We have a one year old jappanese banana, it was wrapped in fleece over
winter and when we unwrapped it the trunk had gone soggy and rotted ,but it
has revived from the ground ok and is now about 4' tall. Can anyone tell me
how to protect it over winter (or if it need it)and when can I use the
suckers to propergate from it.
Help please. Bobkat

Robert Wooster wrote:
We have a one year old jappanese banana

No, it isn't Japanese. Japan does not have any native bananas. Musa
basjoo originated in China and grows in the Sichuan, Jiangxi and Yunnan
provinces. It was first observed growing in Japan, where it had been
introduced at some stage prior to the 19th. century, probably as an
ornamental plant. Early writers confused it with a form of Musa
balbisiana (imported from the Philippines) that was grown in warmer
regions of Japan for fibre production. The error was perpetuated by
subsequent writers and it is still referred to as 'Japanese banana',
or worse still 'Japanese fibre banana'. It does not have a correct
common name, so either 'hardy banana' or just basjoo will do.

it was wrapped in fleece over
winter and when we unwrapped it the trunk had gone soggy and rotted, but it
has revived from the ground ok and is now about 4' tall.

Good, thick pseudo-trunks (in reality, they are tightly wrapped leaf
bases and not true trunks) can withstand up to minus 5C before they
sustain any damage. In colder regions, they need rather more than
fleece to protect them. Those who protect them, usually fashion a
temporary structure of chicken wire around the 'trunks' and infill with
straw so that the plant has at least 30cms. of insulation around and
above. The top is covered with polythene to give some protection from
rain, but the sides are left open to allow air circulation.

If this is too much to carry out, you just have to treat it as an
herbaceous perennial and provide a deep mulch of bark, compost or leaf
mould in autumn to protect the roots. It may die down in most years,
but will invariably send up several new shoots, forming an impressive
clump by mid-summer. When the new shoots appear, make sure that you
give additional, heavy waterings and apply fertiliser at regular
intervals. When actively growing, bananas are very thirsty plants,
needing masses of water and lots of feed if they are to do well. Given
the right treatment, young shoots can rise to well over 2.5m. by late
summer.

and when can I use the suckers to propergate from it.

They are best removed in early/mid summer when they are about 60 -
80cms. or more high. If they are too small, they will not have any
roots forming and will either rot or take a very long time to
establish. Scrape away the soil from around the base of the sucker so
that you can see where it arises from the rhizome. Using a very sharp
knife, sever the shoot with a piece of the rhizome to ensure that it
can produce some roots. If you cut the sucker off at ground level, all
you are doing is chopping off leaves, which will not root. A young
plant should be allowed to establish for several years before
attempting to remove any suckers.

"DavePoole Torquay" wrote in message
oups.com...
Robert Wooster wrote:
We have a one year old jappanese banana


Many Thanks Dave
for all the information I required.
the plant is in full view of our sitting room window, so I will have to
think hard about protection for it(suppose I could draw a smiley badge face
on the cage Lol)
we have several suckers coming off this plant and will follow your
instructions on propagating
I wondered if removing three and leaving the largest sucker would be best
for the plant?
once again many thanks.
Bob

Robert Wooster wrote:

the plant is in full view of our sitting room window, so I will have to
think hard about protection for it(suppose I could draw a smiley badge face
on the cage Lol)

Yes, it's a problem a lot of folks who grow exotics have to face. I
don't have to worry about it down here since winters are mild enough
for several Musa species to come through without any form of protection
and in some years they remain virtually evergreen. I understand that
over in Norfolk, Will Giles builds a big enclosure of straw bales to
protect his clump of basjoo and then covers it in a tarpaulin. I'm not
sure I would be prepared to go to that extent.

we have several suckers coming off this plant and will follow your
instructions on propagating
I wondered if removing three and leaving the largest sucker would be best
for the plant?

To an extent it is down to personal choice. To my mind a a single
shoot is less attractive and impressive than a large clump. However,
it's also worth considering that with more shoots on the plant, there
are more leaves. More leaves = more plant foods manufactured = more
starches stored within the rhizomes and roots. In turn this leads to a
more vigorous plant better equipped to cope with prolonged cold periods
and more likely to resume growth with the onset of warm weather.

A lot of plants on the borderline of hardiness need large reserves to
help them through our long winters and provide the energy to resume
strong, sustainable growth in spring. This is why so many appear to
survive winter, only to collapse as they struggle to get started.
Reserves are depleted, resulting in severely weakened plants that are
prone to opportunistic bacterial and/or fungal attacks.

DavePoole Torquay wrote:
Robert Wooster wrote:

the plant is in full view of our sitting room window, so I will have to
think hard about protection for it(suppose I could draw a smiley badge face
on the cage Lol)

Yes, it's a problem a lot of folks who grow exotics have to face. I
don't have to worry about it down here since winters are mild enough
for several Musa species to come through without any form of protection
and in some years they remain virtually evergreen. I understand that
over in Norfolk, Will Giles builds a big enclosure of straw bales to
protect his clump of basjoo and then covers it in a tarpaulin. I'm not
sure I would be prepared to go to that extent.

we have several suckers coming off this plant and will follow your
instructions on propagating
I wondered if removing three and leaving the largest sucker would be best
for the plant?

