View Full Version : New nannerhead head here with ???'s
kpdiver
09-17-2014, 02:16 PM
Hi guys and gals. I'm new here and have been reading for the past week. Love all the picture that are posted. I live in Ohio zone 6. I purchased my first dwarf patio banana tree (that is how it was listed on TyTy) which I'm not even sure what kind it is. Cavendish maybe? I purchased it this spring and was actually able to get two corms from it so I now have 2 potted mother plants that are doing well. I'm planning to keep them in pots as I obviously have to bring them in for the winter. My first question- there are 2 pups with each potted mother plant that I would like to separate and start in new pots so do I have to completely remove the potted plants in order to do this and then repot? Or can they be removed while still in the current pot? I've been bringing them in the house for the night as my temps have been dropping into the low 40's already. Looks like another hard winter is on the way. Is now the time to remove the pups, or should I wait until spring? I've got my soil ready and I think the correct size pots. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance. I tried to include a photo and it said my upload was successful but I couldn't find it. Sorry.
KP
ParadiseFarm
09-17-2014, 05:38 PM
I'm located in zone 6 as well, which doesn't mean much to me as the weather doesn't follow the rules and neither do I, which is why I'm growing bananas!
I have my bananas in 25 gallon containers, so I'm leaving all of my pups in. If the container is large enough and the banana plants don't look to be suffering, I'd leave them in. If your intent is to have fruit every year, your better off leaving the pups alone and letting them grow attached to the mother. If all you care about is ornamental quality bananas, then divide away.
If you are going to let them go dormant in the winter, then wait until spring to divide them. If they will be actively growing all winter long, like mine will be, then you can divide now if you want. They will need time to establish roots and here in zone 6 they will root more slowly this time of year than in spring.
I've got several lights, a heated garage and high enough ceilings to handle dwarf banana varieties. My intent is to have fruit every year, so I'm going to be actively growing all winter long. If I could get my hands on containers larger than 25 gallons, I would but I can't make magic happen, so I cope with the best I can provide for my bananas.
I would not have purchased from TyTy Nursery if it were me. If you are serious about your bananas and want to know precisely what you have, there are better nurseries available and the prices aren't that bad. I bought mine from Wellsprings and it's amazing how fast they've grown in only a short amount of time.
I wish you best of luck with your banana plant and future zone pushing plans.
pitangadiego
09-17-2014, 07:31 PM
Divide in the spring.
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 12:26 AM
Thank you both for the replies. Would I be ok to leave them potted throughout the summer next year as well or do you put them in the ground during the summer months then back to the pots? I agree about TyTy. I ordered some other trees from them and thought I would try bananas as well. They are horrible to deal with and I won't be ordering from them again. I purchased the banana tree for decoration mainly but have decided to try to get them to bear fruit while I'm at it. I'm impressed at how much they've grown over the summer. I'm going to transfer them to larger pots for the winter stay in my house so when I decide to take the pups next spring can I do that in the pot or should I take them out and repot after the pups are removed?
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 01:53 AM
I have my bananas in 25 gallon containers, so I'm leaving all of my pups in. If the container is large enough and the banana plants don't look to be suffering, I'd leave them in. If your intent is to have fruit every year, your better off leaving the pups alone and letting them grow attached to the mother. If all you care about is ornamental quality bananas, then divide away.
Should I leave the pups with the mother plant until the mother plant produces fruit then or go ahead and remove the pups next spring?
ParadiseFarm
09-18-2014, 08:21 AM
When a banana plant is put in the ground, it will grow faster. However, it's preference as to what you want to do. I'm not planning on putting mine in the ground because here in zone 6 in the fall the weather is too cold at night but remains nice and warm still during the day. In containers it is much easier to wheel them inside the garage at night, then back outside again in the morning. Any exposure below 50 degrees F will trigger dormancy and cause the banana to begin using its energy reserves, thus growing slower.
If you choose to plant in the ground, you'll have to dig it up and re-pot it so you can bring it inside before the cool nights settle in, as they are now. Digging a banana out of the ground will put it through some shock as you will not be able to get every single root. This is why I choose to leave my bananas in containers all of the time, to avoid any stress and growth suppression of the plant.
You could dig the banana out of the ground, store it in a cool place all winter, then replant it in the ground next spring. This will increase the time it takes to get fruit as your plant will not have been growing during its dormant state but this is the preferred method for most banana growers in cooler climates. Do whatever method you feel most comfortable with.
