A gopher murdered my babaco tree 😭😭😭

[TheWaterbug]

The roots have been chewed completely off. Can it be saved? I have it in a bucket of water right now.


 

[Oolie]

Looks like it might root again, but I'd make a nice basket for it. It also has what appears to be rabbit damage to the bark a little higher.

[TheWaterbug]

Looks like it might root again, but I'd make a nice basket for it. It also has what appears to be rabbit damage to the bark a little higher.

Thanks for the encouragement. I feeling a little bit better about the situation after reading that all babacos are propagated from cuttings.


I just went to Lowe's to get some rooting hormone, potting soil, peat moss, and vermiculite. I also have some perlite here. I'm going to wait for additional responses tonight and then attempt something tomorrow.


The tree currently has the main trunk which is about 4.5' tall, with plenty of leaves and 2 small fruit, plus two smaller trunks that are each about 1.5" tall with some leaves and no fruit.


I'm thinking of cutting off both side shoots and attempting to root those separately, to give me two more chances at saving something, and then attempting to get the main trunk rooted again.


Or should I cut the top off the main trunk and root that, and leave ones of the side shoots with the main trunk?


Should I be rooting mature wood or green wood on a babaco?


Should I cut off all the leaves?

[aka_no_nui193]

I’ve been able to take an air layer from Babaco pretty easily but just be careful cuz they rot really easily if it’s too wet, so maybe some sort of anti fungal might help too.

[Oolie]

You will want to remove most of the leaf given that the gophers removed most of the root. The part of the leaf that will take the most moisture is the pointy parts, so I would trim the remaining leaves somewhat round.
I don't know much about rooting them, but what you're suggesting sounds reasonable, I'd go for it.

[K-Rimes]

They root pretty easily. I think it'll come back.

I've resorted to basketing everything and trapping the gophers after some losses like this (I'm at #5 this year and the in ground stuff is doing great).

[TheWaterbug]

The gopher has filled the tunnel and pushed dirt into the trap twice now, without getting caught. 


At least I know he's there. I just reset it for the 3rd time.

[TheWaterbug]

I also took all the accumulated advice and tried the following:

• Cut off the top of the main stem, cut off most of the leaves, dusted the bottom with rooting powder, and put it in a jar of water.
• Cut off one of the side branches, did the same, and put it in a mix of potting soil and vermiculite.
• Cut off the top of the main stem, cut off most of the leaves, dusted the bottom with rooting powder, and put it in a jar of water.
• Cut 4 additional sections from the main branch, with no leaves.
• Wounded one of them, dusted with rooting powder, and put it in the potting mix
• Left another one intact, and did the same
• Left the other 2 out to dry for a couple of days
• Put the remaining portion of the main stem, containing the little bit that was left of the root system and one side shoot, into some potting mix with some rooting powder on it.

So in a couple of days I'll have 7 different sections attempted, and in a couple of weeks I'll know if any of them worked. If any of them survive, I'll put the strongest back in the ground in a gopher-resistant wire cage. If more than one works, I'll have a few plants to give away in a few months.

[TheWaterbug]

I'm remembering back to when I first got this plant, from the CFRG Spring Sale last year, that it did not enjoy the drive home, laying down on its side in my minivan, as nearly all the soil got shaken off the root ball in transit.



I repotted it as soon as I got home, and all the leaves fell off. I thought it was dead, and then 2-3 months later it started growing again.



So this plant has been a survivor. We'll see if it's got another life (or several) in it!

[K-Rimes]

The gopher has filled the tunnel and pushed dirt into the trap twice now, without getting caught. 


At least I know he's there. I just reset it for the 3rd time.

Use at least two traps. Use something pointy and small like a plant take around the hole and find where the tunnel goes, then dig about a foot between the fresh hole and the tunnel - put a trap on either side of the hole facing out and really get it in there, I try to get it at least 6" into the holes, then stuff the hole with fresh grass or foliage of whatever is around.

You'll get more that way.

I did get one this year with a gopher hawk trap but I think it wast just chance it walked down the tunnel the hawk was set in. I have more luck with the regular traps by far.

[spaugh]

Gophers suck.  I got one yesterday but have one thats been out on the hillside for weeks now and wont walk in the trap.  Its dug around like 30 or 40 feet all over my yard.  Its pissing me off. 

[Oolie]

I wouldn't recommend a flimsy cage like that, I make my own out of 1/2" hardware cloth, which holds up for about three years, which is 2.5 years longer than anything made out of chicken wire has lasted.

This thread has some experiences I've had.

[TheWaterbug]

The gopher has filled the tunnel and pushed dirt into the trap twice now, without getting caught. 

At least I know he's there. I just reset it for the 3rd time.

Use at least two traps. Use something pointy and small like a plant take around the hole and find where the tunnel goes, then dig about a foot between the fresh hole and the tunnel - put a trap on either side of the hole facing out and really get it in there, I try to get it at least 6" into the holes, then stuff the hole with fresh grass or foliage of whatever is around.

You'll get more that way.

I did get one this year with a gopher hawk trap but I think it wast just chance it walked down the tunnel the hawk was set in. I have more luck with the regular traps by far.

Yeah, I bought a Gopher Hawk, and I've caught just one with it. I use the 0625 Victor Black Box trap (not the newfangled 0626 contraption) with good success. I've probably caught a dozen so far this season. But some of them are wiley, and just refuse to get caught. I have to be patient and reset the trap every chance I get. I'll get him!!!!

[TheWaterbug]

I wouldn't recommend a flimsy cage like that, I make my own out of 1/2" hardware cloth, which holds up for about three years, which is 2.5 years longer than anything made out of chicken wire has lasted.

This thread has some experiences I've had.

LOL! You and I talked about traps on that thread 2.5 years ago!


The Diggers gopher baskets are allegedly good for a few years, and then they're supposed to break down so that the don't inhibit root development. They're a lot cheaper if you buy directly from their site, vs. amazon, which is one of the very few times that has happened.