Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

The last 2 freezing nights have toasted most of the leaves. I have alot of water bottles and propane heaters going so a couple leaves are hanging in there. We are going to get even colder tonight. I have the stems thoroughly wrapped to the tip with christmas lights under the blankets. I am wondering if it might help to cut off some of the lower leaves now so I can wrap the stem better and maybe save it.
Thanks for any help
Larry

Re: Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

Hello Larry,

Which species is it? Are they planted in the ground or in pots?
Keep them as dry as possible. I whould cut the lower leaves and wrap the stems completly. Which blanket you use? A plastic film is not that good as a frost protection fleece where air can circulate. Do you have the possibility to save the stems with styrofoam chips or foliage?

Re: Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

Hello Markus,
Thanks for your response, I have one Blue Java in the ground that is about 7ft+ of stem, 12 or 13 ft overall. I have two dwarf ladyfinger slightly smaller also in the ground. There are many different types of cloth and blankets wrapped around the stem and I hope the lights inside the blankets will help the stem survive. Most of the leaves are destroyed but it appears that the inner third of a few leaves above the heat are in good shape, I was wondering if they still might be useful if the outer part dies and gets cut off. If the leaf is destroyed is it worth cutting off to make it easier to wrap the stem. We are going down to around 25-27F tonight so it may not matter. I am able to keep the area warmer with alot of work. We have not had four nights in a row of cold like this in over 24 years. Where is global warming when you need it?
Thanks again
Stay warm
Larry

Re: Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

I'm in cave creek, mine are toast too. What a bummer. Hopefully the corms survive for spring. Ironically, the only one not looking bad is a dwarf red, theoretically the least cold tolerant of the bunch.

Hana, is that your blue on the valley permaculture site?

Good luck tonight.

Re: Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

Just unwrapped the stems after several days and the 2 ladyfinger look great, only a couple very small mushy burn marks, and they both grew a little. The blue java looks ok except for one mushy spot about 6ft up, it is the size of a human hand and pushes in a good inch. I apologize for no picture, I have serious health issues and limited computer skill. Considering how tall the blue java will get I am thinking I should hack it down to below that spot. Can the stem grow and strenghthen enough to overcome a problem like this? My amateur analysis says no way.
I had 3 nights down to 25F and the cloth seems to have worked. I wrapped the stems with several layers of various cloth before wrapping the lights around and then adding a final layer of cloth. Pillowcases work great for a capper on the top.
Thanks for any help
Larry

Re: Lost leaves to cold, trying to save stem
 

As the banana ''stem'' is a pseudostem and comprised of leaf sheaths wrapped together,a mushy spot 6ft up shouldnt be a problem to outgrow as with each new leaf added,a new leaf sheath grows inside and strengthens the pseudostem and eventually,when enough leafs and leaf sheaths grow, the outer leaf sheaths are no longer needed and shed. So a mushy spot that high up probably wont be too much of a problem for the banana and will probably be shed towards the end of this year :)

Happy growing!!!