I would go for it, & leave the one in the ground, knowing that you have 2 others as a back up. Be sure to fertilize the heck out of it, from now til frost. Bananas respond quickly to lots of organic matter in the soil, lots of water, lots of fertilizer, and warm temperatures. You should have at least 6 more weeks of ideal growing conditions.

Good luck,

Dan

What the hell, going for it, it is. I will try it. Thanks for the response Dan. I just bought some Osomote 14-14-14 fertilizer. I really wish we had year round warm climates up here, but guess not.

Just my two cents...

I'd leave it in the ground too. Maybe put about 1 foot of mulch on top of the corm. Some advise putting plastic on top of that to keep out water but it could actually keep more water and moisture in making it rot. I'd skip the plastic.

Zone 6b says the lowest temp is anywhere from 0F to -5F and I've read the basjoos can be heavily mulched and survive temps anywhere from 0 to -20F... although I'd bet the -20F is a stretch.

{{gwi:415788}}

Good luck and we expect pictures of your surviving basjoo come next spring.

-Todd

Todd - where did you get such a detailed zone map? I'd like to find one for the Florida panhandle.

Terry
Ask and you shall recieve:

{{gwi:415789}}

I love your organic effort. Check out my memberpage for some pics of our lawn and garden.

-Todd

Thanks, Todd. But be careful what you ask for - I just found out I'm really in 8a! Your memberpage is very interesting - are the dried molasses, alfalfa, etc. any different from what you buy at a feed store?

Terry
No sir... I buy all my organic stuff at feed stores.

In case you need help finding a feed store near you click on the directory below. It lists feed stores by state then by city. I found three feed stores within 7 miles of my house with that link:

Feed Store Directory
The feed stores I go to are still in Dallas County so I'm sure the further away from Dallas I shopped the cheaper prices I'd see. But here are a sampling of prices at the feed stores near me:

Prices are for 50lb bags:

Cornmeal/Ground Corn: $8.95
Cottonseed Meal: $9.10
Alfalfa Pellets: $7.90
Dried Molasses: $11.95
Corn Gluten Meal (CGM): $17.95
Soybean Meal: $10.95

I hope this helps.
-Todd

Note: forwarded message attached.

Sorry for messing up the link. Below is the corrected link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Feed Store Link

Todd, I hate to bother you, but do have the Maryland and Virginia area? You can just send me a link - you don't have to post it here. Thanks so much!

In my back yard, the lowest it got was about 8-10 degrees at night in the winter. What is the best type of mulch that you can think of?

Watergal... no problem at all. Here ya go.

Maryland Link:
http://img270.imageshack.us/img270/3/zmmaryland9ok.jpg

Virginia Link:
http://img270.imageshack.us/img270/1223/zmvirginia4og.jpg

I mulched mine last year with a pile of frost-dried canna and banana leaves. I also don't think I cut the stem down but left it standing (less of an opening to the corm for rot to get into). It was a pretty mild winter, about like yours, and the basjoo reemerged in April.

The prior year I had done the chicken wire cage stuffed with straw and covered with plastic, and it didn't survive. It either rotted or the corm was eaten by rodents. From now on, I'm just doing the mulch.

Todd,
Do you have a detailed map for central Illinois - SW of Peoria?

Yes...

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8226/zmil0xc.jpg

If anyone else needs an image just send me an email through my Gardenweb memberpage. Thanks.