Ice cream bananna
 

Its been a little less that a year since my last post, and comments have been of great help. Since my last post I have in late spring taken my IC banana out of my green house and removed it from the pot I had it in and transplanted into the ground and it has some nice new growth so far this summer. It would now appear that what looks like a new type of leaf just starting emerge, unlike any leaf prior, I'm thing it is about to produce it's flower. Here we are mid August in the pacific NW (Everett, Wa) and am thinking we do not have enough warm weather to complete the fruiting process. I would like to get some thoughts about what to do with this plant here in the next month or 2. My options are limited to a couple of ideas as follows.
1 build a temporary shelter around this tree and the other 4 pups that I have started from it, really only 2 that are in the ground, (2 are in containers) or
2 Dig this back up and move it back to my greenhouse. I would just have to pull up the pavers in the GH and dig down far enough to give it a couple feet clearance. Since it will not be growing any taller once the flower/fruit will be hanging down 2 feet should be sufficient. When transplanting should the flower be towards the south or does it matter. Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted and appreciated. Can post pictures if needed
Thanks
TM

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Could someone give me any thoughts/ideas on the best route to take on this ice cream banana tree. I'm not sure about digging it up, if that would throw it in to an unrecoverable shock since it is starting to fruit. I have read else where here that one shouldn't remove pups during this stage because of stunting or shocking it, so by transplanting it to a new environment, what are the possible outcomes and are there any precautions that I need to take when doing so? Or is just better to protect it during the winter months and see how it fares? It has 1 pup about 3' tall and 3 others about 6-8".

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

I hope others will offer suggestions. I’d hate for you to lose your plants and banana blossom. My Brazilian just goes dormant with the inflorescence or bananas on them if they don’t ripen by fall (which happens frequently where I am located - but I am on the coast in San Diego proper which is much different from your weather). It sometimes takes an entire year for my bananas to ripen, LOL! But they get there eventually. And my Brazilians are up against a cinder block wall and receive full southern sun exposure. I personally would build a good shelter over it (if no one chimes in with suggestions) and mulch, mulch mulch to give it as much protection as possible. I’ve been growing my Brazilians for 10 years in the same spot but I am not a very experienced banana grower so I would be apprehensive about digging yours up and moving. Keep us posted on what approach you decide on.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Thanks for your reply. I understand that my most important objective is to keep them from freezing. Mulching them can be easily done. Protecting the 7 feet that is above ground could be accomplished by wrapping the tree from ground to top with some type of cloth and leaf to keep it from freezing would be the tricky part but could be accomplished. I will search the forum to see what has been suggested.
Thanks again
TM

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

If your plant has indeed started to fruit I would put up something to block the wind. I don't know what kind of soil you mixed so I could tell you if your corm is going to make in your climate. Your going to need leaves to get the fruit to finish so that mean frost cloth on nights its going to frost.. I'd warap the pstem in christmas lights (not the LED"s) cuz once it cools down ur going to need their help.. I might even consider bubble wrapping a portion of the P-stem but I would not make it real tight.. leave room for the heat of the light to move up and out.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Attached are pictures of my trees. The first one show the flag leaf just starting. I have a thought on how to protect this through the colder winter. This mother pstem is about 12' tall, ground to top of leaves. My thought is to slip a culvert pipe (see last picture, 12' long and as large of dia that I can get) and do as you have suggested, wrap it with bubble wrap and Christmas lights, put some sort of top on it so that air can escape. Would it be ok to say cut the leaves back about a foot if need be to get my clearance

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=C96FC...112915&o=OneUp

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=C96FC...112915&o=OneUp

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=C96FC...112915&o=OneUp

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=C96FC...112915&o=OneUp

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Conundrum - I am sorry to say I don't have an answer for you, but I am very interested in what you learn from this process so please keep us posted.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

My plan is this: As you see in my pictures I have corn growing. I plan on using the leaves as mulch at the bottom for which to place the culvert tubes on. What's really nice about these tubes as you can see from the last picture is they are lined on the inside which is bonded to the ribs with the exception of 2 small round opening that run the entire length and exit out the other end. I plan on cutting this culvert tube at 6' and sealing the bottom at the exit holes and all around with Flex-seal. I can now wrap the pstem with bubble wrap and put the Christmas lights in position. I will put the first 6' section over the top of the tree with leaves intact and bring it down to the ground. With that in place I can fill it up to about 4' in height with water thru the small opening to give it a good solid weighted bottom (maybe 200lbs). At the top of this section bolting 3 vertical stanchions to the inside for the second half to slip down to meet up with the bottom half. At this point the entire plant will be totally inside the culvert pipe. This will allow my to periodically check temps at ground level and by drilling a small hole above the water level into the side of the pipe/tube I'll be able to monitor internal temps and turn on of off the lights to try to maintain a temps between 35 to 45 degrees, (theoretically).
To secure this tower I plan on tethering it at 3 points with 150lb stainless steel cable used for down-riggers. With the weighted bottom, the 3 stanchions and the cable it should still be standing upright come spring. My only last 2 things to design is a 1. Cone shape top to put on top to keep it dry inside yet allow air to escape as needed, and 2. maybe a forced air vent at the bottom to blow air through it should it get too warm inside, since this pipe is black and could absorb more heat than I want inside. Come spring I'm hoping that this banana tree will continue with it's flowering and fruiting with all 5 leaves still green.
I may change the design a bit so the top section can be taken off and put back on should the need arise (early spring warm days then back to freezing).
I plan on documenting temperatures, both inside and outside as we get temp changes from start to next spring and will share my results of how it all turns out.
If anyone can think of something I haven't please chime in.
I have been using these section of culvert pipe for getting my tomato's out sooner that I could with out them. The water inside warms up and give off the heat at night, plus it raises them above ground level.
Thanks
TM

