Dplaza

Here's the pic from the fall when the bananas were doing well:



All wrapped up with burlap, plastic, and lights (the stem and a few of the leaves were nice and green throughout the winter):


Here's after I cut the bunch down, as you can see it was rotting (the bananas stopped developing and/or just didn't have long enough to grow in warm weather):


Anytime it warmed up above 40 F, I would remove the plastic, and anytime it got back in the 30s I would wrap it back up. We had a winter spell where it was stuck in the 20s-30s plus rainy weather The neighbors were amazed none the less! I will try again this year, with several Namwah pups, one that is already at 5-6 feet in stem. I kept these in the garage and just planted a week ago.

Dplaza

Here's the 5-6 footer that will likely bloom this year, although if it does, it probably won't be until the fall again! Maybe I should hold off on the fertilizer so it doesn't, and then it would be ready to bloom the following spring? What do you think?



Some of the pups:

JCA433

Did the harvested bananas ripen with good flavor? I would NOT hold back on fertilizer to postpone inflorescence this year. A healthy corm is better for long term production even if your plant does not have enough time for the bunch to fill out. Generally in zone 8 if the P stem is six feet or larger in early March, the probability of a successful harvest is good.

Dplaza

I didn't even get a chance to try one, they were no where near ripe. I could hardly even peel one. Thanks for the heads up, I guess fertilize it is! First year that I'm going to try some Banana Fuel, so maybe that'll help!