My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Thought I lost it last fall with brown and limp leaves from the cold, but I put it in the garage and very occassionally watered it, and it survived!!! Now it seems to be thriving but I can't put it in a larger pot as it would not fit back in the garage next fall.

What can I do now?I am concerned as it didn't like the 10C weather of last fall and it could drop that low or lower in the evenings still. I am in zone 7b.

They look so beautiful when they are grown in the ground.

Thanks!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Wait till you have no risk of frost (possibly right now) and plant it in the ground. Enjoy it all year until fall. Then, dig it back up and store it again like you did before.

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Simply plant it in the ground! Plant them and they will grow!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Thanks. What are they like to dig up? I have only dug up musas, are they similar, with a corm? and can I cut it back if I have to put it in a pot that will fit in my garage?

Sorry, new to all this and don't want to kill it!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Hey I'm over on Vancouver Island growing lots of these Red Bananas.

If you plant it out too soon you are going to get rot.

Best to leave it how it is right now until it warms up some more. You are right in only watering a little bit. Once it heats up it will grow very fast.

Sometimes I move them outdoors in pots on sunny days but make sure they go back in the garage on cold rainy days. I've had many plants make it thru the winter only to die in the spring because I was trying to get them out too soon.

If you have a greenhouse that might help.

When you dig it up next fall plant it in the smallest pot that it will fit into. I have about 30-40 of these going right now in my shed and the ones in smaller pots seem to have a much better survival rate. They also seem to spring back more quickly in the summer.

Cheers

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Sunsetsammy :
Wow thanks for the info. That was what I thought. The weather here can cool down so quick. Thats how I thought I lost it in the fall.
You plant them all in the ground? how far from the stem should I dig them out? They don't produce pups like the musa bajoos do they?

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Yes sometimes it seems like summer is here and a day later it's like winter again :)

I plant lots in the ground and lots in pots too. Digging them is easier than you think. Start with your shovel about 6-8 inches away from the stem. Once you get it out of the ground then shake off most of the dirt with your hand. The bulb/corm whatever isn't much bigger than the stem itself.

They don't produce pups as far as I know but I've found the following. Cut the stem right down and then cut the corm vertically into 4 and then plant the pieces in a smallish pot. Don't overwater. I did this and got about a dozen or more new plants per pot. Once they are about 8-10 inches tall I separated them all and planted them in their own pots. Now I have too many :)

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

These are real easy to overwinter, and they grow fast too. So if it does get too tall for you to handle, you can cut it back and that works too. They look funky for a while but then they outgrow it and look fine.

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Thanks! so take most dirt off, I try so hard to not disturb roots etc with plants! Shows how much I know about gardening! I am trying not to kill everything I touch :ha:
I don't think I could cut the plant up, as much as I would love more!!! My luck would kill it! Curious if you have pictures of what they look like cut up and planted though, just in case I get a nerve!

And thanks Sandy, good to know!!! Up until I bought a musa bajoo plant a few years ago, my luck was hit and miss, miss mostly with anything! Had some Cannas years back and did absolutely nothing but occassionally watered them! Gave so many away as they were getting out of control, then one year they never came back. I dug them up and all were mush. It was not any different winter than all the others here that they survived through..... maybe that was luck!!!
Thanks again!!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Here's everything I can tell you from my experiences with growing these plants on Vancouver Island.

Growing
- They grow super fast when the ground temps heat up in July. When it's hot like this you can water/fertilize the heck out of them if you want super huge plants. Any time it is cool (even sunny and cool) cut back on the water/fertilizer.
- I grow and store them mostly in Promix or Sunshine mix with great results. I've tried just digging a hole in my yard and planting them in existing soil and they didn't really get very big. My soil has lots of rock and clay though.
- I fertilize with Miracle Grow 24-8-16 once a week when it's hot and sunny. Once a season I'll also jam a fruit tree spike at the base of each plant.
- If we get a stretch of rain or cold weather don't water or fertilize at all.


Digging and Storing
- For plants in the ground just sink your shovel in around the base around 6-8 inches away from the stem. I don't worry about cutting the roots at all. After they pop out of the ground I brush off any loose dirt I can with my hand or by shaking.
- Next I start at the base and cut off almost all the leaves except the top 2 or 3. Cut from the inside out to avoid scarring the leaves you are trying to keep.
- After they are trimmed I place them on an incline facing down. This is to drain away some of the water that collects in the base of each leave where it comes off the trunk. Doing this really improves the success of storing as you don't have a pool of water just sitting there all winter. Frogs like to hide out in these spots to so be careful. :)
- If you have BIG ones don't break your back. Roll them on their side. :)
- Next I plant them in the smallest pot that will hold their root ball. I literally jam them in and most cases don't even add more dirt. I don't water at all at this point. They are already full of water.
- Then I move them into my garage or shed for the winter. I try to keep the temperature about 7-10 degrees C. I only water about once a month and very little at that. Maybe a cup at most for the small guys and double that for the big boys. I also pay attention to only water the soil. I really try to keep the water off of the plant itself and out of those pockets where rot will occur. Sometimes when checking on the plants after they've been sitting you'll see a little pool has formed in one of the pockets. Simply tip on it's side and drain.
- Plants that are in pots just get trimmed and pulled into the shed.
- Throughout the winter the leaves that I've left usually start to turn brown, wilt, and look really bad starting with the lower leaves. A couple times during the winter I'll trim off the lowest ones but only when they are completely brown and wilted. I find this really helps keep the bug and mold problem down in spring. If the bugs/aphids get bad I'll use a soft paint brush to remove. I don't spray liquid because it just rolls down into those leave pockets and seems to start rot. I let the spiders run rampant in the winter. I'm not sure but maybe they help eat the bugs.

