...ack-12904.html It did not work for me, though I used leaves instead of your straw, which may be more effective and did not protect it against moisture. Still, you appear to be walking close to the precipice. Having said that, I do not think your corm is in any danger |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I'll try to take some pics sometime in the near future. I still have about 10 hours of digging up cannas and five palm trees I need to build boxes for yet before the snow flies so I'll be out in the back yard quite a bit in the next month.
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Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
This is a link to my post which is in the wrong thread.
The photos display the mulch method, that myself and others use in zone 4 through 8. In my opinion this method is the most economical and practical, and you can use anything as the protective layer of insulation. I will update this thread in the spring once the plants are actively growing. http://www.bananas.org/f10/hibernati...tml#post235281 |
Re: Prepping basjoo for winter
I'm in NE Atlanta and the way I prepare my Basjoos for Winter is to do nothing! The leaves will get hit with frost and hang down along the trunks protecting them from the cold. My top leaves were close to 30' high in the Fall. So far, I've been lucky using the do nothing method. The warm weather types either are cut off at the ground and mulched or dug and stored in the garage. No need to have soil on the root ball or water them.
Good Luck! :nanadrink: |
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