Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaman88
I understand the need to remove all of the soil before they ship, but why the roots as well? If they wash the soil away, dip the roots in a fungicide/insectice mix and then wrap the roots in some moisture retentive media that should do it. How do they expect the plant to survive when they remove all of the roots? Good luck with yours, Shawn.
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Unfortunately, that is SOP when it comes to larger plants, and particularly with banana and other bulbous plants. The problem is that the plants must be
completely free of soil and the process of removing the soil usually tends to injure the tender roots anyway. With the long trip to its destination, damaged roots will rot in its container and might infect the rest of the corm/plant. With the roots removed, then the corm cleaned and dried, the plant is easily inspected. Dusting with fungicide and insecticide may pose some issues because of the uncertainty of the acceptability by USDA of the materials used. Plus, the presence of powders, my tend to cover embedded soil.
As long as the corm itself is not damaged, the plant will be OK. It will behave like any other bulbous plant. Once planted in medium, they will grow roots in a short period of time. When I get dried banana corms, before planting, I soak them in 125°F water for 15 minutes, then in 115°F water for another 15 minutes. After potting, I place them in a warm shaded area. They all have sprouted for me so far.