harveyc

mmbirds, the photo was taken before I filled in the hole around the root ball but I did plant it about 6" above grade (basically on a mound) to help ensure good drainage to avoid root rot, etc.

Joe, in over 50 years of being around here, this is the latest frost even I can remember. Last year we had one on 3/31 and that was the first time we've had frost in late March for many years, so this was truly a rare event. I remember in the 70s and 80s when we had more days of frost in March but we got spoiled in the early 90s and first part of this decade.

Coolusamusa, I'd love to see the study!

Thanks,

Harvey

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JoeReal

Harvey, I can't access the UC Davis Agromet data right now to look up our archives. We talked to grape wine growers in Napa Valley and they told me that the danger of frost is year round in their area. I was surprised, but some of them are in that business for longer than anyone of us here, even longer than UC Davis. I was trying to research and cross reference a very late frost event that happened here in Davis and damaged the tips of my Calamondins and Kumquats that were having a growth flush.

harveyc

Joe, Napa is much different than the climate here with mountains that drain cold air into valleys, etc., but even there I have never heard of frost in summer so I expect there is some exaggeration going on. Anyway, let's not get this thread off on some other subjects - we're talking about a banana growing at my location, not other areas.

I asked my dad about the frost history and he said that once about 40 years or so ago there was frost in April and it was enough to damage the young corn of someone who had planted earlier than everybody else.

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Bananaman88

Best of luck with you Ae-Ae, Harvey. I feel your pain on the cold weather. I'm pretty distressed right now as the local weather folks are forecasting 34 for the Houston area tonight! Not only are my bananas growing well already but I have tomatoes plants that are 3' tall with fruit, peppers, squash, eggplant, etc growing already. I have lived here for 6 years now and if we get frost this will be the latest I've seen it. I think they said the record for cold on tonight's date was set back in 1971. I'm bummed.

harveyc

Brent, maybe we need to install misters to go off when it gets too cold!

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Steve L

Brent, I don't think you or I will get frost tonight but it is going to be cold. Too much wind during the night. The NWS is calling for a low of 33 here in Lake Charles, but all of the other forecast sites are more in line with 36 to 38, which could still be a record low for Lake Charles on this date. I'm bummed also. I spent yesterday moving all container tropicals into more sheltered locations. I might even have to put some in the greenhouse for the night.

Harvey, good luck to you. I think you will be ok though.

Steve

Bananaman88

Steve,

I certainly hope we don't get any frost. I'm hoping it will stay windy; that will help. Regardless, I plan to move some things in and cover others. We'll talk later in the week. Good luck to you.

JoeReal

I think another trick is what I learned from grape growers. In marginal frosts like the one happened at Harvey's place, a simple electric fan should do the trick. You can install the fan by the outside wall of the house and let it blow down to the top of the Ae ae. During marginal frosts, a few feet higher is really warmer air, often many degrees F above freezing compared to the ground air temperature. When you blow the relatively warmer air to your Ae ae, it will not have frost at these marginal frost conditions. Remember that frosts readily form in windless conditions even if the air is warmer. With slight breeze, and as long as air temperature is above freezing, then frost don't form. Besides, the fan is easier to control than the misters. The misters is also an invitation to fungal diseases if too much water soaks your plants.

In Napa, they have giant wind machines to stir the air, and the slight breeze that they make helps keep out the frost.

harveyc

Sprinklers are still more widely used for frost control than wind, Joe. Most fan towers have been taken down.

My Ae Ae leaves are already 10-16' above ground but I still see frost as a risk since I saw frost on the roof of my house. I think we are beyond any frost at this point now, though, as the forecast looks very good.

I think I'll go back out and stare at my Ae Ae some more.... :P

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JoeReal

That's not what the vineyard growers who produces $40-$200/bottle wine told me.


And your Ae ae is a super-high valued item, it should get the best protection you can give, just like the high valued wine grape growers!

Anyway, the advantage of misting setup which I plan to use is not for frost protection, but for misting the bananas during the hot summer days, and also for fertigating with AZ41 during the humid morning hours. Hot summer days, those exceeding 95 deg F will often stress out the banana plants so that they don't grow at all. I'll try to see if the misting setup will get better results during the very hot dry days of summer. Are you going to pamper your Ae ae with such a setup as well?

harveyc

I had a misting system in my greenhouse for the Ae Ae but will wait to see how it performs without outdoors before setting something outside. One problem I have to contend with is iron in my water and I and the Ae Ae will be history if my wife discovers I've stained the side of our house by misting the Ae Ae!

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Patty in Wisc

Harvey, good luck. What a beautiful plant! I wish to have one some day/year.

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Patty




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

harveyc

Today we've had mild temperatures and it's pouring rain right now, so I think my Ae Ae might be fooled to believe it's right at home! LOL

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enigma99a

Harvey, what temps is the watering method good down to?

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

harveyc

From page 3 at http://cemendocino.ucdavis.edu/files/62512.pdf, protection down to the mid-20s has been obtained using sprinklers applying .11 inches of water per hour.

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harveyc

Since I planted this Ae Ae in the ground on 4/4/2009, it didn't seem to be hurt but the frost the following day (the leaves were burnt in my greenhouse and then got broke some from moving). It has put out two new leaves in the past few weeks and seems to be getting established okay.

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Taylor

That new leaf on the very far side of the pic looks good, so it seems to be happy!

Your Wunderground sticker says it's 53ºF there right now, chilly for an AeAe!

enigma99a

Yep, gotta love the 53 degrees though. Marine layer is VERY strong this weekend and it's really a nice break from the heat

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

MediaHound

Hang in there Harvey, it's looking good, considering. Here's to your fruit stripes.

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harveyc

Thanks, guys. Yeah, Taylor, we get cool most evenings even in summer but will gradually warm up. I joked one year on July 4th how we could actually watch fireworks without wearing a jacket! lol Since it took about 2 weeks for this second new leaf to fully emerge I'm fairly satisfied that it's doing okay with the weather. I'm more concerned about what it'll think about the many days of 95F and higher with 20% humidity! We got to 100F a week ago but that was just one day and we quickly cooled down. And that was a day that felt muggy, the humidity must have been something like 25%-30%!! LOL

The leaf with its underside facing the camera was the first new leaf to emerge and got burnt in the white areas (not as much or as quickly as I expected) and has been beat up a little by some dry north winds, but it's still in decent shape. I figured I'd prefer to plant this where it gets some full sun and put up with the sunburn but at least get as much growth as possible.

I just measured it and the psuedostem is 10'6" now, it sure seems taller. I think I'll get an orchard ladder out and trim off he dead leaves that broke in the move. I've been fertilizing it with potassium nitrate (got another 100 pounds last week) and have some liquid forms of nitrogen I can also use, but am taking it slowly. My native soil has lots of phosphorus (almost too much) so I am not going to give any of that.

Thanks,

Harvey

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