Thinning Musa Basjoo banana in zone 7

[newtopalmsMD]

After three summers my single Musa Basjoo banana sent up 6 additional stems within about a 2 foot radius.  Do I need to thin them before frost does them in for the winter (zone 7a Maryland).  To thin them do I just dig up some of plants? or will that disturb the remaining roots too much?

  Thanks

[Chris Chance]

Honestly I wouldn't mess with them till spring unless you plan to dig them up for the winter. I know there's lots of people that dig them up and store them in a warm garage. 

[Merlyn]

I don't have any direct experience, since I live in zone 9b/9a Florida.  But I have seen videos of people digging up the corms and storing them in a garage over the winter.  They basically chop them off at ground level, dig up the plant with some roots, and toss it into a pot in the garage.  I've also seen people cut them off just above ground level and cover with mulch for the winter.  I think Basjoo is cold-hardy enough to handle 7a in the ground without extra protection.

[newtopalmsMD]

Thanks,

This will be winter number 4 for musa.  Year 1 they were planted a bit below ground level and I lost 2 out of 3 of them over the winter in the ground with lots of mulch.  That spring I dug up the 1 plant that survived plus two pups that started to grow and planted each on a slight mound.  The have done well ever since, overwintered in the ground under lots of leaves.   Now each of the three survivors have put out 4 to 6 pups so each clump is getting crowded.  I guess I'll dig a few up in the spring and plant elsewhere

[Merlyn]

I have a small cluster of Basjoo that isn't doing all that great.  I think (but am not sure) it's because I planted them on top of an old oak stump that was ground down only about 12" below ground level.  I'm going to dig up a couple and transplant them to a nicer spot, hopefully they'll spread out and form a nice cluster. 

What kind of low temperatures did yours see when they were defoliated?  I've seen pictures of them with snow on top, but I don't know when they burn to the ground.

[Keys6505]

7 hours ago, newtopalmsMD said:

Thanks,

This will be winter number 4 for musa.  Year 1 they were planted a bit below ground level and I lost 2 out of 3 of them over the winter in the ground with lots of mulch.  That spring I dug up the 1 plant that survived plus two pups that started to grow and planted each on a slight mound.  The have done well ever since, overwintered in the ground under lots of leaves.   Now each of the three survivors have put out 4 to 6 pups so each clump is getting crowded.  I guess I'll dig a few up in the spring and plant elsewhere

I used to live in 7a NJ and would dig most of my Basjoo because they stored so easily but would wrap a few that I left in the ground.  Starting off with 5' of pseudostem in the spring beats waiting for everything to grow from the ground.  As for separating, I'd definitely wait until spring.  They're easy to seaparate, just use a sharp flat shovel and cut inward maybe 45 degrees.  Taking more of the corm likely won't hurt the mother but the chance of the pup recovering quickly will increase significantly. 

This was my garage every winter.

[newtopalmsMD]

Thanks,

Did the Basjoo need artificial lighting over the winter, or just occasional water?  were they far enough along that they grew bananas the fowllowing summer?

Same question about the elephant ears.  Did they stay alive in the garage as pictured or did they need lighting (or get moved outside on nive days?>

 

Thanks

[climate change virginia]

I see some people where I live that have bananas and elephant ears

[Keys6505]

On 11/20/2020 at 12:13 AM, newtopalmsMD said:

Thanks,

Did the Basjoo need artificial lighting over the winter, or just occasional water?  were they far enough along that they grew bananas the fowllowing summer?

Same question about the elephant ears.  Did they stay alive in the garage as pictured or did they need lighting (or get moved outside on nive days?>

 

Thanks

The Basjoo got a very unceremonious sip of water every month or so just to ensure they didn't dry out all the way.  It was usually just me dumping a water bottle or 2 over the all of the root balls.  No light, no moving them around.  They were fast asleep.  I planted them back out when the nighttime temps were staying above freezing which usually puts the days in the 50's or 60's which is warm enough for them to slowly start putting out leaves again.  Some flowered the following year, but the bananas are insignificant and the stalk dies after flowering so in my opinion the less flowers the better.  You can overwinter Ensete Maurelli the exact same way and they're a showstopper in a 7a garden.

 

Same deal with the Colocasia.  Just barely enough water to keep them from dessicating completely.  If you have any Alocasia with a larger tuber (Odora, Calidora, etc) it's better to store them without dirt and not sealed up as the big ones hold a lot of moisture and always rotted for me if I wintered them dormant in dirt.  That's for the BIG tubers though, softball size or bigger.