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View Full Version : Bananas stored dormant in basement dried out


natej740
12-29-2010, 09:35 PM
I just went down and checked on my musa basjoo i stored in my basement and its dried out...All of the outer layers are brown and crisp. The inner layers still felt firm. Is that normal or is it just going to get worse? My Ensete V. Marellii is doing great put out 2 and a half leaves in my cold dark basement! Ill try to add pics later if i get around to it. Thanks

The Hollyberry Lady
12-29-2010, 09:40 PM
Very interesting. I'd like to know about this too...


: )

natej740
12-29-2010, 10:10 PM
Very interesting. I'd like to know about this too...


: )

It was a large pup(the one in my profile pic) that i separated and took it straight down there. It grew some as well but it stopped growing a while ago. If it will continually get worse i was thinking of potting it up and see if i can get it to grow again...I dont really have the room for another huge banana plant in my spare bedroom though....And my girlfriend already thinks im crazy with all these plants...lol

saltydad
12-29-2010, 10:11 PM
This happens to me, though I've never stored basjoo indoors. Unless it is totally dry and has no weight at all in spring, plant it, If it's at all firm it should come back, though it may take a while to show green. These are tough suckers, and most make it!

Here's what mine look like now in the basement.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39593&size=1

Patty in Wisc
12-30-2010, 02:02 AM
Oh my, I did what Big Dog posted about how to store over winter. I cut all leaves off except for the newest leaf...and that's cut in half. I have them laying on floor in cool sunroom & covered to keep light off. The lower part of leaves are brown but if I pull them down a little, it is green --so far.
Howard, I would cut some lower leaves off. And, welcome back! Looks like you got your puter working again:)

saltydad
12-30-2010, 12:54 PM
Actually the ones that have all their leaves have now been potted; I'm trying to keep them going for a head start next spring. The others that are bare root only have the top leaf on them; the others were cut off before I brought them inside. Interestingly, I have some elephant ears bare root that are still green and growing- no water!

Jack Daw
12-30-2010, 01:27 PM
Isn't that floor too cold? Those corms shouldn't be feeling that cold all winter long.

saltydad
12-30-2010, 05:03 PM
The furnace is in the same room. If anything, it's too warm. I wish it were around 50 instead of normal house temp.

Olafhenny
12-30-2010, 08:02 PM
I just went down and checked on my musa basjoo i stored in my basement and its dried out...All of the outer layers are brown and crisp. The inner layers still felt firm. Is that normal or is it just going to get worse? My Ensete V. Marellii is doing great put out 2 and a half leaves in my cold dark basement! Ill try to add pics later if i get around to it. Thanks

I don't have that problem - yet, because I have so far only one mother plant with 4 pups (2 of them very little) all wrapped up outside, waiting for spring to arrive. A fifth Pup is doing nicely in a pot by the window.

If I am put next year into a position, that I have to winter more, than my window sill can handle, I will do a modification of what Patty in Wisc and Big Dog recommend.

I will trim of the leaves but give them minimum life support, by sticking all of them into one pot with peat moss, which I will moisten lightly from time to time, just enough to maintain the moisture the peat moss came originally in or less and keep the whole thing in a cool dark room or covered; - similar to what I do with Dahlias, Cannas etc.

I think, that you can still do something like that with yours. However potting it (them) nowwould be preferable, if you have the space near a light source.

I think the furnace room is bad news, since there is bound to be a lot of warm, dry air circulating.

Good luck!
Olaf

chasbear
12-30-2010, 08:09 PM
Here's what mine look like now in the basement.http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39593&size=1

Howard, its quite obvious where your priorities lie, eh?

Will it be housekeeping or banana-keeping? Hmmm, let me think about it...
It sure looks like my kind of priorities.

Better not let natej740's girlfriend see this photo!

Olafhenny
12-30-2010, 08:27 PM
The furnace is in the same room. If anything, it's too warm. I wish it were around 50 instead of normal house temp.
Hi Howard,

what about other basement rooms or a crawlspace, which if not ventilated too drastically often gets enough heat from the rest of the house to keep it frost free or a garage? There keeping the outside door closed as much as possible, returning cars should provide enough heat to prevent freezing. Wrapping the plant in old blankets or such should protect them from sudden cold spikes.

Get two or three cheep thermometers from a dollar store and distribute them to selective places, but make sure, that they all show the same temperature, when you buy them. I had variations between 18 and 21^C, when I bought mine. :)

Good luck!
Olaf

saltydad
12-31-2010, 04:12 PM
Actually, Olaf, this room has successfully wintered bare root bananas,potted bananas, bare root plumeria in dormancy, potted plumeria, ee's., canna corms, etc. I have never had a plant rot in here; if it were cooler dormancy would just be easier to provoke.The only hassle is that my tender pond plants tub needs refills pretty often due to evaporation. There is some cold air entering around the door just to the left of the back wall in the pic, which probably lowers the temps in that half of the room somewhat.

mushtaq86
12-31-2010, 05:47 PM
Actually, Olaf, this room has successfully wintered bare root bananas,potted bananas, bare root plumeria in dormancy, potted plumeria, ee's., canna corms, etc. I have never had a plant rot in here; if it were cooler dormancy would just be easier to provoke.The only hassle is that my tender pond plants tub needs refills pretty often due to evaporation. There is some cold air entering around the door just to the left of the back wall in the pic, which probably lowers the temps in that half of the room somewhat.