Spring time
- Around the start of May I'll do my final trim of dead and wilted leaves and brush off any bugs again. Most plants will only make it thru with one or two leaves that are still green/red. For the ones that have turned totally black or look really bad I'll just hack the entire stem. Start at the top and move lower and lower until you see fresh green. Sometimes these ones make a comeback and sometimes they just die. These are the plants that are good candidates for chopping/dividing the corm into 4.
- Sometimes the only leave remaining (the one that has yet to unroll) looks mostly green except for maybe a patch of black/brown right at the tip. Lots of times this dead section keeps the entire leaf from unrolling. I just cut it off and that first leave has a square tip for awhile until the next one starts.
- I'll usually leave most of the plants in their pots until late May or early June depending on the weather. Once it starts getting warmer (especially at night) and drier then they go in the ground.

Dividing:
- As I mentioned above any plant that looks like it didn't make are the 1st candidates for dividing. If after hacking the stem down and I don't see the center leave trying to push out then I just go ahead and hack the entire stem off right at the base. If after doing this you see black or rotted looking corm then the plant is most likely a goner. If its all nice and white (like a potato) then you are good to divide. With the bulb in the upright position (the cut side up) cut down the center splitting the corm in two. Then split the two halves the same way and you are left with 4 chunks.
- Take the four chunks of corm and plant them in a smallish pot. Anything too big leads to rot. Keep the pots in a sunny warm place and don't let the soil get too wet, just damp.
- It will take a long time and nothing will seem to be happening. If you are curious just turn the pot upside down and pull the dirt and corm out to check. Eventually you will see some new white roots forming. Eventually you will get a whole bunch of new shoots coming up. Each shoot will be a new plant.
- Here on the coast our summers aren't long enough or hot enough to get these new shoots big enough in one summer. So in my experience I've left the divided corms and their new shoots in the shed just like I store the other ones. Then the following spring I'll divide the shoots and plant them in individual pots. This is as easy as gently pulling the new plants and their roots apart.
- Presto, now you have way too many plants and you neighbors think you are nuts! :)


Anyhow back to work. Lunch is over. I will post more if I think of it and maybe post some pictures of what I'm doing for better understanding.

I realize that others may not find any of these steps necessary but I do also live in a very wet and damp location. Keeping the rot away from stored bulbs and corms can be difficult. Years gone by I've had almost all my plants die. I trimmed all my Reds last night and out of 36 plants I think 34 made it so it's definitely working here. :)

Cheers

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

sunsetsammy,
That was excellent! Thanks for the steps, just what I need!! I understand about the water! I am looking forward to better temperatures so I can get it planted in the ground! I think it will still be awhile as the night temps still go down below 8C here.
On the Island, your temperatures are not as extreme as here, we are more inland, further from the ocean than you I am sure.(rats!!)

Look forward to your info on dividing them for more!!
Cheers

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Hey BB,

It has still been quite cold here at night too.

Heres a link to some yard photos from Summer 2008.


I believe my gallery shows some photos from 2007.

Good luck

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

What a beautiful yard!!! There were a few plants that I saw and I have no idea what they are but I have been trying to find them for awhile. The large purple leaf that looks similar to a japanese maple but much larger. The green shiny large leaf with kind of curly edges?! Not sure if I am describing it right. I have seen them but cannot find them as I don't know what they are. I just love elephant ears as well. I had some black ones I believe black magic was the name, and they never came back. I haven't found them for awhile. They were beautiful, but died, always my luck!
Thanks for the look into your beautiful yard. I need to get busy!!!!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

Hello again BB,

I think the purple plant you are referring to is actually a Castor Bean plant The green shiny leaves are a type of philodendron.

I've had limited success with overwintering Black magic EE's too. I've heard that cutting them right back and putting them into a pot which is half submerged in water works well. However keeping them indoors is a problem with bugs and and the sap apparently stains walls, carpets, etc.

Good luck.

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

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WOW! Guess that pretty much hits the head on the nail! Nice sum up!!!

Re: My red Abyssinian survived, now what?
 

SunsetSammy, your yard is gorgeous!! I especially love the cannas and persian shield! My PS are starting to fizzle out...this is my first year with them (annual here, unless I bring them inside)...they aren't looking quite as beautiful anymore. So was refreshing seeing your pics.

Totally in LOVE with your cannas! If you ever get too many tubers, send some my way!!