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Cold Hardy Bananas This forum is dedicated to the discussion of bananas that are able to grow and thrive in cold areas. You'll find lots of tips and discussions about keeping your bananas over the winter.


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Old 10-10-2014, 06:37 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Default Help! Its getting cold.

K. I have a Cavendish banana plant and I planted it in the garden and now its getting cold outside so I need information.
Its maybe 3' tall and has 8 leaves and zero health issues.

1. How deep do I need to dig?
2. How big does the pot need to be?
3. Is there anything else I should know to keep a banana plant alive indoors until spring?

Thanks for any information you can give me.
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Old 10-10-2014, 09:20 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Smile Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Quote:
Originally Posted by laserlight View Post
K. I have a Cavendish banana plant and I planted it in the garden and now its getting cold outside so I need information.
Its maybe 3' tall and has 8 leaves and zero health issues.

1. How deep do I need to dig?
2. How big does the pot need to be?
3. Is there anything else I should know to keep a banana plant alive indoors until spring?

Thanks for any information you can give me.
.
Snapshot ....Me.
This years banana plants lined up on the lawn ready for insect spray and preperation before moving inside my dim basement.
Shown in this pic are containers from 3- 10 gallon in the front rows to 25-35 gal in the back rows.
Plant height in pics is 8" -16'
All plants are in containers and will be overwintered in my dim basement with no additional /supplemental light to grow. Three of the plants in the pic will overwinter under a CFL light setup to maintain health of the plant.
Note the container size which you might use according to your plant, the container size is important. Error on the small side.....less chance to overwater the container.
.
Untitled
.You .....
Note my container sizes....match the size which suits your needs.
Dig the amount that will fill a 3-5 gal container or more.... use good quality soil as filler if possible. Surgically remove the plant root ball so to speak.
Do not disturb the roots if possible......keep the native soil on the roots this will not SHOCK the plant as much.
Your goal is not to shock/disturb the plant as much as possible....this will facilitate success during the winter.
Then grow them out in a warm and cozy spot by a south facing window.
Or you may maintain them with an inexpensive CFL grow light setup.
Do not over water...It is human nature to water your plants when they look bad....
Then ....Sitback, gelax and enjoy!!!

Then you can say......Epic!
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Old 10-11-2014, 03:21 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Joy Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cincinnana View Post
.
Snapshot ....Me.
This years banana pics.
Shown in this pic are containers from 3- 10 gallon in the front rows to 25-35 gal in the back rows.
Plant height in pics is 8" -16'
All plants are in containers and will be overwintered in my darkened basement with no additional /supplemental light to grow. Three of the plants in the pic will overwinter under a CFL light setup to maintain health of the plant.
Note the container size which you might use according to your plant, the container size is important. Error on the small side.....less chance to overwater the container.
.
Untitled
.You .....
Note my container sizes....match the size which suits your needs.
Dig the amount that will fill a 3-5 gal container or more.... use good quality soil as filler if possible. Surgically remove the plant root ball so to speak.
Do not disturb the roots if possible......keep the native soil on the roots this will not SHOCK the plant as much.
Your goal is not to shock/disturb the plant as much as possible....this will facilitate success during the winter.
Then grow them out in a warm and cozy spot by a south facing window.
Do not over water...It is human nature to. Ask me.
Or you may maintain them with an inexpensive CFL grow light setup.
Then ....Sitback, gelax and enjoy!!!

Then you can say......Epic!

Of course....this is only my opinion and will not work for everybody.
Wow! What a great collection of banana plants!
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Old 10-11-2014, 06:54 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

@ Cincinnana.
Woah! Thats a lot of banana plants! They look really healthy too and they are all in pots so you must be getting ready for winter too. I can see that its about the same temp in Cincinnati too so I will dig mine up this weekend. Im gonna use the same dirt that its growing in and I found a pot that looks like it could be the right size.

