Log in

View Full Version : Overwinter success.....now what?


scarll
04-09-2017, 03:58 PM
I cut my pot grown banana down as far as I could last Fall, approximately two inches from the top of the soil. I let it dry out for two weeks and then moved it into my friend's root cellar. When I picked it up today it already has a 6 inch shoot coming from the center. I am wondering if I should repot and bury the old stem so the top is level with the soil in the pot. Unfortunately, I do not know the variety as I no longer have the tag. It grew quite tall over the summer and had very large (3-4 foot) leaves. The leaves were green on top and red on the bottom. It was beautiful and I am so excited it made it through the winter.

edwmax
04-09-2017, 06:13 PM
No ... Put it in the pot at the same level it was before.

Tytaylor77
04-09-2017, 11:36 PM
I agree with edwmax same level in pot. Or same level into the ground. If your gonna dig it out of the pot to store it over winter you may as well be planting/digging out of the ground. They love the ground and will really grow like crazy.

scarll
04-10-2017, 06:04 AM
Thanks for the advise. I guess I was a little vague. I did not take it out of the pot to store. I left it in the pot it was growing in and let it dry out by putting it on a covered porch and not watering. It was still moist when it went in the root cellar, but was not watered all Winter. I may try planting it in the ground this year and get another for my deck. I will leave it at the same level it is in the pot.

a.hulva@coxinet.net
04-11-2017, 11:40 PM
Sounds like a Zabrina

Tytaylor77
04-12-2017, 12:29 AM
Yes zebrina is very popular and would be the top of my guess list. Others could be Mysore. Or bordelon. Or sikkimentis. Or Helens Hrbrid. It could even be entente Maurelii, the false banana. Which isn't even a banana. They are beautiful plants though.

Pictures would help, if you took any last year before winter.

Was it an edible variety? Where did you get it?

scarll
04-12-2017, 05:57 AM
I found the tag, it is a Maurelli. I bought it at a local greenhouse. They are carrying more varieties this year due to the popularity of that one. I am going to try the hardy (for zone 5) Musa Basjoo in my yard this year and see how that works out. I don't have a lot of sun, but might have a spot it will like. Will give it a shot. I can't figure out how to download pictures to this site, so no pictures. When I purchased the Maurelli it was about 2-3 feet tall. By the end of summer it was over 7 feet. Very impressive!!

Tytaylor77
04-12-2017, 03:19 PM
Awesome! I'm glad you found what it was.. Yes get a basjoo, it would be the best plant for your zone.. if you cut it low and mulch it really good just before winter it should grow back every year! Just search around on here or ask questions later in the year and I am sure there is someone near you who share their method!

cincinnana
04-12-2017, 09:40 PM
I found the tag, it is a Maurelli. I bought it at a local greenhouse. They are carrying more varieties this year due to the popularity of that one. I am going to try the hardy (for zone 5) Musa Basjoo in my yard this year and see how that works out. I don't have a lot of sun, but might have a spot it will like. Will give it a shot. I can't figure out how to download pictures to this site, so no pictures. When I purchased the Maurelli it was about 2-3 feet tall. By the end of summer it was over 7 feet. Very impressive!!

Your plant will be an awesome beast......it just ain't there yet.
Your going to need a bigger boat!!!
This members pics( the link) are a sneak peek of how large your plant will get.
I have no idea how he does it so well, all the plants in his yard are awesome.


. http://www.bananas.org/266939-post26.html

a.hulva@coxinet.net
04-13-2017, 10:03 AM
That is the biggest Maurelii I have ever seen. Monster! How did it survive the winter?

scarll
04-13-2017, 11:35 AM
It was a biggie, I did need a bigger pot, but then I wouldn't have been able to move it. I cut in down in the Fall to about 2 inches above the soil line. I moved it to a screen porch to dry out for a couple of weeks, and then I put it in my friend's root cellar, under her house. It was not watered during that time, was in total darkness, and no heat. When I took it out it already had a six inch shoot coming up. Obviously liked it's winter vacation.

Tytaylor77
04-13-2017, 04:22 PM
Ensete should store dry over winter fine. I have read they can go dormant and live upto 8 years without a drop of water!!!. Then when the rains come its roots fly out and he keeps growing until some hungry African digs him up and eats his corm!! :chefnaner:

a.hulva@coxinet.net
04-13-2017, 05:05 PM
I tried overwintering mine in the ground covered etc. Outside looked good, center sucked. Mush. I cut down and planted the roots/corm just for the he'll of it. Probably toast.

scarll
04-14-2017, 06:05 AM
What variety was it Al? Let us know if it comes back. I once talked to a lady in zone 5 in New Jersey who had banana plants around her pool for privacy. She cut them down, mulched them with straw and leafs and they came back every year. That's what gave me the bug to try it.

a.hulva@coxinet.net
04-14-2017, 09:09 AM
It was a Maurelii for sure. It was going on four this year.

Tytaylor77
04-14-2017, 10:18 AM
What variety was it Al? Let us know if it comes back. I once talked to a lady in zone 5 in New Jersey who had banana plants around her pool for privacy. She cut them down, mulched them with straw and leafs and they came back every year. That's what gave me the bug to try it.

The lady you talked to and the bananas you see up north growing tall every year are musa basjoo. They are the most cold hardy of any banana. Mulch them deep and they return easily in the spring.