Duckfood

Of course!!!

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By the way, there is no cure for the human disease of growing bananas. ~~~ Richard 05/22/2014...

RafaelNJ

for basement storage, I think my garage is too cold, do you suggest just dropping them in a pot or fill with peat moss or dirt? There will be no light in the basement.

cincinnana

If you have more than 1 try it out.....
Keep it in the ground....it will grow till frost and then some.
The corm is the only thing you want to grow/ protect at this point.
I will not transplant after July/ August because my plants will not recover( grow awesome root structure) for the winter dormancy in the basement.

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RafaelNJ

I am a bit confused by this, you grow a root structure for dormancy? I thought when dormant that doesnt matter, I see people cut all the roots off to store in dormancy on some youtube videos and store out of soil. How exactly do you overwinter them in basement if you dont mind me asking?

cincinnana

Argh.....
I will get right on that.......

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cincinnana

Photo just taken.
Small Basjoo in new home.
Pretty dark out

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cincinnana

I do store them in containers in the basement with pretty good results so far.

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RafaelNJ

u do what ? lol
man I wish you were close by so I could come buy a few off of you.....

RafaelNJ

How do you store them in containers? free of soil or with soild just like outside in summer? or perhaps peat moss like many store their tropical plant bulbs like colocasias? do you use grow lights or just in the dark.

cincinnana

The photo shown is when I line them up and spray for insects before I bring them in the basement, photo is from last fall.
I do nothing except spray for insects and I leave all containers intact.The plants just stop all growing activity The containers are stored side by side in a dark basement with BARE MINIMUM LIGHT AND WATER.
I only use grow lights on a few special plants which are kept in a heated area.

There are many threads on this subject that go into detail and are pretty informative, just pick which method that suits you best,
there is no wrong way to do it.

Once you get the hang of it and you get a few seasons under your belt, storing them becomes routine. I am still learning new stuff every year.

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RafaelNJ

Yes there is so many different techniques it can get a bit hard figuring out which is best, it seems like you have it figured out so I would like to try your method my first year. Will just bringing containers into an unheated basement work for me? I am still not certain of the temperature there but I imagine its somewhere between 50-60, the furnace is there. However, I have no light at all so it is pitch black, unless someone comes down to do laundry or to use the computer (which will be moved upstairs before this winter). I am afraid if I leave foliage and soil like you they might rot/die with no light at all and moisture in the soild? I am wondering why are you storing such big bananas inside if you are doing so well with deep planting? is it just because you want large plants early in the season?

Duckfood

You weren't kidding when you said "BARE MINIMUM LIGHT," were you???

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By the way, there is no cure for the human disease of growing bananas. ~~~ Richard 05/22/2014...

cincinnana

Most of my basjoos will stay outside and the majority of my other plants (bananas/ferns) are not cool/cold tolerant so they must come inside once the season ends. I have more room in the basement for storing plants.
If your plants are on the small side just put them close to an upstairs window they will adjust to their new home.

I grow the banana plant for the tropical foliage and since my growing season is so short I will not get fruit.

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RafaelNJ

Well my basement has no windows (besides one small one that is boarded up and under the outside deck). I cannot bring the bananas inside the house as I have no space and my wife would now allow it ( she wants nothing to do with plants inside :/). I already will be storing some small colocasias/alocasias inside this winter so Basjoos will stay in the basement in complete darkness. That is why I am worried leaving soil in pots like you do if you have any light for yours to grow. I am afraid mine will rot with the moisture and darkness and that is why I Wanted to know exact details of how you do it and if you think I can do the same thing you do without light. Then again I seen people pull the roots out from soil and still rot in the winter. I do not have many plants and still new to this so I am afraid to lose my crop.

RafaelNJ

no fruit for you at all? I have seen a guy in new hampshare growing banas for fruit so I would have though you definitely would have had some. its another thing about getting them to ripen.

Hammocked Banana

Pot them up and put them in the basement. Dont water the soil basically at all, maybe just once or twice during the winter, and small amounts.

RafaelNJ

I will try that thanks!

RafaelNJ

So I have been itching to look inside the one leaf that was left on the plant (the leaf that was coming out when I bought the plant and just got stuck half way out once planted) for a couple of days and yesterday finally opened up the leaf to see what is inside. I found a new leaf emerging to my surprise so it looks like the plant survived and its starting to grow again. The trunk was looking a lot worse then the other plant I planted normally (and it was a bit softer) so I thought this plant was a gonner. Now I only hope it survives the winter in the ground as I cannot seeing producing much this season. I was wondering why do you spray the plants for bugs in the winter? I figured it would be cold enough that no bugs would be a problem, should I be doing the same with only a few plants and you do it because of the amount of them you have?

Hammocked Banana

I spray in the fall so I don't bring bugs inside. For outdoor basjoos, I never spray them. Maybe if I got some crazy infestation but luckily in Canada the worst damage happens from slugs and grasshoppers.

RafaelNJ

What do you spray with? just soap and water?