Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

My two banana plants (blue java and manzano) have been outside in pots for 2 months now and the temperature has been pretty chilly the past week ( some days it's been 40 degrees in the afternoon and some it's been 50) and my weather app says it'll get down to 33 degrees one of these nights . Luckily it's only been 60 to 70 degrees for the past 2 days in my part of west Tennessee. It's also been really windy too; so windy it Snapped the biggest leaf on my blue java , like 15-17mph windy .

Also what growlight should I get to accommodate my 1 and 3 foot banana plants ? I don't want them to be dormant for 3-4 months , I want them to still continuously grow at a steady rate over winter. I don't know much about growlights, how to adequately use them or how much it'll cost

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Your best source of information is on the numerous marijuana forums.
cannabis/growlight/indoors

Bananas and cannabis need the same conditions to thrive in your home.

These web pages are incredibly informative.

As you drill down in some of the web pages you will know these folks are serious.......JUst like you.


Also do a forum search Growlights/bananas/overwinter........this is a good place to start also.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Depends. How much do you want to spend? :D

I use a 1000w metal halide bulb ($90?)in a tent ($500) with other pieces of hardware to help all my growing. You can spend $1000 on lights alone if you want (SPYDRx Plus) but it's really up to how much you want to commit to growing things indoors. Is your goal JUST to keep the bananas going over winter?

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

I originally intended to only spend $20 or less for some type of light fixture but I don't have to since I've decided to just use an old 5ft lamp post that I already had in my house . Yes that's my goal but it might not be a big deal since I figured I might have days where I can get winter sun

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Not sure where you live but winter sun in a climate too far north could just make your plants leggy, which would cause them to fail (break in half) in the spring or summer when some good winds hit. If you want to do some tube florescents make sure they're at 6000 for a color temp, otherwise it's like a winter sun (teases the plant)

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

I live in west Tennessee. You might be right. I don't exactly know if that would really help my plants.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

I'm sure it wpuld help them and they'd be happier with that 6k color temp bulb :)

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

That's what I need? I've just been using a standard 150 watt soft white incandescent bulb that I use all throughout my house

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

That's enough to tease them, any bulb in a house really is, but if you want them to not get leggy and grow healthy then I'd flip out the 150w for something better. I'm guessing if you looked on the side of the box it came in, which I'm also assuming you don't have anymore, that you'd see a number around 3000-3500k as the color temp. It might actually say that on the side of the bulb too. 150w is usually the equivalent of a super cloudy day, so imagine growing some plant that wants something more under that for a few months.

Not sure what's close to you but here's a Home Depot link
Home Depot link

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Honestly I am using a window and flourescent ceiling lights (3k lumen) and it hardly takes any electricity at all and is so bright.. the leaves on my 2 foot tall basjoo literally quadroupled in size in 1.5 months.. 1 inch wide start and now it's about 5!

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

this was about 3 days after I separated it and got it potted by the window.. roughly 1.5-2 months ago

[IMG]

This was it today.. pseudostem is still 1 foot but it randomly made an enormous leaf instead of the gradual increase in size i have noticed.. guess it likes it [IMG]

Also check out all the mini basjoo leftovers i stuck in there lol [IMG]

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Holy crap that's a lot of basjoos :)

I'm sure with the natural light it will be happy.

Yay plants!

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

here's an update... leaves are consistently getting larger.. just window light and the ceiling lights should be fine :)

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Nice

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Glad to see it thriving

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Thanks! Hopefully I helped somebody out there. My soil is generic Tree/shrub soil from Lowe's or Home Depot (the cheapest.. with bark in it).. "fertilized for 7 months". I water when the top looks dry. This is my last update (unless people want to see more.. I know I'm probably becoming a nuisance and I apologize but I just get excited)

New leaf size is now similar


My mini basjoo forrest finally growing (this is after trimming old leaves)

One i Pulled out of the "forrest" for a friend

One for myself to have growing in a pot by itself (no "forrest" with it.. lol)

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Currently grow lights are on sale...
Dirt cheap...:woohoonaner:

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Wow pretty impressive growth there nealnick5!!! In one month those pups developed several leaves, all from indoor growth? I have 8 banana plantlets that have been in my lanai here in SW Florida up until a week or so ago when we got cold weather when I moved them inside by a north facing window to get light from 7am - 4pm. We are getting 80 degree weather all next week so I will move some outside under a screen to help their growth, but I've had mine for a month now and not much growth to speak of, maybe a few have pushed a leaf but they were half present when I first got them, I don't see the verticle growth of the pseudostem on any of these in a month the way yours have grown (and the verticle growth of your pups too) and most of the month I've had mine they were outside in my lanai getting indirect light and then for a week and a half I moved half of them outside under a screen to get more direct but shaded by the screen sun. Temps were 70s and 80s during the day during that time.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Looks like they're doing great,, I think , if possible that just good sunlight is fine. just keep doing what works
I moved these inside in October, all they get is good sunlight and lots of water,, they seem to be doing great also.



