Forgive me if I missed a previous answer to this, but if I chop the top off my EE's for the winter, do I need to spray them with fungicide or mulch them better than I would if I were leaving the head of the EE on like usual? I really want to save the growth on my EE's this year and thought this would be a neat way to double my collection and have growing EE's to put out next spring, versus waiting until mid-May or so when they come back to life.
Just curious if I need to take any precautions. I'd be chopping their tops in about a month from now, give or take a few days. First frost will hit about mid to late October and normally our first real (but typically light) freeze is early November.
Thanks,
John
Chop the top?
Did not know we were supposed to chop the top. I just let mione die back then mulch over them real good.
Guess I may be doing it wrong.
Lavina
Last year I let all mine die back too, but I thought I'd read you could chop their tops and essentially double the number of EE's you have. The top keeps growing and puts out new roots, while the bulb under ground goes dormant and comes back in the spring, usually with several shoots (one turned into three plants this year).
Just curious if I can do this with all my EE's, like the Gigantea or if I'll face problems with some of them.
I ended up trying this before the first frost and even after the first freeze, and it's worked so far.
I made sure to get an "eye" or two above the ground on the woody stem portion and they have kept growing like nothing happened. Next year the rhizome in the ground will no doubt send up several new sprouts instead of one, but that's what happens anyway since they die back for the winter. So I can now easily double my EE each year by just chopping the top ears off, cutting back to a leaf or two, and storing for winter - while my hardy rhizome stays in the ground.
No doubt this won't work for all folks in some colder climates, but it seemingly works well here. My main test this winter was putting several small hardy EE's in the ground - to see how they handle the cold. If they don't come back, then chopping the tops may be the way to save the plant each year without digging up the whole bulb. I have enough to dig up already.
This message was edited Nov 20, 2008 2:11 PM
Another update for anyone curious. This seems to have worked. Now the real test will be to see if what I left in the ground comes back, but seeing as I left a huge part of the bulb in the ground for each plant, I can't imagine it wouldn't - what I cut off usually is what dies back anyway, and a new eye on the side grows into the next years plant.
But 85% of all the EE's I choped the tops off on (getting as much of the stem as possible) have survived and grown just like nothing happened. Two have been slow to recover, but from the looks of it are still alive and well - and will likely push out a new leaf any day now. One of them has gotten quite large over the winter.
A neat way to double your inventory over the winter - at this rate I'll have more than enough EE's to go around the yard in no time. I'll report back in the spring if in fact what was left in the ground survived. We had an especially cold winter here this year, so it should be a good test. Luckily I mulched extra thick this year by starting the lasagna method.
I hate to have the dead/dried up stuff, but I think it acts as a buffer. I leave the tops on for added protection, even if it makes my yard look pitiful. Not ees, but isn't this depressing? Monstera deliciosa. The leaves are shrivelled to nothing, but the bottom rhizomes are nice and green. The large leaves provide protection Dec-Feb. I don't top it off until mid March or so.
Wow, didn't know you could get away with one out in the open like that in zone 9. I left one of those out too, but I think it got fried by our extra cold weather we've had this winter. I have so many monsteras though I might put one next to the house this year, in a nook and see if it survives. I'm sure I could cover it with something for most of the winter. Monsteras are one of those plants I got obsessed with and just had to have - now they are about to take over the house.
Don't know if you can get away with doing that on z8a but worth trying w/ an extra. One of my clumps is underneath a philo selloum, so it's very sheltered and the one shown in the pic above is tucked in a corner, away from wind, etc. These plants are at least 5 yrs old, so I'm sure that helps also.
You know, I could just cut off the top every winter before the frost (more chop the top, lol). It's not like these things won't keep growing; I think it's impossible to kill one. Half of mine are from when I chopped the new growth off - so that may be the way to go. This is cool, I've always wanted one of these in the ground. And this way I can leave one in the ground to see what happens AND make sure I keep the plant alive with the top.