Musa Basjoo Unwrapped this weekend

[Panama Pete]

Heres the front garden bananas, they are 7 - 8 foot already. I'm hoping to reach 12 - 14 ft by October. I had to unwrap them they were breaking out.

[kata]

someone on here mentioned the benefit of them getting culled to the ground is they regrow that brand new green trunk, this can also be achieved by simply peeling the old brown skin of the saved p-stem

Thanks Cordy!

Good luck to everyone!

Wow Pete, how old are those monsters?

[dorothy]

Wow!! They are so tall! I lost my large ones early last year. I have some small ones in the garden from last year and did not protect them. I have quite a few maurelli's that have to go out this year so am pushed for space as it is, so wasn't too bothered if I lost the musa. As it is they are still alive

[Panama Pete]

I put them in in oct 2011 Kata, they were only 10 inches back then. Ive got 2 ton bags of rotted horse manure this year for the bananas.


heres a pic back in Oct 2011, purchased and plonked in.

and heres the same in summer 2013

[PaulPlants]

At this rate I will have full leaves by the end of March

[Panama Pete]

look like they will be big, dramatic lighting.

[cordyman]

Heres the front garden bananas, they are 7 - 8 foot already. I'm hoping to reach 12 - 14 ft by October. I had to unwrap them they were breaking out.

Great height! what sort of cage setup do you do? three chicken wires ziptied?

I normally have 2 chicken wire depth then lop the pstem at that point, but I may go higher next winter.

[kata]

Are we supposed to cut down the stem?

Thanks Cordy!!

I left mine as they were bought. One is a double (at this stage they look dead).

The other off Paul I believe but I left the height as we went winter...it looks green under the brown.

And can manure around the base be as good and before planting? Its not farmyard, more like compost but Wessex manure in a bag.

Thanks Pete!

[Yorkshire Kris]

The lowest overnight low in the 14 day forecast for here is 5C, I'm sure they can take that

I have that view on things that just have some fleece chucked over them - Tree Ferns for example - but I have a cage full of straw around my Nanas because I want to protect the Pseudostem. If I uncover them and we get -4C for a couple of night is that going to stuff the pseudostems I wonder?

My thinking is that: the plants can push a new roller out of the top of the straw if they want to, and that can get frosted then the pseudostem will still be OK and the plant can push out another roller.

My thinking exactly.

[otorongo]

If the basjoo pstem can take -4C then I guess I'll hardly ever need to wrap mine, not in most winters anyway.

I'm going to plant my baby basjoo tomorrow, so excited

[Nathan]

If the basjoo pstem can take -4C then I guess I'll hardly ever need to wrap mine, not in most winters anyway.

I'm going to plant my baby basjoo tomorrow, so excited

Musa basjoo don't require any protection in Portsmouth, the stems survive intact, even during 2010. So I would imagine they don't need protecting in central London either...

[Kristen]

If the basjoo pstem can take -4C then I guess I'll hardly ever need to wrap mine, not in most winters anyway.

Although ...

-4C now is only for a few hours, and usually because of high pressure, including on the day following, so good sun and temperatures during the day.

-4C in winter would be no colder, but could persist for much of the day, and for all night, which would be more penetrating and the damage would (I assume?) be more lasting.

So might need to wrap against, say, -4C in winter but the plants could be happy with that same -4C in Spring.

Basjoo won't care. either way, so its only whether you want to protect the pseudo stems to have nice tall plants.

And if you are doing that you should be growing M. sikkimensis anyway, as the paddle-shaped leaves are far more attractive than Basjoo. Well ... In My Opinion that is!!

[kata]

Just ordered a M. sikkimensis this morning,

[cordyman]

Are we supposed to cut down the stem?

Thanks Cordy!!

I left mine as they were bought. One is a double (at this stage they look dead).

The other off Paul I believe but I left the height as we went winter...it looks green under the brown.

And can manure around the base be as good and before planting? Its not farmyard, more like compost but Wessex manure in a bag.

Thanks Pete!

I only cut the top off the stem Kata, basically what ever is sticking out too much from the top of my chicken wire cage, then drop a haxnix fleece bag over it all, then a bin bag for waterproofing. The couple of feet or so I lop off comes back very quickly.

Although I may try and get them through as tall as Petes next year if I can create a three high chicken wire cage.

[Panama Pete]

Heres the front garden bananas, they are 7 - 8 foot already. I'm hoping to reach 12 - 14 ft by October. I had to unwrap them they were breaking out.

Great height! what sort of cage setup do you do? three chicken wires ziptied?

I normally have 2 chicken wire depth then lop the pstem at that point, but I may go higher next winter.

Hi Cordy

I use garden canes with fleece tied round, fill with straw, plastic top and tape up. I leave a lot of play in the top for when the rollers are pushing.

Its personal choice if to unwrap, but Nottingham is normally not too much different than London in terms of weather. If a bad frost is forecast ill go out there and wrap a bit of fleece round them.

Ensettes however are staying in the house for now.