siege2050

Well phooey, my Basjoo stem died despite a wire cage, dry leaves, and tarp at 1F, is this normal? I was under the impression the pstem was hardy with a good dry wrapping. It did survive 10F but is 1F just too cold? The base is still alive, but not sure if the original pstem will survive because it is only alive for about a foot.

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RobG7aChattTN

The beauty of basjoo is that with a lot of mulch you will get new pseudostems that will shoot up from the corm every year. In mild winters you might even overwinter the pseudostem. With enough mulch you might get the pseudostem to survive brief dips if extreme cold but it depends a lot on how much mulch, the duration of the cold, etc. somewhere in pseudostem is the growth point and if that part gets cold damage the whole pseudostem dies so really tall pseudostems have to be protected higher up than younger, shorter pseudostems. I always just cut mine to the ground and pile the mulch on top but a friend of mine leaves them standing tall with no wire cage or anything and often the pseudostem survives...maybe down to 15F or so?

stan marshall

Not to worry.Basjoo are hardy if kept dry,(cover with a tarp.) cold doesn't seem to matter much.I have had them returning for the last 7 years. The first few years i did what you did,some times the p.stem made it but if it didn't there were always a few pups. The last 3 years I just cut leaves off of the p. stem,leaving it stand and bending over top foot or so to keep water out. Then I laid the cut leaves on the ground around the p.stem then put tree leaves or hay on top of them. I live outside Phila. Pa.,zone 6. This past winter was the worst I have seen in a very long time, got down to zero twice. Snowed every weekend and I did the least amount of protection n 7 years. Every p.stem died down to the ground, a few came back,out of 40 or 50, but I got so many pups I couldn't give them all away. Put several against the house in pots and covered with leaves. Good luck with yours. Stan PS. I found that a single p. stem. was hard to get through the first winter. Leaving a few pups will help establish a good mat, after that it's a piece of cake

mushtaq86

As cold hardy as basjoo is, the p-stem is not going to hang around for much with temps around 1F,for long periods, even with reasonable amount of protection, if the corm has been planted deep enough you should have a few pups in spring.

Snarkie

Hey Mushtaq86, what is a safe depth that you would recommend for planting?

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mushtaq86

Depending on soil and size of the plant.I only plant basjoo in the ground, as they are the only nanas that can survive outside in the UK in winter months as long as they a protected. Plants I plant have no less than 1mt p-stem, nearly half of it is planted in the ground.mudd with no oxygen is thrown out and top soil and manure are used in the hole to help corm and roots,for oxygen.

siege2050

I am going to try straw next year instead of the leaves, I was actually pretty impressed the stem survived down 10F. I think straw packed around the stem might give it a chance.

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Snarkie

Yeah, I plan on putting mine in the ground, I just don't know what the correct depth should be; 3", 6"?

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siege2050

Just planting in the ground with the existing soil line in the pot should be fine, I have noticed basjoo corms tend to grow upward from the soil forming a rough corm/trunk below the pstem over time, so they extend a bit above soil level anyway by fall, and pups sprout from this. Just mulch well to protect from extremes and drought. Even though my pstem died back, it is still alive about a foot up and has a live growing point, so it may survive along with the pups.

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Snarkie

Thanks Siege. From what I've been reading since I posted that question, it looks as though the colder the zone, the deeper the planting. Most of the ones I've seen in my area that are trimmed back are left 12"-18" above ground with no mulch at all, or simply left to die off as-is over the winter, without even cutting them down. Others just whack them off at ground level and leave alone.

I'm fortunate to drive around the lake north of here a lot, through all kinds of expensive subdivisions where people are growing these left and right with Windmill palms. It's a great combo look, and along the lines of what I'm doing in my yard.

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siege2050

Trachy palms (Windmill palms) are pretty cold hardy, I know a guy about an hour from here in zone 6 that has them and keeps them alive outdoors each year. I have 3 myself, but did not put them out last year because it was late in the season. Only problem is they are slow growing, and it hard to find a source for large plants here. We have a native palm here in Oklahoma believe it or not in McCurtain county Called a Sabal palm. I am fixing to get a few of these this spring.

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Snarkie

Yeah, the sabal palms or palmettos, are rather hardy. If you can find one, the needle palm will take temps down to -5 F. I found a nursery nearby that will trade the rest of the palms I need, for some dawn redwoods and Flying Dragon.

That's the nice thing about plant forums and plant people; they tend to trade more than other types of people.

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RobG7aChattTN

The native palms in McCurtain County are actually Sabal minor and do not grow an above ground trunk like Sabal palmetto. In Zone 7 Oklahoma you should try to get your hands on a Sabal 'Birmingham' or Sabal 'Brazoria'. They are slow growing but eventually will form a trunk. Windmill palms are hard to keep alive in the Oklahoma City area without winter protection as the WARM days that crop up in winter tend to bring the palm out of dormancy only to allow the next cold blast to kill them off. I know a guy who had better luck with unprotected regular Sabal Palmetto and protected Washingtonia xfilibusta (a cross of filifera and robusta common in Texas) than with unprotected Windmills. I think Bryan over at Alligator Alley still has some windmills that he protects.

Snarkie

Good info, Rob. I'd forgotten about the sabal minor! I'm so used to being next to SC, the Palmetto State, that I'd totally forgotten about the dwarves.

I didn't know Washingtonia was cold tolerant. I've seen it growing in Death Valley and it was 132 at the time, so I didn't stop to think about how cold it gets in the winter there.

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Terri

My Basjoo always did this: our winters go down to -3. I had been thinking about better ways to protect the P-stem when the power company killed it by parking their truck on top of it.

That is what happens when they have a right of way, and I knew the risks when I planted that spot. Right now I have a healthy young Mekong sitting in my laundry room under a light, waiting until spring to go outside.

RobG7aChattTN

Well, the Washingtonias aren't cold hardy enough without protection but with a little heat (like a pipe heater cable and a good wrap of insulation) they can make it and they grow so much faster and larger than Windmill palms. If you'd have to protect a Windmill then why not grow a Washingtonia? I think there are a few growing unprotected in the Dallas area but that might be their northern limit without protection.

Snarkie

We have to protect the windmills here in Charlotte when they are small, as they are susceptible to wind chill burn. Once they get 3-4' in height though, they're pretty much on their own. Occasionally, we do get single digit temps, although until last year and tomorrow night, it hasn't happened in over two decades. That would knock Washingtonia out, I'm afraid.

I may look into a couple of datil yuccas though. They look very much like palm trees and I think they're cold hardy. I'll have to check on that to be certain, however.

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RobG7aChattTN

In 8b Charlotte you should be able to get some cheap hurricane-cut palmettos for a good price and Butias as well. There are a few Washingtonias that survived in Atlanta last winter so Charlotte should be O.K. For Washingtonias. In a dry climate Washingtonia filifera can take zero and survive but a xfilibusta (a cross of filifera and robusta) is a better palm for wet cold.

obdiah

I had two first year basjoos I protected with plastic 55 gallon barrels that I removed the top and botom from set them over the p stems and filled with dry saw dust then covered the top with plastic both survived with no damage and resumed groth as soon as i uncovered the despite several days of 1 F and 1 of 0 several more i just cut to the ground and covered wit saw dust they also came back

Terri

Obdiah, did your main stem receive no damage at all, or did it grow again from the base?

I usually use leaves, but it sawdust gives a P-stem that much protection, I am going to buy sawdust!