BullShark

I've been reading an old book about fruit in Florida and it suggested that Orinoco bananas should be planted very deep, like the corm should be at the bottom of a two foot hole. That seems pretty radical to me but the book suggested that this helps them stay upright in heavy wind and I imagine it would help protect the corm from cold.

Has anybody tried planting that deep before? I usually plant to the same depth the pup was originally growing at which seems to mean 6 inches or so.

Richard

It is a common practice in Mexico. It has not proven helpful in California -- and in clayish soils it can promote root rot.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

sandy0225

This guy contacted me from Cleveland ohio once and said he never mulches his basjoo, but when he planted it, it planted it two feet deeper than it originally was. I've never tried it, as a matter of fact, I forgot all about it since my mulching is working, but now I'm going to try it today. Thanks for helping me remember!

__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

conejov

LEt us know what happens Sandy.

__________________

Bananaman88

This is just my opinion, but...being a horticulturist, there are only certain plants that do well when planted deep. From my experience, I've rarely had a banana that has been uprooted due to wind. Normally, when they blow over, it's a result of the banana having a heavy bunch of fruit and the pstem is weak at a certain point below the bunch. The pstem fails rather than the entire plant being blown over. Once the pstem sets fruit, the main stalk seems to start going downhill, if you take my meaning. It seems to me that at some point, without propping, the main pstem is going to fail once fruit has been set. This has just been my experience. Yours may be different.

I seem to remember Gabe mentioning something about planting deep once upon a time, but I was thinking that had more to do with somewhat dwarfing the plant. I can see where it would help with stability, but I would think that sinking your corm two feet deep might be a bit much. Again, just my opinion.

Chironex

I have also read research indicating an optimal depth for planting the corms of 18". Just out of curiosity, I planted a corm as deep as I could make it in a 2 foot deep pot (about 18" deep). To my surprise, the new growth came through just about as fast as the ones planted shallower. So, in my opinion, planting them deeper gives a better chance for survival in colder zones. IT does not seem to have any effect upon sprouting and should provide for better cold resistance as long as normal watering guidelines are observed so as not to cause corm rot.

__________________
Scot

Gabe15

The studies of deep planting have shown that it can significantly shorten time to fruiting and increase bunch size, however the mats can then be very hard to manage if you would still like to dig pups. They have been successfully planted up to 1m deep, but I agree with Scot that around 18in is a good depth. I usually plant at least 1 ft deep, usually deeper if the material is tall enough. Unlike plants with exposed upright stems, bananas do not need to be planted at the same depth they were growing at to avoid rot.

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Bananaman88

Scot and Gabe- thanks for your input. Bananas don't seem to adhere to the "normal" suggested planting depths of other plants. It's always good to get other's points of view and experience; that's why I pointed out that what I was saying was only my experience. Thank you guys for sharing yours! That's part of what makes this such a great site.

Sailfish

I know its prolly a negligible distance, but when you say plant X deep, is it measuring from the top of the pup to ground-level, or the base of the pup to ground-level?

__________________

Gabe15

I would measure it from the bottom of the plant to ground level, so just dig a hole that deep and toss it in.

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

BullShark

Well I planted the Orinoco about a foot down and it has been producing a new leaf every couple days so it doesn't seem to mind the depth at all. My only other concern was the potential for rot on the p-stem but Gabe said that won't be a problem. I recently bought an Ice Cream that's about five feet tall. It's still in the pot but when I plant it I may put it down 18 inches and see what happens.

Sailfish

Thats AWESOME!

I have 4 Orinoco's that don't grow for crap. Maybe a leaf every 2 weeks +

All my other plants do fine except those.

__________________

BullShark

We must live pretty close to eachother, what kind of soil are you growing the Orinoco's in? The native soil on my land is covered by thick clay so I dig a pit till I hit the sand layer and fill it with bagged topsoil from Lowes.

Sailfish

I have replaced most with a mixture of garden soil, manure, and pete over the last couple years. It drains well, holds moisture.

I have Praying hands, lady fingers, some unknown that have all bloomed and or fruited in the same soil.

Red drawf does well too, but it keeps getting knocked down by the cold before fruiting.

The orinoco's (4 in different areas throughout) just haven't done well.

Not that big a deal, but maybe just one time get close

__________________

TommyMacLuckie

I've done all kinds of planting depths. Because of standing water and storm surge I tend to plant MOST plants high.

I've dug up various orinocos of all sizes and have left them just sitting on the ground standing up and...they grow just fine. So it must be the soil type because there's not much to worry about in SE Louisiana.

FLA, on the other hand - you shouldn't have any trouble with cold temps in Tampa should you? I know there are coconut trees growing in St Pete. Is Tampa that much cooler? Isn't there some kind of watering restriction as well? That would be a good reason to plant a bit deeper or use a lot of mulch.

I tend to, when I need soil, get the cheap soil at Home Depot. It's $1.25 or so a bag, the white bags. I'll toss in a bag of Miracle Gro sometimes and I tend to hit 'em with trip 13 once a year or just don't bother - grass clippings are good as well.

BullShark

The coconuts are mostly close to the ocean. If you stay within the city the temperatures stay higher but where I am a little ways outside the city we do get a few nights in the low 30's or even high 20's. That makes things tricky for me because I have to grow stuff that can take both the heat and the cold, the wet and the dry.

TommyMacLuckie

I've barely seen any Windmill palms there. It must be warmer there for even longer than New Orleans because they do fine there. They like to be cooler. I think the whole time I was in St Pete I saw one Windmill and that was at the goofy named palm...place, not too far from the, ugh, can't remember the name of the hotel. Right by the big harbour there, where all the baseball teams stay. It was about a 10 minute walk from there. AWESOME palms!