Jerimah3

I have 2 Musa Basjoo's in small container's, I recently received them via mail, they're probably about 8 inches tall and look of great health. I was wondering how long I should wait before moving them into the ground outdoors? Does it depend on the size of the plant or the weather and temperature outdoors?

Thank you for any help

sunfish

RogerEvenBove

Basjoo seems to be the only thing that I have done well with. They seem to be indestructable in SE PA. I got my plant about 5 years ago in the late spring; it took very fast and made it in the second story after a year. Mulching is with greenhouse trash, which is never removed. It was in a sheltered spot between a two story family room addition and a greenhouse that is a basement extension. Two years ago its location was needed for a mudroom under a kitchen extension. I tried to dig it up, but the corm broke into three pieces. At least two of the three are growing in a somewhat more exposed location between the family room and the greenhouse. Last year they had to be kept cut back because of construction. This year the sky is the limit. Of course this information won't help if you are too far west of Boston.
The same area contained what was probably Passiflora Caerula (sp?) that had escaped from a pot ten years earlier. It had florished but never flowered in spite of being badly disturbed during the construction of the family room and the greenhouse. Unfortunately it never reappeared after being moved with the Musa. Thus, in spite of several tries, I no longer have any outdoor Passiflora except for native Maypops. Any suggestions?

caliboy1994

Wait until it gets bigger, and slowly acclimate it to full sun. Once it's of sufficient size and acclimated, plant it in the ground in full sun.

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TrailGaiter

I got my basjoos last year as pups, and planted them outside when they were around the height of yours. They did very well....although the acclimation process apparently didn't work so well. The leaves browned/dried up, but very quickly the plants replaced them. I had been putting them outside daily....but it wasn't enough. I am in zone 5.

They wintered in my basement, and as of last weekend, are outside again now....

Jerimah3

@RogerEvenBove I'm glad to hear how indestructible they are. I know for my zone one of the only passiflora that will survive outside is P. Incarnata, although I've heard P. Caerulea is possible, I'd try to replant either and see if you can get them to come back.

@caliboy, should I just move the plant out into full sunlight for more and more hours a day over the next week or two, then just plant it outside (its planting spot is in full sun)

@TrailGater I've read they will make "indoor" and "outdoor" leaves, and typically all indoor leaves die when moving it outside, and as long as the plant is big/healthy enough it'll make "outdoor" leaves right away and thrive, I'm just nervous mine are still too small to remake leaves that fast. Also, I have a dwarf red that I am planning to grow inside, any chance you could give me any details on how they wintered in your basement and how they looked?

TrailGaiter

The "indoor" and "outdoor" leaves is a good way to describe it. I was horrified last year when that happened to me...now I'm prepared! They didn't miss a BEAT being inside. Some store them dormant. I really didn't have a cool enough (but not too cold) place to store them for the winter, so I kept them awake and growing. My basement is partially exposed, so they spent their winter right next to the patio door. I hacked them off, so the P-stem was about 18" tall, and potted them. Gave them water only when they were very dry...because rotting could be a problem. I swear, they grew two, three inches in TWO DAYS after hacking them off. It was noticeable, just between morning and night. Didn't take long before it looked like a mini jungle down there....spitting out leaves all the time. I had to spray 'em for spider mites a few times while they were inside...and when I watered them, I'd spray the leaves with a spray bottle filled with water just to keep them from being too dry.

Once the weather got nice, I put them outside in their pots....slowly at first...then leaving them out all day. If the nights weren't too cold, I left them out then too. Now, they've been in the ground for a week. The leaves are drying up, but now I know to expect that from last year. They grow so much faster in the ground, so it won't be long and I'll have a tropical paradise off my deck! I have a maurelii out there too.

So...basically, the bananas did well over the winter. Have to watch for spider mites...which could completely take over the plant. My maurelii got it bad, but recovered. The leaves also browned in some spots over the winter, on all of them, because they just weren't getting as much sunlight as they wanted.

Good luck!