To an extent it is down to personal choice. To my mind a a single
shoot is less attractive and impressive than a large clump. However,
it's also worth considering that with more shoots on the plant, there
are more leaves. More leaves = more plant foods manufactured = more
starches stored within the rhizomes and roots. In turn this leads to a
more vigorous plant better equipped to cope with prolonged cold periods
and more likely to resume growth with the onset of warm weather.

A lot of plants on the borderline of hardiness need large reserves to
help them through our long winters and provide the energy to resume
strong, sustainable growth in spring. This is why so many appear to
survive winter, only to collapse as they struggle to get started.
Reserves are depleted, resulting in severely weakened plants that are
prone to opportunistic bacterial and/or fungal attacks.

Firstly, thanks Dave Great info.
I've a banana, no idea which one. Got it at a sort of horticultural
car-boot sale thing. (Hombeek, Belgium April 30th, 06) 'Twas a mere
metre or so high and only 2 leaves. Now, touching 2.5m and at least 6
more leaves.
I've planted it at a corner of a south-south east facing red brick
wall (2m high).. between the wall and one of those plastic compost
bins.
Technically, I guess I could build a straw encased cage to surround
both plant and compost. I've 3 compost bins in the same area and had
planned to turn them so as the freshest composting material ends up
nearest the plant. Then someone suggested using bubble wrap. It can
easily get to -5C here (west Flanders, Belgium)
Bubble wrap?

"DavePoole Torquay" wrote in message
ups.com...
Robert Wooster wrote:

the plant is in full view of our sitting room window, so I will have to
think hard about protection for it(suppose I could draw a smiley badge
face
on the cage Lol)

Yes, it's a problem a lot of folks who grow exotics have to face. I
don't have to worry about it down here since winters are mild enough
for several Musa species to come through without any form of protection
and in some years they remain virtually evergreen. I understand that
over in Norfolk, Will Giles builds a big enclosure of straw bales to
protect his clump of basjoo and then covers it in a tarpaulin. I'm not
sure I would be prepared to go to that extent.


Once saw someone using large chimney pots stuffed with straw and capped
these did not look too awful, perhaps something along the same lines could
be made weaving willow to put the straw in which would be lighter.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

"DavePoole Torquay" wrote in message
ups.com...
Yes, it's a problem a lot of folks who grow exotics have to face. I
don't have to worry about it down here since winters are mild enough
for several Musa species to come through without any form of protection
and in some years they remain virtually evergreen. I understand that
over in Norfolk, Will Giles builds a big enclosure of straw bales to
protect his clump of basjoo and then covers it in a tarpaulin. I'm not
sure I would be prepared to go to that extent.


To an extent it is down to personal choice. To my mind a a single
shoot is less attractive and impressive than a large clump. However

Thanks again Dave
This sounds sense, also the largest sucker is fast catching up with the
main plant fast and I must admit the group look good together.
we have had to remove some of the lower leaves though, they quickly have
gone brown on the edges and look a bit rough .The plant is doing well
producing a new leaf every three/ four days.
Following Wills example would be well out of the question! our little
garden in Suffolk is already quite full (30'* 20')
With Thanks
Bob

What about digging it up and storing it somewhere? In the US, some dig their nanas up and store them somewhere dry, cool and dark, such as in a cellar or even under the house. Then, next spring, they pop them back in the ground.

I'll be trying this method with some of my nanas this year, including a basjoo, to see what happens.

Mustang wrote:

What about digging it up and storing it somewhere? In the US, some dig
their nanas up and store them somewhere dry, cool and dark, such as in
a cellar or even under the house. Then, next spring, they pop them back
in the ground.

This is done because of the intensity of winter cold. The ground often
freezes solid to a fair depth in states where they are dug, which can
kill the rhizomes. The return of serious heat in spring enables even
the most weakened root-stocks to make a very fast and full recovery.
By contrast in the UK, springs are often long, cool and usually wet
only warming slowly over several months. If the roots are to be dug
and then replanted each year, they need to be restarted under glass
(preferably heated) to get the plants moving quickly.

Basjoo is root-hardy in most areas of the UK., especially if mulched in
the southern counties so there's no advantage in digging it up. The
set-back caused by root disturbance is unnecessary. The point of
protecting basjoo in the UK is to try and prevent the pseudo-stems from
dying down to the ground, so that the clumps can become very tall and
impressive and may even flower. If you are growing Musas or Ensetes
that are more tender and cannot withstand winters outside, then you
have to lift them or resort to very intensive insulation methods.
However, I would never disturb a plant unless it was vital for its
survival.

Funnily enough, I lost a few basjoo last winter. And my sikki has only just started to sprout in the last couple of weeks! Maybe keeping them in pots exposed them to more cold than if they were in the ground.

Yes I agree. But popping them into a greenhouse early Spring should help to bring them around quicker.

Yup, got these as well. Planning on hanging the ensete maurelii upside-down to drain it of water, then wrap and keep dark & cool somewhere. Then, pop into the greenhouse when spring comes next year. Will see what happens.

And of course, keep my fingers crossed.