Yay! I'm a father!!!!!!

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 3:05 pm

My musa basjoos in the backyard are inflorescence! Woohoo! So psyched!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 3:54 pm

Attaboy, Mike.
Camera not handy?

Now put some heat around it, and you'll have fruit in December

I bet next year they'll bloom much earlier and you WILL get fruit.

Barb

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 3:57 pm

lucky1 wrote:Attaboy, Mike.
Camera not handy?

Now put some heat around it, and you'll have fruit in December

I bet next year they'll bloom much earlier and you WILL get fruit.

Barb

So psyched Barb. We do still have about a month and a half until we get frost so it may at least get to flower this year, amazing!!!! Ill take pics tomorrow

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:57 am

In two days already this!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:33 am

Those are way cool-I think Basjoo flowers are under appreciated...maybe just not seen frequently enough.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:53 pm

Very nice, Mike.

Not a mark on those gorgeous leaves either...good when Basjoos are sheltered.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:57 pm

very cool Mike!! The voles hit my basjoo pretty hardy this summer......I thought they were dying but I guess the voles died since it's coming back now.

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 1:24 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:very cool Mike!! The voles hit my basjoo pretty hardy this summer......I thought they were dying but I guess the voles died since it's coming back now.

LOL, my bananas are insane now....I couldn't get into the shed the other day....Sweet Jesus!

marceli · Post by **marceli** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:28 am

Congrats! Nice basjoos man! You can start your own plantation now

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:37 am

Here are a few of the latest pics

Back yard (year three in ground)

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:41 am

Front yard pics, end of second year in the ground, just as amazing. These babies get more sun all year round unlike the backyard ones that get shaded bu large trees in autumn....

and some of my Chinese Golden Lotus Bananas, they are also growing really thick trunks and tons of pups!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:16 am

Nice Lasiocarpa...I think mine must get to much sun as it never gets leaves that big.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:01 am

Mike, W O W!

Great camera work, especially the pic with the bee.

Your skinny friend will scare the hell out of trick-or-treaters!

Barb

wheelman1976 · Post by **wheelman1976** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:34 pm

what are your lows this time of year? At what point do you normally have to chop them down?

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:48 pm

wheelman1976 wrote:what are your lows this time of year? At what point do you normally have to chop them down?

lows average 49 to 55, but we did have a night at 37. We usually get our first frost around Halloween and a freeze sometime in November.

wheelman1976 · Post by **wheelman1976** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:05 pm

you're lucky, I've already dug up all of mine and have them stacked on a shelf in the garage....

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:00 pm

wheelman1976 wrote:you're lucky, I've already dug up all of mine and have them stacked on a shelf in the garage....

BRRRRR....mine are too big to dig up at this point. I wouln't know where to begin

MCKATELYN · Post by **MCKATELYN** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:19 am

Mike,
Mine is only a few feet tall but and still green as ever but the frost is coming very soon. I think my next week its leaves should brown out. How do you protect yours in the winter? Do you cut trunk to only a foot or so tall before covering? How deep do you lay the much, leaves , or hey on it?

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:13 am

MCKATELYN wrote:Mike,
Mine is only a few feet tall but and still green as ever but the frost is coming very soon. I think my next week its leaves should brown out. How do you protect yours in the winter? Do you cut trunk to only a foot or so tall before covering? How deep do you lay the much, leaves , or hey on it?

Hi....I cut the trees down to about hip height (3.5 feet to 4 ft)

I create a green fencing perimeter wide enough to be able to leave at least 10 inches of space between the trunks and the far outside of the fence so the cold does not penetrate.

Next I mulch first with regular brown or black licorice root mulch, then I pile straw or hay inside (all over the stores this time of year for the holidays

After that I then wrap black construction grade plastic bags around the perimeter only and make sure I create a lip at the bottom of the base that sits out about 1 foot on all sides of the fencing. Pile rocks on top of that so no moisture will seep in through the ground if it rains or snows. I seal the whole cut up pieces of plastic with duct tape.

Last year was mild so I did not seal the top tightly, Instead I threw a grill cover on top and a few logs and on warm nights and most sunny days I took off the grill cover to let air enter. Just be sure not to let it rain inside there. If you have a sunny nice day but forget to close it and it rains in the afternoon or evening, it will get moldy and destroy. If it is in 30s and 40's you can move some of the hay around and aerate the stalks.....They love it.

Banana enclosure in the backyard:

Week two in March after the enclosure has been removed:

PS For the ones in front of the house we did the same thing but wrapped the outside as a huge christmas gift box for the winter, looked cool.
Enjoy

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 10:23 am

You mean you cut this fruiting banana plant? Oh, no!

andym · Post by **andym** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:04 pm

Once upon a time before our Narnia Winters arrived we too could grow Basjoo to fruiting stage. My neighbour and friend two doors up from me had massive Basjoo and he would always invite me around and make my life hell by saying one day I'll get to grow Nanas like him (never have)

Heres a pic of his Basjoo in midwinter 2009 enjoying a hoar frost.

Musa Basjoo would easily take -8C/18F without trunk damage only because the frost was short lived which it was in our long run of mild winters. Of course now we have colder Winters and lengthy sub zeros which spell disaster for the trunk. Musa Basjoo is root hardy here even without protection so maintaining a trunk and ever bigger root system will eventually pay dividends
Congratulations Mike on your effort and with that protection your Basjoo will be even bigger next year

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:43 pm

igor.glukhovtsev wrote:You mean you cut this fruiting banana plant? Oh, no!

No Igor, this was last year , This is the one that is now flowering, but we are getting a hurricane tomorrow into tuesday and it will probably get destroyed anyway

PalmsNorth.com

Yay! I'm a father!!!!!!

Yay! I'm a father!!!!!!

Pics of the bananas flowering....Moving fast!!!