Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... - Page 13

The Hollyberry Lady · 05-09-2010, 10:16 AM

Not sure - haven't measured but will...

Would you believe last night we had snow flurries?!

SNOW!

: o

I'm so glad I wasn't fooled by those early warm temps because if I'd have put my stuff out it would all be dead by now! With all this weird inconsistent weather I may even wait until the end of May to put out my plants.

Hoping my basjoo will produce some pups for me this year...

: )

kaczercat · 05-09-2010, 03:25 PM

yepp shi tty weather yesterday but as of Wed we're going back up to the average temp of 17 c thankgod. that snowy weather yesterday almost made me cry had to go put a tarp on most of my nannas they all made it. now one more night of -1. then the night temps are going back to 7-10 degrees during the night .

saltydad · 05-09-2010, 10:53 PM

THL- what steps are you taking to avoid a repetition of the absconded banana? Good luck this season. It looks beautiful!

The Hollyberry Lady · 05-20-2010, 10:41 PM

Nothing in pots this year, Howard. Everything's going in the gardens. Bastards won't get 'em this time!

Just got a couple gorgeous SDC's from Bob, and might grow one in the garden and one in a container, but inside my apartment. If they dig them up out of the earth, that's the day I get ready to move!

We'll see...

: )

The Hollyberry Lady · 07-17-2010, 07:59 AM

I'm happy to report, there's been no thefts of my plants this year!

Matt...

Here's your Basjoo in one of my gardens this season. Just took this shot this morning. Those are "French Vanilla" marigolds at the base of the banana plant, but they're not bloomed yet...

The Basjoo gets whipped around a lot by wind and that's why it's kind of tattered looking. I buried it a whole foot deeper than it was in it's pot to make sure the roots survive the winter. It's almost a year old now! Thanks again, Matt!

: )

kaczercat · 07-17-2010, 10:38 AM

yey looks great ! thanks for posting

soon to be a giant come sept you'll be looking up at it haha.

The Hollyberry Lady · 07-19-2010, 01:48 AM

No doubt it will be huge, Matt. I'm looking so forward...

Here too is another Musa Basjoo that I was shocked to find at one of the greenhouses here in London. It's also doing quite well...

: )

kaczercat · 07-19-2010, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady

No doubt it will be huge, Matt. I'm looking so forward...

Here too is another Musa Basjoo that I was shocked to find at one of the greenhouses here in London. It's also doing quite well...

: )

Nice score ! check Lows near you i found a blood banana and many other kool tropicals !

The Hollyberry Lady · 08-14-2010, 08:51 AM

Here's my Basjoo from the nursery today...

Here's yours this morning, Matt! It's getting so big...

Hope you have a safe trip back home to Ontario.

: )

The Hollyberry Lady · 10-23-2010, 02:29 AM

well, the time has come...

for heavy frost!

What do I do with my Basjoo plants to put them away for winter?

Do I cut them back down to the ground? Do I wrap them with burlap (have lots) and then a bag?

I'm not too sure and was hoping for some members to advise me...

One of my Basjoos was buried a foot deeper than it was in the pot so I'm hoping it'll survive the winter. It's over a year old though and I've never seen a pup yet!

Please let me know what you guys think...

: )

kaczercat · 10-23-2010, 10:26 AM

okay so what i did was chop the leaves off all, then chop the plant down to 2 or 3 inches from the ground. Stuch a tomato cage thing around it. Next i rapped christmas lights , but you dont need them. i stuffed it with leaves and mulch . rapping it with /or covering it with burlap would help.then a tarp.

Good luck !