A dark basement? Can banana plants go dormant? I was told that they grow slower in the winter but if they can go dormant then I wanna keep mine dark too. We dont have a basement but there is closet space by the kitchen.
How much and how often should I water it?
I really hope it doesnt get too cold this winter because this is the biggest banana plant Ive had and I dont wanna lose it. I had a red banana plant too but a racoon tore it up. =(

Some of your bananas are really huge! How long did it take for them to get that big? You must have a huge basement for that many plants.

Thanks for all the help!
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Old 10-11-2014, 07:22 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Smile Re: Help! Its getting cold.

I forgot to add......Another way to do this is to wash the "old" soil off..... and plant your plant in a new fresh soil less mix...this is also a highly acceptable way to start the overwinter process.
However do whatever you can afford and.....have fun with it !!!
There is really not a wrong way to do it.......except not to try at all.... if it fails I will hook you up.
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Last edited by cincinnana : 10-11-2014 at 07:28 PM.
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Old 10-13-2014, 07:31 PM   #6 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Hey Folks,

When you over-winter in a basement like this, I guess the phrase would be "letting the plants go dormant" how cool does it need to be?
I'm is zone 7b-8a and my basjoo do great outside but I have a couple of ensete glaucom in pots I'd like to over-winter inside.
Working on a strategy, my basement stays in the low 60's and I'm afraid that's too warm. I guess I could also throw some grow light on em and try to keep em going. They're a little large for that but doable. It's all an experiment, just looking for advice from folks more knowledgeable.

Ideas?
Dave
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Old 10-13-2014, 09:08 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Here is a pic from last year.
There is a little light coming 3x 1.5x3 basement windows and double doors.
Almost all of the canopy(7 to 12 feet) is above the light sources so light is at a minimum for the banana plants
Plants are set container to container on the floor in a 15x30x12 area+-
Many containers are set in 5 gallon buckets to keep the critters contained.
All containers are sprayed/dipped in an insecticide, systemic and contact type.
I can use a systemic because I do not get fruit.

This year I purchased two packs of mosquito dunks and let them soak in 6 five gallon buckets and for the last 6 weeks I have watered/treated all my plants. Last year i had a fungus gnat zoo but once the soil was treated with BT the gnats vanished.

Temperature is 61-66.
Watering is light.... when the soiless mix pulls from the side of the container I am good.
There is usually a fan to move the air and I use a dehumidifier.
The only supplemental light these plants get is when they get tended to or when I am in the area working.
.
Plants in basement
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Last edited by cincinnana : 10-21-2014 at 02:59 PM.
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Old 10-14-2014, 04:44 AM   #8 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Thanks for the pic, that looks like something I can manage.
My main concern was temperature but it seems like your basement is similar to mine

Dave
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Old 10-14-2014, 07:23 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drobbins View Post
Thanks for the pic, that looks like something I can manage.
My main concern was temperature but it seems like your basement is similar to mine

Dave
My definition of dormant ....."Robbing your plant of water, light and everything it needs to grow without kiling it but still keeping it alive "

Here is another recent useful post....I am using this method with my Maurellii.

. Fall is here, time to get digging.
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Old 10-14-2014, 07:53 PM   #10 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

yea, I've been getting ideas from this guy's pics

Pics of putting 12-14' Ensete bananas to bed for winter, zone 4. - Banana Forum - GardenWeb

I was unsure when I read about such approaches as to what temps people were storing at. Most folks talk about a crawl space which is cooler than my basement. Mine are in pots so I think I'll just trim them back a bit to make them more manageable and stick em in the basement with kinda minimal watering. I'll post pics as things progress. Thanks for the info
Hopefully I'm going to put them in the ground next year.

