briangifford

Hello!
I have a question. I have a Musa Manzano that I am keeping indoors right now here in central KY (zone 6b). The issue I am having is that my ceilings are only 8ft. The plant is barely able to push leaves out (have to tilt it for a few days until the leaf stars to bend and unfold). It is at this point 7ft from soil in the planter to crown top. With the planter..... I'm at the 8ft mark.I know for next year I don't have the vertical space to keep it in my living room in front of the huge windows.
Can you overwinter them in the garage. It is unheared and never goes below 45 (even when it was -5F this winter). And if so, what do I need to look out for? i know it is to cold here to put in the ground. Has someone cut them down and protected them over the winter in that type of environment?

I appreciate the help.

sputinc7

Maybe it will flower for you this year and you won't have to worry...Put it in the ground as early as possible and fertilize on the edge of too much, keep it watered and see what happens.

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

briangifford

That would be amazing if i it would flower.
What do you sugest would be acceptable temperatures for me to put it into the ground?
Minimum daytime snd nighttime temperatures.

Lancelot

For plants I have that get too tall for the ceiling, I first try to trim the leaves so they aren't hitting the ceiling, and if the crown it too tall, as much as I hate to do it, I cut the p-stem down, and wait for the new growth which usually doesn't start too much until they are ready to go outside again. In most cases they recover outside quite quickly.

As far as your garage at 45 degrees plus, I wish I had that option, I would put some grow lights out there just to keep them green. But you could also put them into dormancy mode. I have a screenroom on the back of the house that I would love to winterize to keep my plants out there if I could keep it even above 40 degrees.

sputinc7

When there will be no frost is most important.

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

kaczercat

I used to do that. Over winter in the basement but with a short growing season I rather seem them growing year round if possible It can take them a while to start up again if it's a slooow, wet spring. You can always chop it back a bit if you want to leave it potted up.

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Matt

briangifford

So I am getting very anxious (can't wait to take things outside). At what point is it ok to put things outside? I know no frost is a big one but If I want to uncover my basjoo's or put the manzano in the ground. What should the minimum average night temp be?

kaczercat

Sadly there's still a bit of a wait until May. I used to plant when minimum night temps would be in the low to mid 50's. The basjoos you can uncover in March or April?

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Matt

Island Brah

I keep my dry-stored bananas in my garage (including Manzano) and the temps are from 50F-65F degrees. 40'sF on a few really cold nights but that didn't last long at all. i'd guess the avg temp was about 60F From first frost (November 2017) to now. The whole temp thing with it having to be colder is a myth in my garage. I put a 14 foot Namwah, along with other cultivars in my garage for dry-storage and they all did good over the winter.

The key is the angle at which you keep them at. You want to get them as straight up as possible during storage but maybe not straight up. I'm sure storing them straight up would be fine but mine are about 14-15 feet tall so I don't have that option lol.

I made a post in fall 2017 with pictures that you can see how big they were when I stored them. They were about 400-500lbs a piece (some larger than others). Southeast "Dry-Root" Winter Storage .

The only change I'm making next season is to increase the angle as much as possible but you can see by the pics that it's hard to do indoors. They all lived fine and a few look like the day I dug them up. A few are popping leaves already and I'll be replanting soon. I'll post pics to update my thread when I do.

Good luck!

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Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)