Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Good question. I'd like to know, since I'm storing mine in the garage. If so, then I need to cover them since the garage door opens constantly.

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Covered mine like this, worked great in SE Ohio last year, enjoyt the pics...Don

Musa 2011 pictures by wilson1963 - Photobucket

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

For those of you wondering if you have enough space for all your tender plants to come inside, have a look at what my house looks like now.

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Yeah - with the holidays coming my kitchen gets used as a kitchen and I need my countertops for cookies and holiday prep -

But I do have a ton of plants in the upstairs living room (Parlour).

I really need to post some pix of that space en plant...
Its got skylights and big windows facing southeast -

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

And here they are - a picture from the upstairs hallway looking down over the front room (aka, the parlour) -
and another picture from the easy chair looking across the parlour.

The two matched Green and white pots are the super-dwarf cavendish that were out back all summer -
they are still adjusting to the reduced sun of November ...

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Looks good! The plants in the kitchen are temporary residents; once I get all the others sited I'll know where to put them. I do have 2 unused bedrooms upstairs...hmmm.

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Now a question to our experts. I've always trimmed off all leaves from my bananas, elephant ears, and cannas except for the topmost nana leaf. I'm wondering if this is really necessary? Since they will be bare root and dormant, what really is the purpose outside of neatness and freeing up more space? I'm thinking of leaving (no pun intended) mine alone and seeing what happens. Obviously the leaves will turn brown and dry, but so what? Will it hurt the plant itself is my question.

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

good question saltydad.. for me i trim all leaves back for convience..
my biggest plants.. would take up a whole room.. diameter of my biggest
E.maurelli probably would be 11 ft.. thats alot of room..lol
your room pics look like my rooms in basement.. :)
i still have to pot up pups off my thai giants..
one plant sent off 11 pups..:woohoonaner: i had
no idea they could do that..

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

haha It hasn't even frosted here yet :D

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Howard-I only cut leaves off for space too. Outside I cut them off only to fit them under the coverings. I leave on whatever I can. Inside I usually leave them on the elephat ears. I noticed it seems to help them get through the winter easier, in particular the ones that are unpotted. This works really well for ones prone to rot, like the Thai Giants. The old leaf sheaths help protect the tuber and also allow them to still have a very slow growth habit until I repot in spring. I don't have a ton of space, so I cut what I have to, pot soem and unpot the rest.

I see you chickened out and potted up your Mekong Giant! I just covered mine, at least have them mostly covered. I was able to cover all 6 feet of both of them with out cutting them and leaving the leaves on. I'm very interested to see how they make it this winter. After all La Nina agian! Come on 2 years in a row!!!

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

rub it in brad>>>> :)
rain/snow here today..
sigh

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

covered my 2 basjoo yesterday..i have 2 big rebar cages
i made for cucs to climb up.. i put cages over basjoo..and filled
with a TON of leaves.. took 4 big bags of leaves each..
hoping they will do just fine this winter..and have head start to
bigger plants next yr..!!!

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

Eric- I bought my Mekong from Brian in mid summer, and it still is under 2 feet in height and very slender, although it puts out nice small leaves. It will stay out next year depending on the hardiness reports i read here and the growth it makes next season. Good luck with yours; keep us updated.

Re: Storing bananas for winter!!! UGH!!!
 

I will Howard. I want to get some late season pics up this week if I can. I have been so busy outside digging up canans, elephaant ears, raking leaves, covering the bananas etc. I had my basjoo and partially covered since we had our first semi freeze last weekl I think we hit 30. The cannas were fried but the leaves on the basjoo were untouched. Today I took the plastic off that was covering the straw-we had a ton of rain last week. And now it looks mild for the most part through the end of the month. The latest I have gone with covering the bananas is Thanksgiving. Maybe I can push it even later this year.

My Mekong, even at 6 ft, is still pretty slender too. It worries me a bit for this coming winter. But I covered it just like my basjoo, with straw bales. I have had young, slender basjoos sail through cold winters so I still am optimistic.