cincinnana

Kudos to all the forum members whom shared their successful ways to overwinter their plants.

I know there are many ways to do this but this works for me in zone multiple zones for a basjoo.


You could save your self some money and just put a heavy layer of mulch, straw and all the other stuff some of the previous posters said. Even top it off with a permeable cover. I have used large bags of grass and leaves and aged manure with good results.

The object is to put as much space between the corm and the coldest winter air.


We zone 5-6 re's have too many freeze days for our plants to be protected in a wrapped vertical position.

SO do not entertain this method.

To find out our winter averages do an internet search(Weather Underground is a good place to start)..and make note of frost/freeze depth,nighttime temps, and average number of days below freezing, and snow cover.

Oddly enough it is said that one inch of snow has the R-value of 1, So 40 inches of snow equal a R40 value.

I mulch with a 8-12 inch layer of wood chips or landscape mulch. I usually do not have a good snow cover.
If you want to see more photos ....just double click on the pic.

To grow properly your plants should be planted in well drained and very fertile soil.
Preferably slightly elevated if possible.

Bubble wrap and insulation do not work on non heat producing objects....but in higher hardiness zones it does work to slow the chill getting to the plant for short term cold spells.
Some fellas put mini christmas lights(not led) around their plants and them wrap them during a cold spell....it works.

Plant are Basjoos in a well maintained local zone 5/6 botanical garden.


Mulched beds.

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Untitled
by Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Heavy landscape mulch.

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Untitled by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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Spring growth.
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Untitled by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr


.Summer growth.

Untitled by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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geissene

I agree bubble wrap and insulation don't work without a heat source, I do believe it is possible to obtain some heat from the ground. This was discussed in a previous posting by OlafHenry. [Citation needed]

Last year, I was able to save a 4' basjoo stalk through our Pennsylvania winter. It wasn't as cold as some years, but still there is usually a few days of arctic chill. Some days, the highest temperature was below 20F and we even had some nights in the single digits.

My original thread on this is here:
Uncovered my basjoos in Pennsylvania!

I think it is possible to save individual stalks with the insulation method, however its probably not practical for a large mat with multiple stalks. Like the ones Cincinnana is showing.

Based on my expereince, if the corm is large enough, basjoo plants can recover their previous year's height very quickly. So the extra effort to save the stalk will only be noticed in early spring....

erik

Denverian

The growth around my old, dead p-stem is just a bunch of smaller plants that only grew to around 3' this year. Not really all that interesting to look at.

Denverian

Since I chopped the top off and dug up my basjoo, it's been sitting in the garage and a new leave has begun growing. I have the root ball (corm) loosley covered in a trash bag. For anyone who's had success with this, should I go ahead and just move it to the dark, cool corner in the basement now?

kaczercat

yep it can go to the basement now

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Matt

cincinnana

awesome. post......

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Denverian

Well, it's been placed in hibernation for the winter. Now, I wait...

cincinnana

Thx for the response.
Your plants will do well this year..

I just mulched a mat today 12+ inches of wood chips....

Side note.......

The plant is now growing on ground temperatures and will push leaves till a continuous Extended AIR TEMP of 32 or below....

Yes, the leaves will get frost bitten......but the stem will keep pushing leaves...till the pstem freezes.



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Mulching basjoo by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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gmichael403

Mine have been inside a few weeks now. Been a very warm fall...but Glad evrything is moved as we had our first freeze last night.

Jose263

Harbor Freight moving blankets are on sale - cheap nana wraps

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Growing: Orinoco, Rajapuri, Dwarf Cav, SDC, TT, Dwarf Red, Dwarf Namwah, Tall Namwah (aka Ice Cream), Dwarf Brazilian, Veinte Cohol, California Gold, Double Mohai, NOT-Goldfinger, Gran Nain, Velutina

wheelman1976

I didn't even bother to plant mine in the ground this year, was lazy and left them in the pots from last over wintering. Made life a bit easier this fall but I don't think they grew as much as being in the ground.

Denverian

I checked on mine in hibernation last evening. The P-stem is still firm, so I assume it's ok. I misted the roots a bit.

Since mine isn't huge, I'm thinking about planting it in a pot in the house in March to get it going. Good idea?? I assume that then the best thing would be to move it outdoors in the pot in early May to get it adjusted to intense sunlight.

I typically plant my elephant ear bulbs in pots in early April to get them going so when I plant them in the ground in early May, they already have growth.

gmichael403

Today is March 18, all plants seem to have done well over winter. Goung to be 70s and 80s this week..so plants all get to stay outside and catch some rays. One more month out of the house for good



not sure how to rotate pic*

kaczercat

gmichael403

looking good! the long wait is almost over

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Matt

gmichael403

Thank you..yes the wait is almost over. last year they started as corms and pups..got quite large. cant wait to see how big they get with such a head start this year.

Tytaylor77

Looking good. What all varieties do you have?

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gmichael403

I have a few orinico varities, dwarf brazilian, Namwah, Mysore (maybe its namwah) and blue Java..again...prob Namwah, Cal gold, venti cohol, and dwarf cavendish. I really like the brazilians...esp here in Oklahoma..very windy in spring..and they are just tough..and beautiful. I have had 60plus winds rip a lot apart last year..but not the Brazilians, they are troopers.

kaczercat

they were cut back in the fall??

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Matt

gmichael403

Yes, I cut them at different lengths..the bigger ones I cut back to 4ft or so in October, I let them shoot out one leaf, dug up and put in sand in their overwinter pots, then left them out as long as I could before they went in a spare bedroom for winter.

Tytaylor77

Brazilians are amazing here too. Excellent ones to grow. Our area gets the straight line winds like you also. Namwa is a great one also here.

Brazillian is a parent of goldfinger which is my favorite tasting, dwarf, and grow even better than brazillian in my openion. My favorite grower has to be sweetheart though. They outgrow anything I have (other than tall namwa maybe). They flower fast and take the cold well also. They are insanely thick at the base of the pstem and have huge corms. Very fun to grow.

You have a great start this season. Your gonna plant the big ones in the ground next month I hope. If so you may get some flowers later this year! Good luck! I'm excited to see how they do so keep us updated.

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