Longwoods Tropicals

Can you give more detail?
What is normal depth?
How Thick the mulch?
Do you remove it in the spring?
When did you remove the tarp?


Normal depth would be so that the base of the p-stem is level with the soil surface. I have never tried to bury a banana so deep that part of the p-stem is under the soil surface, I not lost a lost a basjoo yet.
The mulched leaves are usually between 2-3 feet and reach out about four feet or so from the p-stems.

This year as an experiment (I do a lot of that...not always successfully) I left 4 inches of the more broken down at the bottom, on top of which I covered with 2-3 inches of hardwood mulch (I had to take down several old sugar maples a couple of years ago, I netted about 200 cubic yards of mulch). So far it looks great and had greatly aided in weed suppression.

I would normally remove the tarp when all risk of extended freezing weather has past, I don't worry about light frosts as it takes about a month for the first leaves to emerge, before that it is just the p-stems elongating and a light frost won't hurt them. Usually for me that is mid April...in retrospect in 2012 I could have done it mid March....so YMMV.

Regards Harold