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Musa Basjoo - thought I'd lost it

djgrintdjgrint Posts: 34
I've had a musa basjoo for a few years and it had got to about 4/5 foot tall. It's been planted in the ground for a couple of years, this winter I did my best to wrap it up with fleece, but it was a very harsh winter. We had over a week of consecutive sub-zero temperatures and snow for a couple of weeks.

As such, it completely collapsed. Fell to the ground and I had to cut it back to just above the ground. When the ground thawed and I was able to dig it up, I moved it to a pot in a sheltered position in a small wooden greenhouse. Hoping it may come back to life.

Well, the main stem looks toast, but I've noticed a new shoot!! So it's seems there's life in her yet.

The only issue is the shoot is right on the edge of pot. So I'm not sure what to do. Should I repot it now with the new growth in the middle, or wait till the new shoot puts up some leaves?

Thanks,
D

Posts

  • I love when that happens! In answer to your question, I think there would be no harm in potting it on now if you are gentle with the new shoot. Large container life may be a good idea for wheeling it out of the cold in future years anyway. 
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    These shoot from the base and the old stem probably won't come back ime. I would be surprised if that's the only new growth tip you get and if you have others, they could be in any direction around the main stem. I'd go for a bigger pot so that if anything does grow in the other direction,  you will have room.
    This is a normal growth pattern for them and why they form clumps.
  • djgrintdjgrint Posts: 34
    Thanks both for the replies.
    I saw something about musa growing 'pups' or sister plants. I guess that's what this is. If the old stem is dead and won't come back, I was thinking of separating the new shoot from the old root ball and potting it up on its own.
    Or should I leave it all as one big lump of roots?
    D
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I would gently dig down to see how much roots are on the pup and then decide if your confident to split it.
  • djgrintdjgrint Posts: 34
    Well, I followed your advice and potted the whole thing into a 40cm pot. Now there are 5/6 pups coming through! How big could these get in one summer??
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    In ideal conditions they could get a couple of feet this summer and then 4-5 feet next year if they have enough space. It will probably dwarf them a little with so many in the pot and they'd grow faster if in the ground but then it makes it harder to deal with in winter.
  • djgrintdjgrint Posts: 34
    I've got a large raised bed in a sunny spot. I think I'll plant it in there for the summer, then dig it up and seperate them into pots in the late autumn.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    It will grow a lot more than that in a year, if well looked after, anything up to 2m, although 1.5 is more likely.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
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