View Full Version : Bananas TCs Indoors
andy17
06-25-2012, 02:59 PM
Hi Everyone,
I have a few banana TC's that I have growing in a southeast/east window, that gets between 3-5 hours of direct sunlight a day, but the window is fairly bright in the afternoon as well. Right now I have a Dwarf Cavendish and a Goldfinger chillin about a foot and a half away from the window. I'm looking at putting a Gros Michel TC in the windowsill as well. Does anyone have any experience with Banana TC's as temporary houseplants (1-2 months)? I've heard the Dwarf Cavendish does fairly well indoors, but I've not heard much about Goldfinger or Gros Michel. As always, any input would be really appreciated! Thanks!
john_ny
06-25-2012, 03:55 PM
Years ago. my very first bananas were Gros Michelle. I had them, in front of glass patio doors, in a room with a southwest exposure. In a short while, they were pushing the tiles out of the suspended ceiling!
Capitum
06-25-2012, 04:45 PM
All of my TCs have started in a South facing windowsill (on the sill, not set back). No issues here. Make sure they stay warm enough to avoid rotting.
Edit: for the real TCs that hasn't even been hardened off, I also tented them for a week or two to keep humidity up.TCs that have already been hardened (such as from Agristarts ) shouldn't need that extra protection.
andy17
06-25-2012, 05:25 PM
Years ago. my very first bananas were Gros Michelle. I had them, in front of glass patio doors, in a room with a southwest exposure. In a short while, they were pushing the tiles out of the suspended ceiling!
That's awesome! Did daytime temps ever get above 75 degrees F?
andy17
06-25-2012, 05:32 PM
All of my TCs have started in a South facing windowsill (on the sill, not set back). No issues here. Make sure they stay warm enough to avoid rotting.
Glad to hear! How warm did you keep your TCs?
john_ny
06-26-2012, 10:02 AM
I must say that the GMs that were pushing at the ceiling were not from TCs; they were from a couple of large corms that I obtained in St. Lucia, and I think, on some days the temperature may have gotten above 75°F.
On the other hand, here is a picture, taken through the blinds, ofr a Dwarf Caendish, in a bay window, with a Northwest exposure, in April, 2011. This was from a TC that I got in January,2010.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=41496&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=41496&ppuser=826)
andy17
06-26-2012, 10:36 AM
I must say that the GMs that were pushing at the ceiling were not from TCs; they were from a couple of large corms that I obtained in St. Lucia, and I think, on some days the temperature may have gotten above 75°F.
On the other hand, here is a picture, taken through the blinds, ofr a Dwarf Caendish, in a bay window, with a Northwest exposure, in April, 2011. This was from a TC that I got in January,2010.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=41496&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=41496&ppuser=826)
I know there must be some difference in vigor and growth rate between TC's and corms, but I would say that if corm plants were happy, then TC's should definitely do just fine. I was just curious if your GMs grew to that size with normal house temps--which would be awesome! I've heard certain varieties can be really difficult to grow indoors for this reason. It looks like your Dwarf Cavendish is growing great in the bay window! Is there any supplemental lighting? Thanks for the feedback! :03:
john_ny
06-26-2012, 03:16 PM
Andy, the room where the GMs were is a finished basement. The property slopes down toward that end of the house, hence the sliding glas doors, where you can walk out onto the patio. The only heat in that room is a built in electric heater, in the wall. It costs a fortune to run, so we only turn it on when we're using the room. I think the plants were there in the summertime. (I can't picture having run the heater constantly for just two plants.) There is also no air conditioning in that room. I guess some cool air might drop down the open stairwell. That is why I said that it might get above 75° occasionally, in the dog days of summer.
The bay window is in my dining room, so it's normal household temperature. There was no supplemental lighting in either place.
The basement gets down to around 50°, in the winter. I use it to dry store basjoos, overwinter.
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