View Full Version : winterizing ornamental banana plant
MJWhite
09-08-2009, 11:39 AM
Hi! As a newbie to the group, I need some help! I planted an ornamental early summer and it has grown to about 5 feet and is beautiful! I live in Chicago, what do I do with it now for the upcoming winter? HELP!!!!
r3tic
09-08-2009, 12:13 PM
Your best bet for survival this winter will be to dig it up and bring it indoors over the winter. If it is a basjoo then next winter it should be able to be left outside with some good protection. When you bring it in you can pot it in a fast draining soil and keep it in a south facing window, watering lightly only when the soil has dried several inches down. You can also wait until the leaves start going brow chop them all off and keep it in a cool dark place like the basement until spring.
Check out the cold growing forum for more specifics and feel free to ask questions. Everyone is very helpful here.
Oh yes....Welcome to the .org!
LilRaverBoi
09-08-2009, 12:21 PM
Welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy it here and learn a lot. As far as overwintering plants, a lot of people have different methods for doing this. In my opinion, for someone with a small number of plants, I wouldn't risk losing your plant to rot in a cool garage or basement. I have always dug up my plants in the fall, put them in a pot and overwintered them (NOT dormant...growing) indoors by a window that gets a lot of direct light. If you have no such window, consider growing lights, but with a good window, they do quite well. This has always worked great for me and I have never lost a plant yet. Best of luck!
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