revensen

I'm new here and have a question. I purchased a Red Abyssinian (4 1/2 inch pot when bought and let me tell you, She's a beaut, Clark!) and planned on growing in a pot. Everything is going well with about 1 new leaf per week. I think I want this beauty in the ground. If I were to plant in the ground would it be to big to dig up for winter? I would probably cut the banana down, dig up the root and store in cold basement.

Will I have a problem digging this up after it's first year of growth? I also have a question regarding the size of the planting hole. The soil in my area has a lot of clay. I plan on digging a hole and removing clay, then adding a mixture of peat, peralite, pot mix and mushroom compots. Will this new hole that is well drained possibly become a inground bucket for the surrounding clay soil? Meaning, will it fill with water as the bottom will still be clay.

Hope to hear some advice. Thanks!

Michael_Andrew

I think getting it in the ground is a good idea. How bout a raised bed? I don't have clay so don't know if it would end up too wet or not.

Michael

just j

it wont get too much to handel the first year it will get bigger faster in ground than in a pot the next years are when it will get big and u will need a dolly or another hand in getting it in the basement

sunsetsammy

Not hard to dig in my experience. Having a dolly to move bigger plants is a plus.

I don't think your clay hole will be a big problem in the hot summer as these plants suck up a lot of water. Just be mindful of your watering and make sure its not swimming.

Once it cools off though it will have to be dug up or it will most likely rot.

Cheersr

harveyc

When you plant it in the ground, you may want to plant it on a bit of a mound if you have much rain in the winter or spring so that your clay hole doesn't fill up with water so readily. The combination of cold and wet is often fatal.

Good luck!

Harvey

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Jack Daw

That depends on whether you want it to grow fast or control its growth. I know people, who put their Maurellis inside for winter and the plants weigh morethan 100kg.

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ewitte

Depends on the "pot" as they can even be 200gal

revensen

Thank you for the advice so far.

conejov

Just a side question. Dont want to derail the convo. But I thinking of Planting my Dwarf cavendish where the grading drains the water do you think planting it on a mound will help so that they dont get drowned when it rains?

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Chironex

If it is on a grade, I would dig a small trench as a drain on the downhill side. Deep enough to so that the discharge end is lower than the bottom of the hole. Fill it half way with pea gravel then cover with soil and it will not be noticeable. This is called a French drain and can be useful where soil contains a lot of clay.

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revensen

I imagine I could have found this info by searching past threads, so I wanted to thank everyone for their patience and offering advice to my question. I'm going to plant the banana in the ground today!

revensen

The banana is planted in the ground! Wouldn't you know, the temperature was in the high 70's, sunny and calm. No less then 30 minutes after planting in the ground, the winds picked up, gusts to 30 mph. The Red Abyssinian lost a leaf in the ordeal. I should have double checked the forecast too, low of 44F tonight. Classic Iowa weather.

Do you think the plant will have any problems? I placed a large container over the plant.

Patty in Wisc

It will be OK - as long as you got it acclimated if it was indoors. My lows will be 40's all week!
Not too big to dig up in fall. DON'T cut it back if you are digging it up to store in basement!! It will just take longer to grow & set fruit. You will be able to handle it - a dolly might help.

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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

revensen

Thanks Patty. I've had it out 4-5 hours a day the last several days. It didn't spend any nights outside though. I guess I will wait and see.

Patty in Wisc

I have another Ice Cream with p stem about 5 or more ft & planted inground today too. I turned pot onto tarp on deck & carefully pulled plant out & carried it myself to prepared hole. It will be bigger in Sept/Oct when I dig it out but the hard part will be pulling it out of hole after the digging & then just dolly it back into sunroom. I will not cut it back. I'll either remove all soil from roots & lay it on north side of sun room & cover it (to sleep) or pot it up & give very little water all winter. Next summer it should bloom.
Ppl only cut them back when they leave them inground for winter. It's less to wrap & insulate for winter.

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revensen

How much does the Ice Cream weigh now and how much do you estimate it to weigh this fall? Laying it on it's side is a great idea, the plant then goes dormant in your sun room?

I checked the banana this morning, it's about 53F at 7:41p.m. It looked good. I placed my hand inside the container that I had over the banana, it was still noticeably warmer then the current temp. I wonder if inside the container warmed up from the heat leaving the ground during the night. Very cool

damaclese

in your original post you said something about chopping it and bring the Ventricosum in side "do not chop the P-stem they are not like Musa they will not regenerate a new one so you have to just dig the hole thing up and pot it up bring in side i suggest you get a vary good plant dolly not one of those cheep one they sell at Home Depot if you cant find one there easy to build EV can live for up to 10 years but typically only 5 years and if grown well can reach heights of 20 ft or more that would make it one heavy plant there corm alone can reach 40 kilo they are grown to eat in parts of East Africa were they originate they make a kind of flower out of the corm and stem i hear it is an excellent tasting bread!

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revensen

Thank you for explaining that for me damaclese. That would have been terrible assumption on my part. You're saying the mature corm can weigh close to 100lbs, what does the remaining plant weigh?

Thanks again.