Bananas for bamboo

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johnw
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by johnw »

Had 2 nice big Rojos and 2 huge Maurelliis. All dead, lesson - do not store under 50F & dark. M. basjoo just fine.
Last edited by johnw on Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
Alan_L
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by Alan_L »

Johnw: not sure what you're trying to say. I store my bananas in a 40-50ºF garage with very little light all winter, and they usually do fine. I have had a few losses, but usually that's on small plants.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

johnw wrote:Had 2 nice big Rojos and 2 huge Maurelliis. All dead, lesson - do not under 50F & dark. M. basjoo just fine.
Did they end up rotting away? Last year I tried to over-winter ensete outdoors with protection, but it never came back, and another one was in a cool room which also ended up rotting away. This winter all 3 of the ensete seem to be doing great and gaining size as the largest one is around 1 1/4 inch by 2ft tall. They are all by windows so their soil temperatures should be 60-70F.

I think the low temperature may not be good to them. Also if you store them dormant, it may be good to give them some copper sulfide, a month before they go dormant so the roots can soak it in to prevent rot.

It looks like there are people that store them in dark basements completely dormant, but if I can, I would prefer to keep them growing through the winter.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by johnw »

The trunks turned to jelly.
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by needmore »

Steve, still interested in the moso or did you change your mind learning that I do not think it is very hardy? I would likely dig this weekend before it starts to shoot, and I can dig small culms on the perimeter of the patch.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

I am still interested in it. I'm surprised your moso will shoot this early. My moso bicolor doesn't shoot here until the middle of May, and it's only naturally 2-3 weeks slower than most green mosos. I'm not really interested in its hardiness. I might just have it as a pot specimen, or test it in the ground.


As far as mailing an ensete, we have just headed back into a cold stretch with days in the 30s and nights in the teens so it may not be safe to send it out until towards the end of next week as these are not cold hardy at all. I'm will also ensure that your lows are not below freezing.

I also don't mind grabbing some cuttings on other houseplants that are easily propagated, and maybe a potato (dioscorea batatas) since I have lots of these guys growing in the ground, or whatever I have plenty of if you are interested.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

I just got the moso division today, and it looks great. I see that it was purposely bent to fit into the box, but something like that is pretty easy t splint as the inside of these internodes is almost exactly the size of a wooden chop stick.

Coming out of the box.
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Splinting with the chop stick.
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Wrapping it with gorilla tape, then again with string to hold it together ensuring the splint doesn't come loose.
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Here's another angle.
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I put it in a much larger pot because I know the tap roots will require lots of space once the new shoots come up. There happen to be 2 nicely swollen shoot buds visible in the division.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by needmore »

Yeah, I topped the cane when I dug it and then when I packed the plant I decided rather than to top it again to slice it right at the top of the box and leave you a fiber-hinge with extra foliage to push those buds if you wanted to splint it - I figured you would.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

After a week, those shoot buds still look very dormant under there so it seems like the temperatures are nowhere close enough to cause shooting on any of the phyllos, even with the heat generated from the nursery pot.

Getting back on bananas, I can't wait to see my musa basjoos start making progress which should mean it would be safe to set the ensete maurelii plants in the ground. I think that would require soil temperatures above 50F, and the soil is still around 38F here. From looking at pictures, it does seem like ensetes can get bigger if they are grown directly into the ground.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by needmore »

The ensete from you was placed in a pot on the deck and has been living outdoors since, getting direct afternoon sun and it looks fine so once it start some root growth it'll go in the ground. I'll be planting my other bananas out in 1-2 weeks, the Mekong Giant will be around 5' when it goes in the ground and one of the zebrina is about 8' but that particular stalk has stalled out and a pup is rapidly catching it. Gonna see how big I can get the Mekong this summer.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

If it has taken full sun for more than a day, then it should be pretty well adapted. I'm still afraid to move the ones I still have out as we've still been getting frosts here. I think in another 1-2 weeks, I might go ahead and stick them in the ground with a wall o water on top of them in case we get a late frost.

I think the growth rate if far better under full sun as opposed to window light.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

Soil temperatures should be warm enough for you to stick ensete into the ground and still get good growth. I might have to wait a couple of weeks, or maybe until they start growing root-bound in their 5 gallon pots that they were recently transplanted into.

Here's the ensete back in 2011 that failed to thrive as I likely over-watered it, as well as kept it in a room that was too cold for it to sustain itself. I simply didn't know about how to over-winter them yet.

Here's how big it got in its 5 gallon pot. The ones I have growing now are approaching 2ft, but not nearly as fat, but this kind of size is achievable in 1 month with warm enough weather. I did finally get them adapted to full sun outdoors, which didn't seem that hard.
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This one from 2011 was started from a tiny plug plant in June that hardly made any growth until around August because it was struggling to survive, but this time around, it should be possible to get 50 pounders by September.
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by Arachnotron »

I have several varieties that I'd trade for a Basjoo. I have Orinoco, ice cream, an unknown from Thailand possibly Namwah, praying hands and Dasycarpa (Velutina).

http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Orinoco
http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Ice_Cr ... ue_Java%29
http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Namwah
http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Praying_Hands
http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Velutina


Has your Basjoo ever flowered?


Tristan
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

I have some pups available, but I don't know if they are big enough to divide and send off. I'm pretty sure someone on the banana forums can help you out right away.

http://www.bananas.org/search.php?searchid=931278
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

Both shoots on the moso "anderson" may have aborted 2 months ago which had me a bit worried, but not anymore as I just noticed this coming out of the base of the culm. It's not from the rhizome either. It is literally coming out of the lower internodes of the culm itself so I think it's possible for larger rhizomes to be lurking below, but there are too many roots for me to go see to confirm, but this means it's definitely a viable division now.

Image

As far as the maureliis, they are still no more than 30 inches which is still an improvement from when they were in their pots, but the cool part is that the bases are starting to exceed 3 inches which is better than what I had at the end of the year when I had it before.
Image

With a much cooler climate, I really doubt these have a chance of competing evenly against a maurelii in Southern Indiana, but 4-5ft in height is still achievable in year 1. My neighbor's maurelii is already exceeding 10ft, but his is a couple years ahead as he knew how to over-winter them all along.
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