Dave
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Old 10-14-2014, 08:15 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Yep that looks like the ticket.....
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Old 10-21-2014, 12:22 PM   #12 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cincinnana View Post
I forgot to add......Another way to do this is to wash the "old" soil off..... and plant your plant in a new fresh soil less mix...this is also a highly acceptable way to start the overwinter process.
However do whatever you can afford and.....have fun with it !!!
There is really not a wrong way to do it.......except not to try at all.... if it fails I will hook you up.
Just read your posts here and I am a bit afraid I did it wrong after digging them up I gave thema good shake and little thumps against the ground to shake as much of the soil of as possible... I see now i should have planted them with it. I did replace the soil with mixture of compost and lots of peat moss. I also didnt really use containers much bigger then root ball, one of the big plants i actually had to play with the roots to make them fit in the container, perhaps I should replant in something bigger?
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Old 10-22-2014, 07:38 AM   #13 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by RafaelNJ View Post
Just read your posts here and I am a bit afraid I did it wrong after digging them up I gave thema good shake and little thumps against the ground to shake as much of the soil of as possible... I see now i should have planted them with it. I did replace the soil with mixture of compost and lots of peat moss. I also didnt really use containers much bigger then root ball, one of the big plants i actually had to play with the roots to make them fit in the container, perhaps I should replant in something bigger?
Sounds like a solid plan, I have done the the same method as yours with good results (good results are minimal fatalities) and many zone pushers/ forum members do the exact same thing year after year with their bananas and are very pleased.

Do not expect your plant to look as well as it it did outdoors though.
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Old 10-22-2014, 01:58 PM   #14 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cincinnana View Post
Here is a pic from last year.
There is a little light coming 3x 1.5x3 basement windows and double doors.
Almost all of the canopy(7 to 12 feet) is above the light sources so light is at a minimum for the banana plants
Plants are set container to container on the floor in a 15x30x12 area+-
Many containers are set in 5 gallon buckets to keep the critters contained.
All containers are sprayed/dipped in an insecticide, systemic and contact type.
I can use a systemic because I do not get fruit.

This year I purchased two packs of mosquito dunks and let them soak in 6 five gallon buckets and for the last 6 weeks I have watered/treated all my plants. Last year i had a fungus gnat zoo but once the soil was treated with BT the gnats vanished.

Temperature is 61-66.
Watering is light.... when the soiless mix pulls from the side of the container I am good.
There is usually a fan to move the air and I use a dehumidifier.
The only supplemental light these plants get is when they get tended to or when I am in the area working.
.
Plants in basement
what do you mean you are good when soil pulls from the side of the container ? you mean you water the plant when the soil separates from the sides of the pot?
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Old 10-22-2014, 03:45 PM   #15 (permalink)
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Quote:
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what do you mean you are good when soil pulls from the side of the container ? you mean you water the plant when the soil separates from the sides of the pot?
Yes

When the soil pulls away (contracts from lack of moisture) from the container then it will be time for me to water. This is what works for me. Also my plants have been in the container for at least 60 days..so the container is filled with roots to utilize the water and it is hard to overwater this way .


Hint/hack...put a drop or less of dish detergent in your water so the water breaks the surface tension of the soil and does not run out the sides.....water sloooow.
Note the distance from the sides of the container below.
.
Soil pulled away from the side of the container
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Old 10-22-2014, 03:53 PM   #16 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Help! Its getting cold.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cincinnana View Post
Yes

When the soil pulls away (contracts from lack of moisture) from the container then it will be time for me to water. This is what works for me. Also my plants have been in the container for at least 60 days..so the container is filled with roots to utilize the water and it is hard to overwater this way .


Hint/hack...put a drop or less of dish detergent in your water so the water breaks the surface tension of the soil and does not run out the sides.....water sloooow.
Note the distance from the sides of the container below.
.
Soil pulled away from the side of the container
and you do the same once in your basement in the dark? I was expecting to water them like once max twice in the winter but that may be wrong as I see soil separating from sides within a couple days!
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Old 10-22-2014, 04:57 PM   #17 (permalink)
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and you do the same once in your basement in the dark? I was expecting to water them like once max twice in the winter but that may be wrong as I see soil separating from sides within a couple days!
I might do it 2x or 3x per month so the plant does not dehydrate to much.
The container will also be a lighter weight.
Your condition could be different and can change how fast the soil dries out.
Just use it as a guideline it could be less water than that.
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