Kevin · 10-23-2010, 10:39 AM

How tall is it now? I just dug up my Dwarf Orinoco last week. It has a 5' p-stem! It was buried a few inches deeper, and it had one pup that I could see. After I dug it up, it had at least 3 more coming! I would guess, if you dug it up, or just tried to uncover the soil around the stem, you might see some pups. I don't know how much ground they can grow through, though.

willy1der · 10-23-2010, 12:35 PM

My method was put bags of leaves around the p stems(3 ft),then filled the middle with leaves,then a bag on top.then a blanket on top and a tarp on top of that..It is also against a south facing brick wall and Ive yet to save the stems but they grow from the corm immediatly after I uncover them in late april.When the temp dips down after that I just throw a garbage can over them at night. This year I am wrapping with burlap and using pipe heating cables.Then I have a garbage can with the bottom cut out that Im putting over the stems and then filling with leaves and maybe a tarp over that.If that dont work then next year there getting dug up and stored in the cold room.

willy1der · 10-23-2010, 12:38 PM

Forgot to mention HBL,I have a friend down the road from you(Argyle area) who put a foot of straw over his and small tarp and they came back come spring,not till mid may but they came back!!!

Jack Daw · 10-23-2010, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady

Do I cut them back down to the ground? Do I wrap them with burlap (have lots) and then a bag?

Can't you bring them inside? They are too small and young to be kept outside, more established and older plants are protected outisde.

The Hollyberry Lady · 10-23-2010, 02:22 PM

Jack, this one I have is over a year old and I've been preparing to establish it as a perennial, as many other Ontario gardeners have done. It's been buried extra deep to help it's survival. It's about 3-4 feet tall now and it's plenty over a year old. It spent last Winter indoors.

Thanks for the advice Willy. That's exactly where I live...in the Argyle area! Hoping that with all the tips and suggestions here, I might find a good way to protect mine over the cold months too. Thank you for sharing you & your friends' experience.

The 2nd Basjoo I got at the Tree Farm Springbank nursery, came with a label that simply instructed cutting the leaves off the plant at the end of the season and using them for mulch. The lady at the nursery says she doesn't wrap hers at all, and still it has returned two seasons in a row!

I guess only time will tell, but this is really just an experiment, to see what happens. If neither plant survives, I can get another Basjoo next year.

Thanks for all the great advice, you guys! Thanks for the plant, Matt!

: )

The Hollyberry Lady · 10-24-2010, 10:23 PM

Ok, here's what I've decided to do tomorrow evening...

I'm going to chop the plant down to two feet. Then I'm going to wrap it snuggly with a bunch of burlap, round & round repeatedly, and then a plastic tarp around that. I'll mulch around the base with the cut banana leaves.

As Willy knows, we get lots of snow here in London, and it can act as a mulch in itself. We also have lots of tree leaves too, that I intend on mounding up around the base.

Sound good enough?

: )

Kevin · 10-24-2010, 10:49 PM

It's your plant, so...

I think it has been said before, but the only good protecting them will do, is to save the corm, and whatever pups there are. The stalk won't survive - unless you can keep it REALLY warm. So, might as well cut it right down, so it will be easier to insulate the corm. Just my thoughts.

The Hollyberry Lady · 10-24-2010, 11:12 PM

I think you might be right but there also might be a misunderstanding...

I'm not really interested in protecting the mother plant so it continues growing next year...just want the roots to survive from year to year and send up new pups. Just like experimenting.

On 2nd thought and because of you Kevin...

I think I'll cut the sucker to the ground and then heavily mulch. Thanks for your thoughts...sounds lower maintenance anyway, which is appealing.

: )

Kevin · 10-24-2010, 11:42 PM

Experimenting is good, but there isn't much point in protecting a plant that isn't going to survive anyway. When you get two or more plants, then you can try to keep the pstem on one of them and see how it goes. Good luck!

05-09-2010, 10:16 AM	#241 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Not sure - haven't measured but will... Would you believe last night we had snow flurries?! SNOW! : o I'm so glad I wasn't fooled by those early warm temps because if I'd have put my stuff out it would all be dead by now! With all this weird inconsistent weather I may even wait until the end of May to put out my plants. Hoping my basjoo will produce some pups for me this year... : )

05-09-2010, 03:25 PM	#242 (permalink)
kaczercat kaczercat's Photo Gallery Location: Southern ON Find me on the map! Zone: 5b 9b Name: Matt Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,874 BananaBucks : 258,169 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,116 Times Was Thanked 2,111 Times in 750 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 11 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... yepp shi tty weather yesterday but as of Wed we're going back up to the average temp of 17 c thankgod. that snowy weather yesterday almost made me cry had to go put a tarp on most of my nannas they all made it. now one more night of -1. then the night temps are going back to 7-10 degrees during the night . __________________ Matt