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this and are really going to extra mile to fruit that plant. For whatever reason I can't see the pics on the links you provided....maybe I have to have a cloud 1 account or whatever....but would love to see pics when it's all set up. It is actually pretty simple to stick them directly to the post

http://www.bananas.org/f5/how-post-i...hreads-97.html

Just make sure to read through #3 post on the above link, or you can click on 'photo gallery' on the tool bar above, then 'upload photos' - I think it is important to compress the pic for web pages before uploading to the gallery which most picture manager software will do for you in the edit section.....

Anyway, definitely want to see how this goes for you and pics always make a post more interesting.

More questions: What did you do to get that plant the point it is now? How old is it? You mentioned pot and greenhouse. Do you have a heated/lighted greenhouse, or were you pulling it indoors for winter.....? Maybe there is a thread you can point me to which might answer these questions?

Very interested in your process considering our climates are somewhat similar.:D

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Ok let me see if I can post these pictures.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Ok am having real issues with posting my pictures to this thread, however I was able to put them in my Photo Gallery for Truthmatters

You were asking about the plant and its past. I do have a greenhouse where it has spent the past 3 winters but last winter I had to remove my 5x10 concrete blocks and dig down 2 foot to over winter it. This spring I transplanted it into the ground in hopes that it would do just what it is- flowering. Now to over winter it outside is my next task, it could probably go back into the greenhouse but my concerned is that it may shock it to the point of losing the fruit.
Have a look at the gallery photos and tell my what you think.

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URL copied and pasted from Photo gallery

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

I applaud all the effort you are putting into saving this banana! :goteam: It sounds like those culverts have worked well for you in the past; and admire all your plans for stabilizing it (with water & cables) and attempting to deal with both heat and cold. I am guessing you get a lot of wind where you are. My first banana (Gros Michel!) also fruited just when the weather was clearly getting too cold for ripening (November here) and I was advised to feed it heavily with potassium and keep my fingers crossed. Of course, I live in SoCal so frost is rarely an issue but I still invested in potassium and Xmas lights wrapped around the 2" pvc pipe supporting the bunch and was able to harvest the bananas the following August.

I have little more experience with these guys than Sir Doofus so am reluctant to offer advice. But I agree with both of you that digging up a plant this big at this point would probably be a disaster.

I am currently growing both cacao and yang mei in the ground after starting them in a greenhouse made from 1" pvc pipe and clear plastic. Now they are under 90% shade cloth clipped to the same pvc pipe hauled out to the garden and rebuilt around my plants. I will be switching to 30% come fall and will probably be building something almost as tall as your tower for the cacao (which may well have been a mistake to plant but... chocolate!...how could I not???) Since you already have grown this banana successfully for three years in a greenhouse, I am sort of wondering about just building a temporary one around the IC in the ground, maybe with the same 2" pvc we use for supports.. or even your cleverly weighted down culverts Visual monitoring would be a lot easier. But again the stability in your particular wind/rain conditions could be a bigger issue.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Thanks for your reply and suggestion of the potassium. This is really my first time using the culvert pipes for my banana tree. I have for the past 10 or so years used these for growing my tomato plants and they work extremely well for many reasons. I can put them outside sooner because the daytime sun warms the water inside the culvert and gives off that heat in the evening/night because our night time temps get below 50. They are also useful to raise the plant above ground level for excellent drainage.
As far as wind, it can get quite windy several times during the winter months so it is really a precaution to assure that it doesn't topple over and take the tree with it.
So in this experiment my hopes are that in the spring when it is removed I will still have all my green leaves pretty much intact and the fruiting can continue thru the summer months.
One of my concerns is mildew of the leaves since they will all be bunched up and in contact with one another in that 24" space toward the top. Humidity is always quite high year round and more so in the winter, so air circulation is going to of great importance. My thoughts are that the Christmas lights will provide circulation from the heat rising from the bottom 1/3 of this tower up through the top and provide all the movement of air needed.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

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My Blue Java waving its patriotic flag just before Labor day here in the NW

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Close look at the emerging flower.



Close up look. 7' 2" ground to flower

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Looking good....might be some choke action going on though. Lets see how the plant sorts it out.

Re: Ice cream bananna
 

Here's a recent pic taken 3 days after the previous ones. Looks like it may sort its self out, although still some choking where it is emerging.