"Bookworm" wrote in message
ups.com...
michael adams wrote:
"Bookworm" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I have a bannana plant (Musa Bajoo) in a pot that has grown so long
that it is taller than the patio it is on. I feed it on loads of
chicken poo that it loves.

Can I shorten it and when?

The "trunk" of the banana tree - which is actually an oversized
herb, merely consists of compressed old leaves. It performs no
real function in terms of keeping the tree alive - nutrients
and water don't travel up the "trunk". Each new year's growth
grows up through the middle of these old leaves - rather like
a perennial leek would grow. The entire trunk can be cut back
as hard as you like, but at the end of the growing season.
If you did it now, you'd kill off this years growth as well.
The only danger then might be increased exposure to frost
from above , (although presumably frost danger to the roots
through the pot would be the same ) and so maybe the potted
plant could be moved to a frost free site - the garage etc
over winter.


michael adams

...
Many thanks, very interesting. I shall cut it back in the autumn, wrap
the pot in bubble wrap and take it into my cold greenhouse where it
usually overwinters. Is this OK?

....

Apparently musa bajoo is the hardiest of the bananas. However the
tops are said to be less frost hardy than the roots. Which makes
the survival of the foliage in a cold greehouse over winter up until
now a bit of a surprise. What sometimes happens is that the foliage
is hit by a particularly hard frost and dies off, the owner panics,
and is then relieved to be told that it only needs cutting back, to
regrow again from the base the next year. Although the roots are supposed
to be fairly frost hardy, no harm will be done by wrapping the plant
in bubblewrap as you suggest.


michael adams

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