mskitty38583

im gonna try some basjoo outside this spring. i need to know from yall nana gurus how far should they be planted apart? i have an area that im fixing to remove all plants from( yeah, 2 days of playing in the dirt, i love playing in the dirt) and they are going in there. it is about 8-10 ft long and about 4-6 ft. wide. i have a friend whos land lord has plenty of composted horse and cow poop :2780: :2780: that i can put in there, along with some composted veggie scraps that i have. im also gonna try and put in a wind break on the other side of the fence. this is my first time attemp of nanas outside in the spring so any info would be appriciated. i was wondering if it was big enough for 2 basjoo and maybe one hcm. let me know what yall think. it will be the first house in this county with nana trees in the yard. it will be beautiful!!

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klemmthamm

I don't know of what the "standard" answer may be but I try to give mine 4 feet between each other on the basjoos... but mine seem to run a bit more than what I expected (sometimes pushing pups over 2 feet away).

Really it would be personal preference... get them to a distance where they look good and if they start crowding when they get bigger you could always thin the mats a bit and use the pups to start ya a new mat elswhere in the yard.

EDIT: OK one of my partners in crime just advised me that my measurement is jacked up... he said 8 feet but I still say 4 feet is cool cause I like the "oh-my-god-I-need-a-freakin-machete-to-get-through-my-yard" look.... but like I said looks will have a whole lot to do with how far apart you get them....

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klemmthamm

Oh and while I don't have a HCM I do have SDC and the pups tend to stay real close to their point of origin.

Post pics when you get all of 'em planted.... sounds like it'll be a nice little bed of plants... are you going to use any other plants in near the basjoos/HCM?

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mskitty38583

i do like the get out the machette look, i do want to plant some under plantings and i was thinking about a few of the odora the i got from jarred. i will just have to use more mulch then i intended. on the other side of the fence i have to have a wind break, so i was thinking a leland cypress or two, there are some cedars in the jungle. this is only one of 2 areas i want to do. the other is gonna cost more money. retaining wall built, 2 trees ( gulp) removed and a fence row put up. backfilled with gravel, cow poop hauled in and top soil mixed with mulch..so i thought id start on the little one first. thanks for the advise.

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bencelest

I bought a pergola at Costco that is measured 12' x 14' .I installed the post and raised the height to 12 feet. I will use it to plant my dwarf bananas and some other delicate plants. I plan to protect my plants from the wind and cold in winter time by putting clear plastics on top and sides. My California gold 4 feet and a matured ready to bloom dwarf Brazilian 6 ft are already planted on it. I will also add a lot of steer manure and sand and compost and it will be a raised bed.
I will not pay particular attention as to the space in between plants. I will plant my plants as long as there are space in between because of limited space. this is just an experiment. I figured the plants will be better off to plant on the ground than on a pot.
So if they grow bigger, what the heck I can dig them off and transplant them somewhere else. Or leave the mother plant and dig the pups.

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mskitty38583

i like the idea of pack in the plants. if they get bigger i can move some. thats great. thanks for the idea.

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inkcube

on a plantation spacing will effect fruit density plus you need to consider space for followers (offshoots), usually 4 followers. we planted Gros Michel about 12 ft apart (keep in mind the followers) and Gros Michel is roughly the height of basjoo. we now use a double row system spacing cavendish types about 5-6.5 ft (rows are 10-12 ft apart).

i know this is more info than you asked for but these might be things you want to consider; do you want to try and get fruit (density effects plant height & thus fruiting), plus you need to think about the followers, how thick do you want your mat to get.

since i don't care if my basjoos fruit i space about 4-6 ft.

Randy4ut

Three years ago when I first planted my basjoo, I had three one gallon containers and planted them roughly 4 feet apart. They have pretty much filled in the spaces and I have added MANY other understory plants. I was going more for the "dense" look and think I finally arrived at that look last summer. After this past weeks temps, all my basjoo's pstems were badly damaged and are currently collapsing. I guess they will have to start at ground level this spring. I had pstems ranging in height from a couple of feet to around 10-12'. Was hoping to start with about 4' of pstem at least this coming spring. OH, WELL!!!!

