Okay, I bought 3 musa basjoo. They came about 10-12 inch high plants in good shape. I waited and then when temps started to come up, I put them in the ground. 2 really started to droop. One of those died and on both the wind snapped the tops off so all that is left is the roots in the ground. The 3rd still looks okay but is a little droopy. I have them in a moist spot. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I don't want to lose the last one. What can I do to help it along? How long before they usually start to grow? Will the ones with just the roots in the ground 'come back'?
Olivia
Need Some Help - Musa Basjoo
They should come back. Add lots of compost/manure and I'll be applying fish fertilizer shortly. Sounds like the plants got cold damage. It really depends on the size of the root (corm) to whether they will come back. The large plant on the side of my house was frozen to the ground when the temps got well below zero C. The new shoots are about 1 foot.
Olivia mine haven't come back up yet...
Be patient they do what they do on their own schedule.
It sounds like yours just got a bit shocked... they should be OK
Ric
Thanks y'all. No, I know they didn't get cold damage. Fortunately I waited to plant them so they missed that big cold spell we had a little while ago. Temps have been pretty good since I planted them. The one just seems to be droopy and that is exactly what happened to the other 2. First they drooped then they broke off.
Olivia
That really doesn't sound all that good. I'd call the nursery where you got them because, after all, you have no clue what they were through before you bought them. I've seen Musa basjoo do some weird stuff but they shouldn't just break-off like that. Was there a guarantee on them? Contact the nursery. I've been growing them in a greenhouse and the nursery for about a decade - just sold a 4' one today. Sounds like a "return" to me.
I agree with growin that something sounds wrong with the plant. Sounds like a rot of some kind-either in the stem or in the roots (maybe from overwatering while it was in the container and you were waiting for the weather to get better to plant outside). How long did you have them before they broke off?
Olivia
Maybe you should try bananas.org
It's a cool little forum and you can get help on anything banana ;-))
They have helped me a lot in the last few years.
http://www.bananas.org/forumdisplay.php?f=2&page=7&order=desc
Good luck,
~Shirley
We had one that barely survived that cold snap. I put a trashcan over it and then unfortunately burned many of my leaves. But it's bounced back now.
Speaking of burned leaves though. For a while I grew these two plants indoors, and when I moved them out, their nice green leaves (that came out indoors) all browned in the sun. Now all my new leaves (growth outside) are fine and green. I assume it was just sun damage to the leaves that grew indoors?
WooooHoooo! Doing the happy dance! (Or the peepee dance as my 2 yr old calls it.) I went out side today and one little leaf on one musa basjoo is standing up and looks good. You know how they start to unfurl from the center, well that is where it came from and it is standing and not drooping. There may be hope for it yet! Yeeeaaaahhhhh!