Musa Basjoo - Splitting and Winterizing

10 years ago

I planted this in spring of this year from a 5 gallon pot. It stands about 4' tall and has 3 pups about 15"-20" tall with a trunk diameter of about 3"-4". Can I propagate the pups now and re-plant outside - frost should be hitting in a couple weeks.

I am planning on winterizing by wrapping the trunk in burlap and covering the base with a thick layer of cedar mulch - would that work?. Also when should I winterize before or after frost, do I have to trim off leaves or just let them die and stay on plant.

Thanks.

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Comments (10)

christine1950
10 years ago
I think the winters are to harsh to leave your banana out, others will give you better advice, but I'd plan on digging it up if you want to save it for next year. My banana is in a pot and I brought it in already. I'm in the mid hudson valley ny. Hope I've helped a little.
Christine
grabmebymyhandle
10 years ago
Musa basjoo should be hardy there!

But don't mess with it now!

Wait til spring!

They won't make the winter if you disturb it now, mulch it good now, wait til frost knocks the leaves out and wrap the trunk.

I'm going to protect my hardy naners with lawn and garden bags stuffed with leaves, stuck right down over the trunk! That'll help keep it dry!

Once it wakes back up in spring, slide a knife between the parent and the pup, you need a decent sized chunk of corm to get the pups to take...it's easy

Good luck!
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The following web address is an article posted by another member I followed about outdoor winter care. Although we had a mild winter, my basjoos were sprouting up in Feburary. MY Ice Cream and Black thai came up in late Spring. I also garage kept bananas, Queens, Sago and Pygmy Date Palms and my Palms actually leafed some except for my Sago's.My Sagos lost all their leaves but flushed once I put them outside in the Spring. I thought my Sagos had died.My garage kept Bananas stoped growing except for one that leafed. However this was my second year to keep plants in my garage and had better success than the first year.I did a better job with light and watering but still was unsure if I was over or under watering. I believe my garage temperature stayed in the upper 50's to low 60's most of the winter. Like Chad mentioned, I put a couple of pups in the garage as back-up but did not need them. I will do the same this year and have aquired some more light fixtures to install. The Basjoos I wintered outside was really nice to have alrady growing and filling-out in March when we had some nice days to sit outside. I had the tropical look going for me in March while other plants where just getting started. http://www.plantdelights.com/Banana-Trees-for-the-Garden/products/494/
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chrisware
10 years ago
Most importantly, just keep it from wanting to rot. After hard frost, cut back some, rake lots or soil and mulch up around the remaining trunk.
You can throw a garbage bag full of leaves over it or an old trash can... Just help keep it dry and you'll be fine.

This year I'm going to protect a couple of my huge ones just to keep some trunk heights alive, but last year I didn't protect any of the eight I had in the ground and they were all fine.
Good luck,
Chris
miketropic
10 years ago
I think everyone missed somthing here..the pic in this post is not bajoo..it looks like SDC and it will die a quick death if left out no matter the protection..get some better shots and post them or get it into a pot very fast and into the house.
christine1950
10 years ago
Thank you for clearing this up Mike, I know NY and it is to cold for any type of banana.. I'd hate to see Talynn loose it..
Christine
grabmebymyhandle
10 years ago
Yea! They are super dwarfs! Totally not hardy!
I guess I didn't see the fat trunks! Chock that up to only using my phone with its tiny screen!

Christine- I don't know NY!
I do know basjoo, I promise it's hardy up there!
Along with atleast another, Mekong giant, there's probably several more that are marginally hardy there if protected.
grabmebymyhandle
10 years ago
Googled basjoo in NY and gardenweb yeilded several good results!

It's not uncommon for basjoo to be hardy in zone 4 there's even reports of successful overwinterings in zone 3!

Don't be confused tho, those SDC should be dug promptly, before frost, and acclimated to a pot for winter time!
I can't believe I didn't notice they aren't basjoo, I thought the leaves looked funny and just never actually looked...whoops...

They look really nice talynn!

Here is a link that might be useful: Basjoo in Canada!
tinylady1
10 years ago
I know mine is hardy, I planted it in the ground last year in a temporary spot till spring and then dug it up and planted back in the pot. But this year I want to plant it permanently. I just want to make sure I plant it in the appropriate spot . I had thought about near the pool, but with babies coming up, I don't think that is good. Then I thought about 3 ft from the fish pond, not sure. The area I was also thinking is in a area that ferns grow well. Any ideas?
Talynn671
Original Author
10 years ago
How are you able to tell the difference between the musa basjoo and the SDC? I purchased this plant from "Fast Growing Trees" and was labeled as a musa basjoo (sorry not advertising).

Here is a link that might be useful: Difference
islandbreeze
10 years ago
Super Dwarf Cavendish have really wide leaves in comparison to how short the overall plant is. They are also very compact with a lot of leaves growing very close to each other with regards to their placement on the pseudostem. They're more stubby looking than most other bananas. Basjoo are more leggy, although definitely not a leggy banana. They're just taller with narrower leaves. Google pics of both.

I agree with the above posters, that's definitely a SDC.

Musa Basjoo - Splitting and Winterizing

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christine1950

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Musa Basjoo - Splitting and Winterizing

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