Overwintering DCs question ??
 

OK so Spring's here and time to get my DCs ready for growth. All my stuff was outside and unprotected.

First off, I lost a pup :( It was merely 2.5 ft tall and rotted in the ground due to standing water. Poor thing R.I.P. :0493:

Another big DC is hard and green to the top so I guess it will be fine... however I am concerned about another one and this is my question.. How far do I need to cut the P-Stem back on this one? It was a little soft in a spot about 1ft down so i cut just 2 inches below it. And in the middle of the cutting is a spot of brown. Do I need to cut further down until it's green all the way through the middle?

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Yes, if the very center of the pseudostem is brown you need to keep cutting back a couple of inches at a time until you find a green or whitish center.

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

When mine are brown or black in the center, I will cut them down as far as necessary until I get to the corm. If it is still brown/black, I just leave it alone and eventually it will produce a pup in most cases unless it is completely rotted. But I have been surprised at how something will develop even with just a small amount of corm remaining. As the saying goes, never give up until it is an empty hole in the ground.

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Thanks... I'm trying to figure out what happened. It was green back in late Jan to the top and we haven't had real cold weather since...

Was it the crazy amount of rain we got that rotted them out? Also, this DC grew VERY slow last year. The other DC was much more healthy and is still green to the top. Weird

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

This is slightly off-track, but it is about overwintering 'Dw. Cavendish', only outside rather than inside. I'm in the Houston area so I decided to give it a go. Last year I had a nice DC (about 6' to the tip of the tallest leaf) that seemed like it was near to blooming stage as winter approached. I wrapped the trunk numerous times to protect it but the leaves were lost to frost. About a week ago I decided to cut off the top of the pstem as it was obviously damaged. I cut off about 6-8" only to discover that the next thing to emerge would have been the flower bud. I was bummed out but not overly much as the cold had done its damage and the bud was mush and maggot-filled. This is about my 3rd attempt to overwinter DC outside but the first time I've really tried to protect it. This should serve as a good example to anyone who has doubts about how cold hardy DC is- I'm in Zone 9, south of Houston, TX. The coldest we got all winter was 32 deg. F and only for a couple of hours at that. DC just will not handle the cold.

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Very good example Brent. Sorry to hear that... so close to fruiting.

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Sorry you lost the flower bud, but thank you for the info.

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Well, next year I am going to try some plastic to keep them dry. Hopefully that should help

Re: Overwintering DCs question ??
 

Same from me, Thanks for posting. Someone will learn from this and hopefully get the fruit next time.