05-09-2010, 10:53 PM	#243 (permalink)
saltydad saltydad's Photo Gallery Location: Silver Spring, Maryland USA Find me on the map! Zone: 7a Name: Howard Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 4,552 BananaBucks : 260,012 Feedback: 2 / 100% Said "Thanks" 14,712 Times Was Thanked 4,662 Times in 1,778 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 824 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... THL- what steps are you taking to avoid a repetition of the absconded banana? Good luck this season. It looks beautiful! __________________ Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men" "Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon "If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal." John F. Kennedy, September, 1960 http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

05-20-2010, 10:41 PM	#244 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Nothing in pots this year, Howard. Everything's going in the gardens. Bastards won't get 'em this time! Just got a couple gorgeous SDC's from Bob, and might grow one in the garden and one in a container, but inside my apartment. If they dig them up out of the earth, that's the day I get ready to move! We'll see... : )

07-17-2010, 07:59 AM	#245 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... I'm happy to report, there's been no thefts of my plants this year! Matt... Here's your Basjoo in one of my gardens this season. Just took this shot this morning. Those are "French Vanilla" marigolds at the base of the banana plant, but they're not bloomed yet... The Basjoo gets whipped around a lot by wind and that's why it's kind of tattered looking. I buried it a whole foot deeper than it was in it's pot to make sure the roots survive the winter. It's almost a year old now! Thanks again, Matt! : )

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07-17-2010, 10:38 AM	#246 (permalink)
kaczercat kaczercat's Photo Gallery Location: Southern ON Find me on the map! Zone: 5b 9b Name: Matt Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,874 BananaBucks : 258,169 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,116 Times Was Thanked 2,111 Times in 750 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 11 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... yey looks great ! thanks for posting soon to be a giant come sept you'll be looking up at it haha. __________________ Matt

07-19-2010, 01:48 AM	#247 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... No doubt it will be huge, Matt. I'm looking so forward... Here too is another Musa Basjoo that I was shocked to find at one of the greenhouses here in London. It's also doing quite well... : )

08-14-2010, 08:51 AM	#249 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Here's my Basjoo from the nursery today... Here's yours this morning, Matt! It's getting so big... Hope you have a safe trip back home to Ontario. : )

10-23-2010, 02:29 AM	#250 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... well, the time has come... for heavy frost! What do I do with my Basjoo plants to put them away for winter? Do I cut them back down to the ground? Do I wrap them with burlap (have lots) and then a bag? I'm not too sure and was hoping for some members to advise me... One of my Basjoos was buried a foot deeper than it was in the pot so I'm hoping it'll survive the winter. It's over a year old though and I've never seen a pup yet! Please let me know what you guys think... : )

10-23-2010, 10:26 AM	#251 (permalink)
kaczercat kaczercat's Photo Gallery Location: Southern ON Find me on the map! Zone: 5b 9b Name: Matt Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,874 BananaBucks : 258,169 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,116 Times Was Thanked 2,111 Times in 750 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 11 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... okay so what i did was chop the leaves off all, then chop the plant down to 2 or 3 inches from the ground. Stuch a tomato cage thing around it. Next i rapped christmas lights , but you dont need them. i stuffed it with leaves and mulch . rapping it with /or covering it with burlap would help.then a tarp. Good luck ! __________________ Matt

10-23-2010, 10:39 AM	#252 (permalink)
Kevin Location: Winnipeg, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: 2b Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 184 BananaBucks : 148,435 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 100 Times in 76 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 5 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... How tall is it now? I just dug up my Dwarf Orinoco last week. It has a 5' p-stem! It was buried a few inches deeper, and it had one pup that I could see. After I dug it up, it had at least 3 more coming! I would guess, if you dug it up, or just tried to uncover the soil around the stem, you might see some pups. I don't know how much ground they can grow through, though.