As far as fruiting is concerned, once the plant has put out fruit, the mother will die and the remaining pups will continue growing. If you only have one or two pups attached to the mother, they will not put a significant drain on the mother plants fruit production. Removing the pups will actually effect the mother plant more so than leaving them attached, it will go through a small shock as you have to disturb the roots.
If you feel you need to put each pup in its own container, do so in early spring, before the banana really starts growing or shows any sign of fruiting. Removing or leaving the pups attached is another preference and you'll have to decide what you want to do. Since you have two plants and they both have pups, try it both ways.
Judging by the rapid rate of pups you are getting, I'd surmise you have a Super Dwarf Cavendish. I do not know of any Super Dwarf Cavendish bananas that have ever fruited, unfortunately. Posting a picture will allow someone on here to help you identify your banana. I'm no good at leaf identification.
Growing and Fruiting Bananas (http://www.logees.com/growingandfruitingbananas)
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 02:04 PM
Thank you so much for your reply and input. Very helpful. I have taken a pic but can't seem to get it posted. Not sure if using my phone is the problem. I believe I'll keep them in pots until the spring and then remove the pups from one plant as you suggested. Thanks again for the detailed info.
KP
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 02:22 PM
Another question. Since I'm planning to keep the plants potted all the time, how often would I need to replace the soil, if at all? I'm thinking that if I'm adding compost and fertilizer I shouldn't have have to disturb the soil in the pot. Is this correct?
ParadiseFarm
09-18-2014, 03:11 PM
Bananas, being extremely fast growers, will outgrow their containers rather quickly. I started with a 3" pot, which came from the nursery, then moved to a 6" pot when I took it home. From there it went into a 9" pot, then a 1 gallon pot, then a 3 gallon pot, then a 7 gallon pot, until finally coming to it's final destination, the 25 gallon pot. The banana is now 4' tall, measuring from soil to the top of the stem, not the leaf. Those are the only pot sizes I had, so that's how it was up-potted. Normally a plant will spend a year or better in a pot but bananas grow so fast that they need the extra room in order to grow the way they want to grow.
When you re-pot your banana, you will be giving it new soil every time. I like to brush around the sides of my root balls to make sure the roots are not circling too badly, this removes some of the old dirt. Once the banana is put into the largest pot you can find, the largest being the best because any confinement will hinder growth and fruit development, amending the soil with compost on top and lots and lots of mulch should be all that is required.
I do not have ornamental bananas, so I cannot comment on how often one should take the plant out and trim the roots. The normal scenario for container plants is every 3 years. I'm guessing bananas would benefit from this every spring. I have so many things blended into my soil mixes that no 2 have ever been alike. Living on a farm has its privileges of being able to find a multitude of resources on every corner of the property. The type of soil you use will help determine how often it needs refreshed. All my bananas look like they are erupting out of a volcano of mulch, another scenario where bananas differ from every other plant out there.
There is a discussion going on in the container growing forum about potting soils that might be of some help...
http://www.bananas.org/f311/potting-soil-advice-newbie-20472.html
I'm not familiar with the photo gallery system used by this forum, I haven't used it so cannot offer any help towards that end.
I'm surprised some of the more senior members of the forum have not offered any more advice for you. We all have our different methods of growing our plants and no one method is really "right" or "wrong" but what we are able to accomplish given where we live and our lifestyles.
Looks like the weather is going to be on the warmer side this week which lets me take a break from wheeling in 6 banana plants every night. After such a hefty workout for the past two weeks my arms need a break! I think I'd rather go back to bailing hay... Not.
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 11:17 PM
Thanks again for your reply and willingness to help me. I have a couple huge pots ( whiskey barrels) that I'm going to put them in. I just noticed another pup poking through in the one pot so that makes 5 pups total. I'm going to be using sand, manure compost, perlite, and peat moss for the potting mix. Hopefully I can keep them growing in my house this winter. If these pups keep coming I'm going to have a jungle in these pots by spring. Thanks again for your input.
KP
Welcome. I hope you enjoy all the great information you can get from this cite. I still haven't figured out the pictures. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I can usually attach the pictures as a thumbnail but when it comes to getting pictures from the gallery into the post it hasn't worked yet. I have a lot of bananas in the ground and in buckets her are some pictures. Have fun learning about bananas.
Susan :goteam:
kpdiver
09-18-2014, 11:51 PM
Thank you Susan. I'm looking forward to learning more about these tropical trees that we can grow in our homes in colder climates.
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.