getting a little worried

saturn · 11-17-2005, 01:54 PM

I am getting ready for a forecast low of 24F.
My plan was to make a wire cage and fill it with leaves around my mat of 4 basjoo pseudostems.

I did this last year with my basjoo, but it was shorter and had one p-stem. After the winter, I was expecting to remove the cage and find a mostly green and firm p-stem. But the 5' p-stem was pretty mushy even though there was at least a foot of leaves on all sides. There was probably 2' of leaves on top, but they kept compacting down.

I left the mush alone for a while, hoping the new leaf would come out. I started to worry about rot, so I eventually cut it back to about 2', which still was rather mushy. But the new leaf did come out fine. I thought the leaf cage would have kept most of the p-stem from turning to mush. I did not cover it with plastic, so maybe that's the problem?

I have been busy collecting leaves this year, but now that I have fit the cage around the p-stems, I used all my material just to enclose the 4 p-stems to a height of 4'. That will leave 2' to 4' of the tops exposed. Even if I did get another cage to cover the top, it would be really difficult to fill AND keep from falling over.

My goal is to keep some of the height, and hopefully get a bloom next year.

So now I'm a little worried about leaving the tops of the p-stems exposed; I wonder how much die back there will be, and if I need to preserve all that height to get a bloom next year?

I'm mostly just thinking out loud here (hopefully it's not too confusing); any insights are appreciated.
s.

PhilMusa · 11-17-2005, 03:09 PM

I would difinetely cover the entire cage with plastic. This is the mistake I made last year!

It is very important to keep the plant dry. Before you fill the cage I would spray the plant with a fungicide to prevent the plant from rotting. Below is a quote from HardyTropicals.com which is very interesting:

Quote:

Winter protection for your Bananas:
Protecting your banana plant can be as laborious as you want. Several methods have been successful. The easiest is to allow the first hard freeze to knock the plant back, then cut the trunk to the ground and mulch over. The mulch should be 6-10 inches deep and can be leaves, bark, straw, or anything else that will provide insulation. Then cover the mulch with plastic to keep the insulating material dry. In the spring, simply remove the plastic. The draw back to this method is the size of the plant, and it most likely will not flower. The most extreme method is to cut off the leaves after the first frost and build a cage around the banana clump, preferably a little taller than the plant. Fill the cage with insulating material and wrap with plastic (Read tips at end of article). Such a procedure is especially good the first winter. The cage technique is not advisable in areas where you rarely get below 20 f and most of your winter is mild. We have lost more bananas due to fungus caused by being wrapped up than we have ever lost to cold. The middle-of-the-road method ( the one we use ) is to do nothing until it is going to be below 20 f for a period of time. We then wrap with household insulation and plastic until the cold spell is over. Then we pull the wrapping, preventing heating and cooling inside the tent. We don't even cut the damaged leaves off until spring. The method you choose depends on your expected low temperatures and the age of the plant. A new banana plant should always be protected the first year.

If you live in very cold areas and must leave your banana wrapped for extended periods

We worked on some wrapped bananas last year to possibly help our friends in very cold areas

Remove the leaves to the top of the trunk, don't shorten the trunk is possible
Spray the trunk with a copper based fungicide and if possible algaecide
Wrap the trunks with burlap
Spray the burlap with fungicide
Try to have your cage quite allot larger than just to the edge of the trunks
Use dry insulating material
If you are very, cold wrap the outside of the cage with another insulating material
Cover the project to keep it dry
Open the top to allow air to circulate during mild periods

Casa Del Gatos · 11-17-2005, 03:35 PM

"If you live in very cold areas and must leave your banana wrapped for extended periods."

I'm sorry, that just made me laugh out loud, does that make me a pervert?

saturn · 11-18-2005, 02:14 PM

update: The whole cage thing was not making me happy, so I ended up going a different route - using (insulated ) flex duct.

I have never used this before, so I am not sure what to do here, either. I talked to someone in my zone who made it sound like he only covered the basjoos when it went below 28F, and thus did a lot of putting on/taking off, since most days here are above 28F.
[Casa Del Gatos, I hope you don't find that too suggestive, LOL]

saturn

11-17-2005, 01:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
saturn Member saturn's Photo Gallery Location: NC Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 94 BananaBucks : 61,145 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 24 Times in 17 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	getting a little worried I am getting ready for a forecast low of 24F. My plan was to make a wire cage and fill it with leaves around my mat of 4 basjoo pseudostems. I did this last year with my basjoo, but it was shorter and had one p-stem. After the winter, I was expecting to remove the cage and find a mostly green and firm p-stem. But the 5' p-stem was pretty mushy even though there was at least a foot of leaves on all sides. There was probably 2' of leaves on top, but they kept compacting down. I left the mush alone for a while, hoping the new leaf would come out. I started to worry about rot, so I eventually cut it back to about 2', which still was rather mushy. But the new leaf did come out fine. I thought the leaf cage would have kept most of the p-stem from turning to mush. I did not cover it with plastic, so maybe that's the problem? I have been busy collecting leaves this year, but now that I have fit the cage around the p-stems, I used all my material just to enclose the 4 p-stems to a height of 4'. That will leave 2' to 4' of the tops exposed. Even if I did get another cage to cover the top, it would be really difficult to fill AND keep from falling over. My goal is to keep some of the height, and hopefully get a bloom next year. So now I'm a little worried about leaving the tops of the p-stems exposed; I wonder how much die back there will be, and if I need to preserve all that height to get a bloom next year? I'm mostly just thinking out loud here (hopefully it's not too confusing); any insights are appreciated. s.

11-17-2005, 03:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
Casa Del Gatos Senior Member Casa Del Gatos's Photo Gallery Location: Silverhill, Alabama Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 103 BananaBucks : 39,291 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: getting a little worried "If you live in very cold areas and must leave your banana wrapped for extended periods." I'm sorry, that just made me laugh out loud, does that make me a pervert?

11-18-2005, 02:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
saturn Member saturn's Photo Gallery Location: NC Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 94 BananaBucks : 61,145 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 24 Times in 17 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: getting a little worried update: The whole cage thing was not making me happy, so I ended up going a different route - using (insulated ) flex duct. I have never used this before, so I am not sure what to do here, either. I talked to someone in my zone who made it sound like he only covered the basjoos when it went below 28F, and thus did a lot of putting on/taking off, since most days here are above 28F. [Casa Del Gatos, I hope you don't find that too suggestive, LOL] saturn

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