How long are you winters Howard,meaning how long do you store your nanas inside,i personally think storing bare rooted nanas is to much of a hit and miss.

RobG7aChattTN
12-31-2010, 09:59 PM
I think it seems like basjoo does worse overwintering indoors than any other Musa. I don't know why...but I've had trouble with basjoo also when other Musa in the same conditions do just fine.

saltydad
01-01-2011, 02:11 AM
How long are you winters Howard,meaning how long do you store your nanas inside,i personally think storing bare rooted nanas is to much of a hit and miss.\

I dig them in November or December depending on the weather and my physical condition. This year was later as I was recovering from a back muscle strain. They go back out usually in May; sometimes a tad earlier. I actually never got to dig up some of my ee's and cannas this year. We'll see how they do without any mulch....gulp.

Patty in Wisc
01-02-2011, 03:00 PM
Isn't that floor too cold? Those corms shouldn't be feeling that cold all winter long.
They SHOULD be feeling that cold Jack. It's what keeps them dormant. I'd say anywhere between 40 & 60f is good.

nannerfunboi
01-03-2011, 11:51 AM
patty..temp in my cold room in house is 52F my stored plants.. EE , cannas, bananas(big ones i cant pot up for winter)..
i dust them all with cheap ground cinnamon..(from dollar store) seems to
combat the molding ok..
this is my 1st yr storting bananas..ive overwintered EE and cannas for yrs
now..
so im hoping this same procedure will be good for my nanners ...
so far ok.. :goteam:
thanks for all others insights and posted practices in storing our
prized plants !!
happy new year !!!

lwabirds
01-28-2011, 04:18 PM
Nate,
I've stored basjoo's over winter with pretty good success. You will get the outter layers turn brown. That's pretty normal since it's no longer photosynthesizing (if you have it in the dark). I've made the biggest mistake by not keeping the soil damp. The plants will die if you let the soild go dry for to long. I water maybe once a month. Just enough to give them a little moisture. I've lost 6ft potted basjjoos (tops cutt off and put in the garage for winter) by not watering them at all.

natej740
01-28-2011, 04:34 PM
Thanks...they are starting to look really bad so i bought some potting soil yesterday and was planning to pot them up and try to get them growing again...The ensete i got off of you isnt looking good at all but who knows....they are tough plants.

bananarama2
01-28-2011, 04:58 PM
This is certainly one of the most volatile subjects on the whole site. And, with one read, there are at least half a dozen topics that can be pursued. Botanically speaking, most plants stop active growth at around 14degrees Celsius, about 58 degrees Fahrenheit, so targetting the low 50's for storage is right, which gives a safe temperature range to avoid freezing the root, yet encouraging dormancy. Maintaining enough moisture either in the storage medium or in the air (an evaporating pond plant tub ?) helps maintain a healthy dormancy, without drying out the roots. If the roots still appear healthy, (moist, crisp and uniform texture), then do indeed try to save them by planting up now (spring is not far off for most of us). As Rob (if I recall rightly) mentioned, this is a pretty iffy challenge on a good day, and it takes a lot of thought and planning to create a perfect over-wintering space for bananas, and it seems, a good dash of luck as well. Hope success is the norm for all of the banana storers out there! Good luck all!:08:

bananarama2
01-28-2011, 05:06 PM
Sorry, just an additional thought on the difficulties encountered by some with over-wintering basjoos. It would seem that since they are one of the hardiest of the bananas, they are less inclined to enter dormancy, and thus may be seeing storage attempts as just tough growing conditions. You may have to just be a bit tougher on them to convince them to go dormant and stay that way until spring. 25c worth!:D

natej740
01-28-2011, 05:20 PM
Sorry, just an additional thought on the difficulties encountered by some with over-wintering basjoos. It would seem that since they are one of the hardiest of the bananas, they are less inclined to enter dormancy, and thus may be seeing storage attempts as just tough growing conditions. You may have to just be a bit tougher on them to convince them to go dormant and stay that way until spring. 25c worth!:D

Good point....

lwabirds
01-28-2011, 05:23 PM
I posted a pic in my gallery of the basjoos that I have over wintering in my garage. I keep the soil damp. Maybe watering once a month to keep them from drying out. This has worked well for several years. The garage is not heated. Plants are covered with a tarp.

CookieCows
01-28-2011, 10:37 PM
I followed Bigdogs method this year too except they're in a dark workshop, with cement floor but laying flat on wooden pallets and covered with a tarp. Only D.O.s are being overwintered like that. I think I'll go check on them tomorrow!

Max363
02-15-2011, 11:31 PM
All my basement stored plants seem to have done well getting thru this dark snowy winter of course except one which was in the back. I didn't really notice until today that even the main new leaf is gray and very funky looking - of course it had to be my most special plant - my seed grown ensete! The pseudo stem is very thick and still solid so I have faith that it will spring back now I have taken it upstairs into the warmth and will baby it for the next few weeks before it can go back outside.
11-29-2010
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2-15-2011
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