First freeze and my bananas are dying back, what now? (growing, trees)
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We had our first freeze in the Louisville area this past weekend and my Musa Basjoo and Dwarf Cavendish are both dying back. What is the best thing to do with them now? The Basjoo has a little one growing to the side, can i split it off now? I dont think the Dwarf Cavendish can handle the winter here (zone 7a) so what should I do with it? The Basjoo is about 8ft tall and the Cavendish is about 4ft. Thanks!
The corm of the dwarf cavendish will likely have to go inside or into a partly heated garage and be kept relatively dry. I would HEAVILY cover the other with leaf mulch and find a way to keep the mulch from blowing away.
From what I have read, you cut down the bananas, leaving only a stump. Then cover the stump with a heavy layer of mulch and leaves. It will grow back in the Spring.
Just asked the expert, DW. She clarifies that in general, you can remove the corm from the soil, wrap in newspaper to keep dark, and store in a cool place that doesn't freeze and it will go dormant. On the dwarf cavendish, there are apparently dwarf and dwarf dwarf varieties and that many can be kept in a pot and moved inside.
What will rot the corm faster than anything I've seen is a touch of frost, so anything you can do to avoid that is good. SInce on the dormant corms you don't want rot or growth, you can brush off the dirt without washing before wrapping in paper.
Well people leave their Musa Basjoo's outside here all winter so I probably wont go through the hassle of trying to dig that thing up, the trunk on it is probably 8-10 inches in diameter. I just didn't know if there was something special I needed to do to get it ready, but the other banana i will try to find a pot big enough or dig it up. Mine is just a plain ol' dwarf variety. Thanks for the info!
How much of a stump do I leave? Won't the mulch rot out the corm? For the Cavendish, how much of the root ball do I leave on?
Not sure. Do a google. I reckon a few inches would suffice. Remember, banana trees are actually plants so they grow back fairly easily. You cold also place some kind of piping or duct around the stump.
My uncle in SoCal cuts his banana plants down before the winter.
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