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View Full Version : Dwarf Orinoco in 8a?


imclueless17
05-21-2011, 06:57 PM
Has anyone ever tried to grow a Dw. Orinoco in zone 8a with minimal protection. I think it would be very interesting to see how it stands up to the cold. I have a feeling the p-stem would die off but the corm would remain in tact. If anyone has any experience growing a dwarf Orinoco in zone 8 please share. Thanks! :coldbanana:

Willow87
05-21-2011, 09:08 PM
I'm curious too about anyone's experience with dwarf Orinoco. I have the tall variety and I wonder if it is just as hardy

ron_mcb
05-21-2011, 10:04 PM
i have pics of both in my gallery i have had dwarf Orinoco to fruit sooner than Orinoco.. i think you better your chances of getting a flower if you add protection but i have had both survive light snow and lots of cold by adding nothing for protection.. look at my gallery. they both seem very rot and cold resistant in my area.

if left unprotected i think smaller suckers have a higher survival rate than the larger p stems in a clump.. Ive found this to be true almost every spring when they resume growth.

i can leave gran nain in the ground but i worry less about Orinoco than gran nain.. its a little tougher.

i like to experiment with lots of stuff .. im trying goldfinger and gran nain side by side to test it for myself.. ive heard of someone ripping gran nain and all Cavendish from their yard and replacing it with gold finger.. because this one guy said it was far superior? i will see if i form the same opinion.

the best thing to do is not to study hype or parroted script written by others..don't follow the experiments of others too close. try what ever you are interested in growing and find what works best for you. the more you experiment the more you will learn.

Willow87
05-23-2011, 07:52 PM
Thanks for the information Ron. This will be my first year overwintering bananas outside. I made the mistake of planting the corm on the west side of my house were its more exposed to wind. Hopefully the pups will grow nice and strong. I dont mind the shredded leaves too much just as long as the plant grows large.

ron_mcb
05-24-2011, 03:43 PM
Thanks for the information Ron. This will be my first year overwintering bananas outside. I made the mistake of planting the corm on the west side of my house were its more exposed to wind. Hopefully the pups will grow nice and strong. I dont mind the shredded leaves too much just as long as the plant grows large.

hey i just saw a thread talking about planting bananas a foot deeper to help it thru the winter. i may have done this last year without thinking about it. i did this with orinoco because the tall o i fruited last year had all these big 4 foot suckers popping up.. i removed about 5 of them.. they had corm but no roots. i chopped some leaves and put them down far enough to keep the wind from toppling them. i was worried about the root system suffocating because normally bananas like bamboo are known for shallow root system..keep in mind my goal was to keep the wind from toppling the plants..winter came and left and now all of the stems that put in the ground deep have survived. i will take pics to show what i mean.
for Orinoco in zone 8 it is almost completely unnecessary but you can try this winter it if it makes you feel better. i dont even know if this was a significant factor in the helping the pups survive,but they didn't have much of an established root system before planting and they all came up this spring..

im gonna link the thread. here.
http://www.bananas.org/f15/planting-basjoo-foot-deeper-9113.html
again i dont normally practice this because in theory it clashes with my system i use during the summer to grow my big foliage..its too much work to bury all of my bananas then dig them up. i lifted the 5 easily this spring because the root systems weren't so big yet.

Willow87
05-24-2011, 04:12 PM
Thanks again Ron. I think I planted the corm about a foot deep last month. I'm hoping that it will still come back next spring. I think if I get any more bananas I may try that but if you plant them deeper in clay soil, would that introduce rot? My Orinoco corm is planted in mostly clay soil, though I think it may be a silty clay or clay loam.

ron_mcb
05-24-2011, 04:22 PM
Thanks again Ron. I think I planted the corm about a foot deep last month. I'm hoping that it will still come back next spring. I think if I get any more bananas I may try that but if you plant them deeper in clay soil, would that introduce rot? My Orinoco corm is planted in mostly clay soil, though I think it may be a silty clay or clay loam.

if you have clay soil you may want to keep everything raised up...this is definitely not for you.:ha: agian in zone 8 it is almost completely unnecessary to go overboard on protection with orinoco

Willow87
05-24-2011, 04:47 PM
Ok I guess I'll leave it as it is but if I get more bananas I'll plant them in a raised bed.

fishoifc
05-24-2011, 07:48 PM
I left a D Orinoco outside this year with lights Plastic and burlap and it did great. No loss at all it was green all winter and about every week about a inch of leaf would grow out of the plastic and turn brown. This plant now is on it's third leaf and should bloom this summer. All other winters i have just left them natural and they always come back

Willow87
05-25-2011, 08:49 AM
Thats amazing, I hope it does produce bananas for you. I may try that this year with my Orinoco (if it does well)

cherok
06-11-2011, 10:46 AM
i just got some dwarf orinocos in the winter... they were in pots for a couple of months before being placed outside... first time w/ the dwarf orinoco... so hopefully all goes well :)

check out my gallery for current pics

Willow87
06-11-2011, 12:42 PM
Your banana plants are beautiful. I'm hoping my Orinoco and Basjoo does well this year