I'm thinking that they need a bigger pot, but I'm afraid to bother them while they are growing so good

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Bushwack, how old are those bananas and where are you located? Were they always in containers or in the ground during this past year?

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

They were very small pups transplanted from the ground that a friend had into these same pots,, ( they were the only plants that came back from the unwinterized mothers in winter of 2016 ) Spring of 2017 about April or May.. didn't think they would grow but I gave it a shot,, let them sit outside on the north side of the house all summer,, once they started to grow I kept them watered good and they kept growing.. so I am going to say they are about 7 months old.. In pots all summer

when I went to move them inside this fall , about oct or nov, the roots were growing out the bottom of the pots and into the ground,, just pulled them up and moved them inside.

I'm in Cape Girardeau Missouri. zone 6b- 7a

this pic is about ten days after the last one

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Geat photos Fellas....



Grow lights are a growers choice...... and there are a few good ones....I use a few...

Many choices have been shonn.......chose your budget.

BUY WHAT YOU CAN AFORD........I DO>>>check out the inexpensive stuff on amazon

research .....test and buy

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

@Kanana thank you! Yes that was all from a month. They were not pups from that plant, however; they were just tiny plants from my friend that I stuck in there. They were from a huge grove and were tall/skinny so I cut them off before transplanting to speed things up. They are returning to their natural sizes, so I am sure yours are fine as well! Mine are all going in the ground this spring and I may keep 1 in the house just for fun.

Unless you care about massive sized plants to start with, you do not need grow lights. I simply did this because it's too sad seeing mine all chopped down to the ground this winter so I wanted a few in the house that were still green! This was just for fun. But if you're attempting to maximize their initial planting sizes for spring, I would suggest getting proper grow lights!

Mine do not produce fruit, so this was not taken into account either. You should post pictures of yours!

@bushwack nice nanas! Those should be OK in those pots as long as you fertilize correctly when they need it. I have observed nanas grow better indoors in smaller containers because you can water them without the fear of overwatering; small pot = excellent drainage. Thanks for the photos! Good luck!

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

you mentioned you cut off the leaves to speed things up. I'm guessing you meant rooting and not new leaf production right? Would it have been better to just cut the remaining leaves in half?

I wasn't planning on grow lights since I live in Florida, I just will take the pots indoors if the temps go below 50. Otherwise they are getting put outside under shade screen until they are hardened off which I don't really know how I will know just by looking at them as I've never had to do this.

I will take some photos tomorrow. Kind of puny looking compared to yours but hopefully they start putting out some new growth.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

A common practice is....to cut the stem to promote root and pup production.
And sometimes it seems crazy drastic.....but these are bananas and that is what we can do. OUCH.

Here is a great pic for you Kanana....
Just in case you have to bring in a few plants in. from the cold spell Just cut them to make them fit the Lanai.
My parents do this in Naples when cold.
And i will do it as well .


The cool part about this is your plants do not really care.....keeps on going.

.
Untitled by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Now for the short cut....... this works with shipping your large corm and is common practice.

Put the corm in a pot and grow it like an amaryllis

.

Orinoco corm by

Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Here they are nothing to get too excited about as they are small still. These are underneath my makeshift screening to harden them up before being in full sun.









The rest are in my lanai:

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Weird thing is I just checked and the blue pot with the Praying Hands doesn't look like it's grown much if at all since the pic I took on 11/21 when I recently received it.



You can see a new leaf starting but is it normally this slow growing?

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

@Kanana love the pictures! And yes, just as Cincinnana said, cutting the stem allows the plant to redirect its energy to rooting and producing pups. And once that is achieved, the plant will actually produce leaves much faster since the roots will be better.

Anytime I transplant something where the roots are disturbed, I do this. The plant will struggle and be slow if it is trying to keep the leaves alive AND root.. this goes for pretty much any type of plant (other than cacti and some succulents). When something is transplanted, the plant will often go into "shock" and as a result, it will naturally lose its leaves and redirect the energy, so you can speed it up by chopping the plant so it doesn't have to slowly kill off its own leaves.