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Randy4ut

MsKitty,
Here is what you can expect after a few short years of diligent watering and good soil. This clump is from (2) 1gallon containers of basjoo....
The first pic is what they started out like this past spring...(March '07)



(May '07)



(September '07)



After being clipped for winter (November '07)



Needless to say, they are a blast to grow in our neck of the woods!!!
BTW, don't know if you noticed or not, but my Butia grew rather well this past summer also... Look at the first pic, behind the pitiful nanners and then look at the last pic of it on the other side of me!!! More than doubled in size!!!

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CookieCows

Beautiful around the pool! I'm continually amazed at how fast growing these bananas and other tropical plants are when looking at everyones photos. I can't wait for spring. My plan is to keep mine in pots this year as we're still in the process of finishing the pool. Did you put your pool in yourself?

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Randy4ut

Deb,
We moved into the house in the spring of '03 and the pool was a big selling point for us. We have 5 daughters and we wanted to have something that they could have to enjoy with friends and we could kinda keep an eye on them... LOL Anyway, there was no landscaping at all around the pool and this is why I got into palms, nanners, and other tropical/subtropicals. It has been the MOST fun 3 years of gardening for me in my life!!!! Palms are still my favorite, but bananas are such quick gratification and I am getting more and more interested in these amazing plants!!!!

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Whatever

User with 902 posts ask's how far apart to plant bananas.

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between the sounds and open wide to suck it in.
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out.
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We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going...

mskitty38583

i may have 902- well now its 903 post however there is nothing in the archives about first time plantings outside and the spacing need..duh. lol. randy i love your yard. and no i didnt take into consideration for the fruiting of the nanas.hummmm. ok 4 foot sounds good to me. that gives enough room for babies. i dug up 8 cannas and about 125 iris just in one little 4 ft. section. dug up 14 day lilies and everything was moved to 3 different locations. still have 2 clumps of iris, 1 clump of daffies, 1 odd looking bush, and about 100-120 glad bulbs to move. good gracious im tired. it was 70-72 * f today. to nice of a day to stay inside. even dug out the shorts. after everything is moved then i can bring in the compost and start digging it into the ground. day 1 down,1 day to go. yahoo. and i really appriciate all the help yall have been. even the wise cracks. god you got to love people.

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Randy4ut

And your point!?!?!

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the flying dutchman

It is not user but member, i think this an interesting thread.

I don't see your point either.

Ron

microfarmer

Since most of us are not commercial growers, we don't have to necessarily adhere to the commercial growers guidelines. The commercial plant spacings are carefully calculated for close to maximum density while still giving close to maximum fruit production.

Example: If you space so you can put in just one more row of plants, the closer spacing could introduce more shade reducing fruit production on the whole to below the levels with one less row of plants. Space too wide and you 'waste' sunlight on the open ground. Throw in machinery widths and you come up with a 'set' spacing for commercial crops.


Most home gardeners would like to get maximum fruit production, but just getting a flower and fruit to ripen without a greenhouse is challenging below zones 9-10. Shade introduced by the neighbors 60' tall elm tree also has an effect. You don't want to get edible varieties too close to each other if you will actually have decent fruit production.


Ornamentals can most likely be placed as close as the rootzones of the plants can stand. Spacing will boil down to actual crowding, pushing, and shoving. Most are small anyway. This type of planting will need additional attention due to the possible increased need for water and nutrients. I am planning 5-7 different varieties of ornamental bananas for a bed 4' wide and 10' long. I'll interplant with other cover plants.

Just my $.02

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mskitty38583

i like the addition of the .02 cents. thank you for your input. i appriciate it greatly.

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bencelest

I'll do the same Microfarmer. Us Home Gardeners need not adhere to commercial growers' specific method. I will experiment a lot with my 12 x 14 plot. I can always reduce their numbers anytime I want.

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AllenF

I have a 8' x 3' area and will be putting 2 Raja Puris, a Dwarf Brazilian and at least 1 Dwarf Cavendish in it.

That should make it machete country.

Allen

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mskitty38583

the second area that i want to make into banana country is 24 ft. long by 10 ft wide.( thats the one that needs all the work done to it, its on a hill/ slope.) i have to put a fence up to keep the neighbors wonderful children out of my matte, and on that side of the fence im gonna plant crown of thorns. i love that plant. and that one im gonna have a fun time playing in. so i guess that to get fruit you space a little ways apart, and to not worry about fruit plant as close as possible. lots of things to mull over. thanks guys. it is appriciated!

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