DaveK

I live in SE Michigan and we had a very mild winter by our standards, I pulle d the plastic pots off my basjoo's (3) and there was not much to look at, it seems that they turned to mush and I assume are dead.
Last fall I packed leaves and straw around the corm that was around 2ft tall then put the large plastic pots over them, they had been in the ground during the summer months and were doing very well. I'm not real happy right now, I was hoping for some 10 footers this year.
Any ideas on what might have happened?

natej740

How big were they before winter and how long were they in the ground? I haven't had very good luck with leaves...once they get wet they stay wet and can cause rot...if your gonna use leaves keep them in a plastic bag and put them all around the plant then put a tarp over that. I've heard of people having a lot of success with that. I use just plain cypress mulch piled around the base and a styrofoam rose protector I got at menards. I even had 1 come back that I didn't protect at all but I buried it 6"(some do 12")deeper than it should have been. I guess it gives it better protection from the winter. Do you have any pups coming up at all? Mine are already taller than me...good luck and keep us updated.

palmtree

I have terrible luck with leaves as winter protection. It works when the winter is mild, but when it's not mild everything turns into compost, even the things that they were supposed to protect. I didnt protect my sickly basjoos at all this winter and they came back much healthier this year.
Maybe you should use a frost cloth and burlap, that might allow for some more air to get through. And if you can flip a plastic garbage bin over it, that would protect it from mositure and probably also add keep it several degrees warmer, especially during the daytime.

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Location: New York City, zone 7b