Also, your growth rate is about normal for the one you recently received.. but once the roots improve, it will take off. Granted, this will still be slower in the winter, but you will probably get a new leaf every 2-3 weeks. More if you give the plant heat and lots of light. And never fertilize until it has a good root system or else it will experience fertilizer burn.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

So it would be safe to cut the p stem or just remove all leaves to give the corm a chance to focus on growing roots on the plants I have that are struggling, specifically the blue javas of mine.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Thank You for your advice,, As long as I fertilize correctly and when needed ? what would be the best fertilizer for these and how do you know when needed?
they have been getting some black cow .5 .5 .5 as a top dressing, and 13-13-13 with pelleted lime when they were out side about once a month,, have only dressed them with black kow once since moved indoors. I water them about every two - three days, if four days they start drooping

would something else be better? and again,, how often?

Thank You

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

@Kanana it's up to you really.. my variegated took 2 months to produce a new leaf when I left the p-stem and cut all but 1 leaf off.. and my basjoos in the pot grew new leaves in less than 1 month after cutting the p-stems in half. Some basjoos grew leaves faster than others.

I could make the argument "cutting the pseudostem makes them recover faster" but there were many variables that were different for me (I watered the basjoos more than the variegated and the basjoos got more light) so I do not know for certain. It could be that basjoos grow at faster rates than my variegated thai or something.. I do not know much about the variegated one.

Your leaves look healthy though so I would just leave them on if I were you. I only cut mine because the roots were disturbed and the leaves would have died back anyways.

@bushwack I have read that you really only need to fertilize about once every 3-4 months indoors and use liquid fertilizer (diluted) and poured around the outer edges of the pot (to prevent it from burning the corm). The soil I used was cheap "tree/shrub" soil with "7 months of fertilizer" already included in the soil. You will know if they need fertilizer if the leaves start turning yellow though... that's one indication of nutrient deficiency. It all depends on how fertile the soil you used was and how quickly they are growing. I would wait for now since they seem to be doing fine though. Once they're outdoors in the ground, then you can just use the regular solid fertilizer. Everything is supposed to be decreased in the winter since the growth rate is slower and temperatures are lower. Here's someone with an impressive nana indoors with a small pot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6czSD04of3c

And to answer your question about the type of fertilizer, people say to use 8-10-10 but I just use 10-10-10 outdoors without any issues. Hope this helps!

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Kanana....check out this post and thread.....
.http://www.bananas.org/f15/time-put-...tml#post311458
This might help you in zone 9-11 .
Yep.....cut those little 6 inch plants ...:woohoonaner:

As for Grow lights in the title of the thread....me I use Cfls.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Grow light season is almost over....whew...:08:

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

@cincinnana we are only supposed to have temperatures below 32F (27) 3 more times in the next month in VA so I uncovered a lot of my basjoos... pretty much all of the pseudos survived haha I was surprised since it dropped to 0F this year. It was a lot of work though; I'm just digging up a few next year and chopping the rest down like you suggested

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Also, in regards to this thread, I found the best grow light solution. It was $50 for the power supply and $50 for the light bar, but I jerry-rigged a 30K lumen 300 watt 10-30V DC light bar to 120Volt AC (wall socket in any USA house) via 350 watt power supply and was not disappointed. Neither were the plants.. haha. The light bar draws slightly over 21 amps @ 13.8v DC and the power supply can handle a continuous load for a 300 watt appliance at slightly over 24 amps @ 13.8v DC. And it's safe if anyone wants tips on how... I did a lot of research and some math to come to that conclusion. The power supply does not even get remotely hot after 8 hours. I would have made a nice stand for the light but there is not room in my college apartment room.. here it is.. bright as you know what. I feel this is a good solution because it you build a wooden stand that places the bar above the plants shining down, you can cover a LOT of area with it. Or you could always just place the bar horizontally if your plants are extremely tall.

For anyone interested.. to find out the amperage, you just divide watts by DC voltage. A=W/V. The most important thing is making sure the CONTINUOUS amperage from the power supply is GREATER THAN the amperage drawn from the light bar. Also, make sure your wires can handle that load; I used either 10 or 8 guage wire (I forget) just to be safe, which handles up to 30 amps I believe.

Also I'm making a rollable stand for the light this summer (when the plants no longer need it) so I can bring the light outside at night just for fun or if I am working late in the yard. I will of course make sure the power supply is protected from any water such as rain. Hope this was helpful to some!





Also, the pictures do not do it justice; it's insanely bright in person

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

Looks like a cool set up for a great price.
That banana plant looks amazing for being indoors.
I have a buddy that has a light bar like that on his jeep...the sucker is bright.

Re: Should My banana trees go inside? What type of growlight will I need ?
 

This is what I was talking about.. still need to build the stand but in the summer it can be so useful outside!