10-23-2010, 12:35 PM	#253 (permalink)
willy1der willy1der's Photo Gallery Location: London,On,Can Zone: 5b Name: will Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 144 BananaBucks : 59,522 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 88 Times Was Thanked 99 Times in 47 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 53 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... My method was put bags of leaves around the p stems(3 ft),then filled the middle with leaves,then a bag on top.then a blanket on top and a tarp on top of that..It is also against a south facing brick wall and Ive yet to save the stems but they grow from the corm immediatly after I uncover them in late april.When the temp dips down after that I just throw a garbage can over them at night. This year I am wrapping with burlap and using pipe heating cables.Then I have a garbage can with the bottom cut out that Im putting over the stems and then filling with leaves and maybe a tarp over that.If that dont work then next year there getting dug up and stored in the cold room. __________________

10-23-2010, 12:38 PM	#254 (permalink)
willy1der willy1der's Photo Gallery Location: London,On,Can Zone: 5b Name: will Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 144 BananaBucks : 59,522 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 88 Times Was Thanked 99 Times in 47 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 53 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Forgot to mention HBL,I have a friend down the road from you(Argyle area) who put a foot of straw over his and small tarp and they came back come spring,not till mid may but they came back!!! __________________

10-23-2010, 02:22 PM	#256 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Jack, this one I have is over a year old and I've been preparing to establish it as a perennial, as many other Ontario gardeners have done. It's been buried extra deep to help it's survival. It's about 3-4 feet tall now and it's plenty over a year old. It spent last Winter indoors. Thanks for the advice Willy. That's exactly where I live...in the Argyle area! Hoping that with all the tips and suggestions here, I might find a good way to protect mine over the cold months too. Thank you for sharing you & your friends' experience. The 2nd Basjoo I got at the Tree Farm Springbank nursery, came with a label that simply instructed cutting the leaves off the plant at the end of the season and using them for mulch. The lady at the nursery says she doesn't wrap hers at all, and still it has returned two seasons in a row! I guess only time will tell, but this is really just an experiment, to see what happens. If neither plant survives, I can get another Basjoo next year. Thanks for all the great advice, you guys! Thanks for the plant, Matt! : )

10-24-2010, 10:23 PM	#257 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Ok, here's what I've decided to do tomorrow evening... I'm going to chop the plant down to two feet. Then I'm going to wrap it snuggly with a bunch of burlap, round & round repeatedly, and then a plastic tarp around that. I'll mulch around the base with the cut banana leaves. As Willy knows, we get lots of snow here in London, and it can act as a mulch in itself. We also have lots of tree leaves too, that I intend on mounding up around the base. Sound good enough? : )

10-24-2010, 10:49 PM	#258 (permalink)
Kevin Location: Winnipeg, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: 2b Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 184 BananaBucks : 148,435 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 100 Times in 76 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 5 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... It's your plant, so... I think it has been said before, but the only good protecting them will do, is to save the corm, and whatever pups there are. The stalk won't survive - unless you can keep it REALLY warm. So, might as well cut it right down, so it will be easier to insulate the corm. Just my thoughts.

10-24-2010, 11:12 PM	#259 (permalink)
The Hollyberry Lady The Hollyberry Lady 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 15,161 BananaBucks : 1,407,783 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 12,042 Times Was Thanked 11,326 Times in 5,311 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... I think you might be right but there also might be a misunderstanding... I'm not really interested in protecting the mother plant so it continues growing next year...just want the roots to survive from year to year and send up new pups. Just like experimenting. On 2nd thought and because of you Kevin... I think I'll cut the sucker to the ground and then heavily mulch. Thanks for your thoughts...sounds lower maintenance anyway, which is appealing. : )

10-24-2010, 11:42 PM	#260 (permalink)
Kevin Location: Winnipeg, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: 2b Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 184 BananaBucks : 148,435 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 100 Times in 76 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 5 Times	Re: Growing 'Musa Basjoo' in London, Ontario, Canada... Experimenting is good, but there isn't much point in protecting a plant that isn't going to survive anyway. When you get two or more plants, then you can try to keep the pstem on one of them and see how it goes. Good luck!

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