so how do I prevent it?
 

Here are some updates. This is the best basjoo I have seen(only a father could love, hehehe). I think it's doing great. The other one on the left still looks pathetic so I didn't take a picture. Anyways, I have a strong feeling that the new leaf will have the same fate again. How do I protect it?






Thanks,

Neil

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Are you experiencing strong winds in your area?

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Yes, on that area, always. There is no house beside us. It's open.

Also, how come my basjoo doesn't have a color red in the middle of the leaf like what I have seen on others. So am not sure if mine is a real basjoo.

Here is what I was referring. This is from wxman's basjoo.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

the new leafs will be much stronger, so dont worry too much, they will grow also like the little basjoos from wxman;)
his basjoos also had some problems in the beginning but now they are looking great.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

So is the red line one of the characteristics of basjoos?

Thanks!

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

most of them develop the red at some point in their lives. Sometimes it's stronger than other times. I wouldn't worry about the leaf damage. The plant will grow stronger leaves in response to the environmental conditions (ie. wind). It will toughen up on its' own.
Pretty cool huh? We have a lot of wind here and I often cut all the leaves off the bananas when I transplant them because they just come off anyway.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Cut the leaves? Then plant the leaves? Will it live? Are bananas like sedum wherein you can cut a leaf then plant them and it will live?

Thanks!

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

So guys, do you think from my pic, it's a real basjoo? Can we really tell at this age?

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

No, she's referring to cutting off a pup from the mother plant. When doing so, it's fine to cut off the leaves of the transplant because it will roll out new ones. Leaves of bananas do not root or form new plants. New plants come out of the ground near the main banana plant.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

From the looks of your plants, you do not need to cut off the leaves or portions thereof because they appear to be doing well just as it is. If they were stressing out, the leaves will themselves wilt, which apparently is not happening to your plants. In my experience, when plants are slow to grow, but look healthy as your plants are, the nighttime temperatures are dipping pretty low. The same thing is happening to my plants that are outside. The ones that are inside the greenhouse are growing 50% to 100% faster than the ones outside.

If you are so inclined, you might try building a tee-pee made of sticks tall enough and clear plastic around your plants until they are grown big enough, and the weather has warmed up sufficiently the nighttime temperatures are over 70°F.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

most basjoos have a red line in it, but when they are very small, like yours, you dont see them, that will come when they grow a bit larger.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

i have 5 adult basjoos and only 2 have the red in the veins. i think and its just my opinion....that the reddning of the veins comes with maturity of the plant. i have noticed on mine the more leaves it puts out the more red i get. and boy do the leaves on the basjoo get wide. just like the saba and oronico. you could wrap a mini cooper car in one leaf!

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

When my banana gets old, can I use the basjoo leaves for wrapping food that we want to bake/cook, etc? :) It's because, I read that we cannot eat the fruit of basjoos. So I was thinking that the leaves cannot be used as well.

Thanks guys for the explanation of the red line. :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

It almost looks like an animal has chewed off the leaves. Rabbits or squirrels perhaps? Just thought you might want to consider it.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Nope, it was tortured by the wind coming from the north. I was right in front of it when it was being tortured by wind. :D The leaves would go in any direction. I forgot to mention that I used my scissor when the leaf was totally brown and dead dry.

Anyways, I looked at her today. I can believe that it grew 1" long. The tip of the new leaf is the same height as the stem on the right with brown end. Now, the new leaf is about 1 to 1.25" higher. Man, that pic was just yesterday. It's sooo fast.

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Here is the latest pic of her. :) I measured it. The distance was close to 1.5 inch increase.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

That's great! Lets hope that the weather holds up.

Neil, you might scout around for a Musella Lasiocarpa. They are very pretty and mature plants are even more cold hardy than the M. Basjoo.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Awesome, I will look for it! Thanks for the advice again! :D

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Hi Chong,

I looked at the Musella Lasiocarpa's zone and it says Zone 7b which means, it can do upto 5F. However, musa basjoo is zone 6b which means, it can withstand up to -5F. That means, musa basjoo is more cold hardy than the Musella Lasiocarpa.

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Neil

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

I saw a pic of Musella. I love it. Can I grow this in a big pot then when it's winter, I'll just bring it in our living room as accent? How tall do they grow? And also, would you guys recommend buying seeds of this species rather than a plant?



And what do you think about this, is this the correct musella?

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Some people that I got my M lasiocarpa from says that they grow to only 2-3 feet in a pot. Up to 5 feet in the ground. I'll verify with my sources for the cold hardiness of the Musella.

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The TC plants, or even pups, are so inexpensive that it's not worth waiting to germinate the seeds of the M. Lasiocarpa.

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Thank you so much. I'm very tempted to buy the musella I posted above. I edited my post earlier. I included a link to ebay.

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Yes that's the correct one. And that's not a bad price for the size. I was going to give you a link to my Mussella source, but they no longer have any in stock.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

that quite cheap right ?
I have mine also growing in pot but it doesnt grow really larger.
hardiness: I bring him in if lower then 27 F
our winters are too cold and too wet to let them survive well.
I think austin got the same minimums as me in winter but his daily temperatures are much higher. Austin, your musella is unprotected, right?

but it won't survive in your zone 5.
you can bring him in as a houseplant but dont water too much.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

That's great to hear that it can be brought inside the house. What about sunlight?

