DLewNC

Hi all,

My dwarf orinoco is just about to flower on 8.23.23-- in Raleigh, NC zone 7b. We bought it from Wellsprings gardens in Fall of '21 and it spent 2 winters indoors, warm seasons outdoors since then. We planted it in the ground this spring.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for possibly getting this plant to bear and ripen fruit at this late date? Ideas I'm considering for winterizing before frost: Erect a small greenhouse around it? Build a cage of hog-wire around the p-stems, fill with leaves or straw? Wrap plant x-mas lights? Dig it and pot it before frost and keep it (semi)dormant in basement? Not sure how to also get the fruit to survive and ripen.

FYI there is a botanical garden in Raleigh, Plant Delights, that used to get them to fruit by winterizing them with a cage stuffed with leaves (archived web URL): https://www.plantdelights.com/products/musa-orinoco
They no longer sell them though.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

pitangadiego

If you can keep it warm where it is there is some hope. If it is truly about to flower, digging it up will shock it and it will still flower, but will likely have small or abortive fruits.

PVC pipe and drop cloth makes a quick greenhouse.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

pitangadiego has given you good advice. I would use at least one 5 gallon bucket (dark color if you got one) of water inside the enclosure on the sunny side to warm up in the day and hold a little night time heat. I don't think you have to do anything till nights start dipping into the mid 60'sF. Banana plants can be sensitive to cool and just refuse to do anything after even a cool night. Not sure if Orinoco is that sensitive but if you are going to expend the effort then might as well play it safe. And try not to let the enclosure overheat too much. To clarify about Plant Delights advice, his leaf cage is for preserving the stalk height and the near surface underground corm over winter so next spring you get a taller plant sooner and maybe an earlier bloom. I don't think it was for producing bananas but as long as the leaves and bunch are in the open air then it's probably an advantage. I remember seeing Tony's (owner of Plant Delights) cages many years ago on the Fair grounds during the State Fair. I was amazed that he overwintered even some tender bananas like that in Raleigh.