On 28/2/08 17:38, in article
, "Trevor"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 25/2/08 20:50, in article ,
"keith kent" wrote:

I have a large banana plant in the garden it has been protected with
straw
then wrapped with fleece.No water has got to the plant as the straw is
bone
dry but the stem has completely rotted to ground.
Will the plant regrow from the roots ?
Keith
Nottingham,UK


You have nothing to lose by waiting to see what happens. There's always a
slim chance the roots have survived. However, a lot depends on what has
happened to the roots, not the stem. If they've been sodden and cold your
chances aren't good.
I started to answer this and then spoke to my husband about our Musa
Basjoos. We grow none in the garden and we're in S Devon though not too
far
from Dartmoor so it's very wet here. We have several, in pots, in a
polytunnel and despite temps that have not gone much below -2 for long,
Ray
thinks - thinks - we've lost ours. This could just be the horrible, damp
weather we've had because heaters come on during the cold nights, if
needed
and of course, such plants don't get watered in winter. Who knows? The
Ensetes ventricosum, which we also take in over winter, look just fine...
It's lovely to experiment with plants if one can afford to do so but
sometimes you really do have to play to your strengths or accept that
plants
will be lost in wet and cold.
I do hope you find yours have survived.



I have several in the garden here in 'cold' East Yorkshire and I always get
several new shoots from the base every year. I usually pot a few up and keep
them in an unheated polytunnel as well as insurance with added fleece in
cold spells.


If they're kept dry at the roots and don't rot. That's the key. Still
hoping we haven't lost ours! We're so much milder here but perhaps much
wetter over a long period?

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'