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LOL, looks like the basjoo can hear me. :D Now, I see the red line, hahaha! :D

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Yes, my musellas endured a temp last winter of 16 degrees. It was a relatively warm winter. The pseudostems were covered with some leaves, and they remained firm and mostly green. I think m. lasiocarpa would be root hardy to 5 degrees or maybe lower with some protection (maybe a pile of leaves). I really believe it is as cold hardy as musa basjoo. We need some folks in a more northern location to really test it out.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Once I get extra cash, I will buy one. What is pseudostems?

February 2007 winter though, I remember, we reached -24F to -30F.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Wow, that's cold! Musella is definitely one banana you can grow in a pot. In fact, the first year I got one, I grew it in a pot to get it established. I will probably have some small pups available for sale later this summer. Mine had an unheard of 7 or 8 flowers on one plant last year. Usually people only get one flower on their plant.

A pseudostem is the "trunk" of a banana plant.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Do you think with protection to the musella, it will survive our winter? 2008 February, we reached like -5F.

I forgot to say, that is lovely. Let me know how much you will be selling it. Rather than buying it from ebay, it would be better to buy from bananas.org members. :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

I'd probably take a pup later this summer too.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

I think it may survive winter temps of -5F if you protect it with an enclosure of leaves. Here is a pic of how it can be done.

I'll sell small pups of this plant at a reasonable price. I can't say how much right now...just depends on the size of the pups. It will be very comparable to the plants sold online in nurseries and on Ebay. Yeah, I'd always choose to buy from people on bananas.org rather than on Ebay. Sometimes folks on Ebay sell the wrong types of plants. I once bought a Dwarf Orinoco and waited two years for it to bloom only to discover it was a Standard tall Orinoco. I wanted a dwarf because I was digging them up each winter and hauling them under the house. A dwarf would have been a lot easier to work with. I wasted two years on growing the wrong plant!!! I was a little frustrated at the time and have learned to be careful. :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Awesome! Keep me posted when it's time for us to plant it! :D

By the way, looks like you were planning to post a pic but I don't see it.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Well, I'd recommend keeping it in a pot since it's gonna be late in the year and then plant it out next spring. Here's a link to all my banana pictures: austinl01/Bananas - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Here is the pic I was going to post earlier but forgot to. LOL.



Cheers,
Austin

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Thanks for that great idea!!! :D

What about the dry hay or the thing that they lay on top of ground for newly seeded grass, can they be used instead of dry leaves? It's because they're available at Home Depot or Lowes.

Thanks.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Yes, dry hay would do the trick! :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

I believe that Austin is just suggesting that you get some materials that may be available in your yard or nearby greenbelt, etc. Leaves are the first thing that come to mind because they are plentiful in the fall. One maple tree in the front of our property, for example, will yield at least 85 bushels of leaves. However, if your are going to purchase anything, I'd suggest that you use something that has greater insulating value - Styrofoam popcorn(the one used for packaging). They are available from most office supply stores, or even places similar to UHaul. Make sure to get the white Styrofoam, not the colored ones. Colored ones tend to emit gases, when they get wet, that may be harmful to the plant. It was suggested to me several years ago, and I found this to have some validity to it. The plants that I had that I used the colored Styrofoam for drainage at the bottom of the pot grew a lot slower, or even died, compared to the ones with the white Styrofoam.

I have used that concept similar to Austins sketch, only I used chicken wire and clear plastic (visqueen) as a cage and filled it with white Styrofoam. There were several 3/4" holes around the lower and upper perimeter to allow the plant to breathe.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Yes, I was just suggesting free items such as leaves to use in your protection methods. I figure why go out and buy something when nature provides it for free. :) Chong has some good advice for you. Unfortunately, I think you'll have to protect whatever banana you grow in your climate. The rewards are really worth any trouble though. I would start with musa basjoo and musella lasiocarpa.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Yep. I understood it but I have to check in fall if my plants will give enough dead leaves. I don't recall raking any last fall. This is the reason why I just want to buy the hay from home depot/lowes. But yeah, it's a great idea. :)

And yes, don't forget about me about your musella. :p

Thanks guys! ;)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Here is an update folks. :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

and also folks, is it fine that I planted hostas and irises where the bananas are? Did I ruin my plans that I really wanted to have a tropical garden on that area? I planted them all yesterday. Here is the latest pic.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Hey, Neil. The basjoo is coming out of it nicely and will really start looking a lot better soon. The new leaf looks nice and healthy. The hostas are fine where you planted them for a year or two. Then, the bananas will overtake them with their pups. The hostas won't hurt the banana where they are planted, but just be prepared to move them in a couple years. :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Hi Austin,

Honestly, I don't know what a pup is. A picture will help me a lot. Do you have a pic of a pup?

Also, so even with the hostas, am I able to maintain the tropical look? :p

Thanks!

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

I'm not Austin, but here is a picture of some pups.

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The large stem, in the center, is the mother plant.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

Ah, so any new stem around mother stem is called a pup.

Thank you so much! That helps a lot! :)

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

A pup is a smaller plant coming from the main plant and is attached from the corm. The picture John posted shows this clearly. Check out elephant ears and gingers for more tropical looking plants.

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

WOOHOO, I see a new leaf coming out from my other healthy basjoo! :)

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Here is an update. I took the picture few minutes ago. New picture is at the bottom. I'm seeing another leaf coming again. :D

Re: so how do I prevent it?
 

When your banana gets old, it could droop a little...:ha:



All joking aside, I don't think it matters if the plant produces edible (seedless) fruit for you to utilize the leaves in cooking. I used a leaf offa my Ice Cream to wrap a pork shoulder roast in and crock potted it. It was awesome! It did leave clorophyll on the meat, though. You'll have to explain that the green meat is ok to eat! The little plant looks like it will bounce right back. You could put something in front of it to block the wind.