Newbie with questions
 

Hi all, I have just spent the last 2 hours researching my banana plants, and found NO help. However, in doing so, I stumbled upon this site, so I am hopeful I might find answers here.....

I live in central Illinois, which most maps consider right on the border of zone 5-6. I purchased 2 tiny little Dwarf Cavendish bananas in 4 inch pots 3 years ago. I replanted into bigger pots each year, adding fresh compost, peat, etc. The first year, I keep them strictly indoors. The last 2 summers, I put them outside in a mostly-sunny area. Their growth exploded, and they are gorgeous, vibrant, and seemingly healthy. Each has produced 2-3 pups, which I have let grow.

I have several questions.....

First, I purchased from a discount garden place, under the advertisement that these were "cold hardy" and fruited easily. After 3 years, I am wondering. Just how cold hardy, and should I expect fruit? Although I like them, they are quite large for our setup and a lot of work if they won't fruit, which was our intended goal.

Second, we have run out of room in the house. They have outgrown my windows. So, we are planning to put them in our new geothermal-climate-controlled greenhouse (aka walipini or pit greenhouse) once finished (just a couple more weeks hopefully!) we anticipate the temperatures should never get lower than about 40 in the coldest of winter. Will they still thrive in that?

Third, just out of curiosity, what are the chances I could plant them in the ground outside and just cut back and heavily mulch the pseudostems like I've read is recommended is some temperate zones? They do so well 5-6 months of the year outside. It would be awesome to have them out there year round and not worry about it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I uploaded a photo of one of my plants for reference, but can't figure out how to get it copied here. It's in my photo gallery if interested (I think). Thanks in advance!

Re: Newbie with questions
 

dwarf Cavendish they will freeze below 32 degrees. frost will hurt them. should do well in a green house at 40. as far as putting them in the ground in the winter even cut up and mulched they would be killed I think. isn't your freeze line there about 2 to 3 ft down?

Re: Newbie with questions
 

Where at in central Illinois? I lived there my whole 47 years until I moved here to Florida 2 years ago...( I am 49.) Born in Peoria, moved to Glasford, then rural Lewistown then rural Ellisville, at the corner of No and Where.
Your bananas will certainly need to be kept warm. 40 will keep them alive but they won't grow until it's about 60 which is doable in a heated greenhouse there all but mid Dec thru mid Feb most years. It looks like you might have what some call truly tiny Cavendish, and while they will fruit, it's not easy.If it is a regular Dwarf Cavendish, which it may be, it will be easier to fruit, but you will need a bigger pot but be warned, dwarf is a relative term in bananas, it will still get 6-8 feet tall..Search here for truly tiny and learn the tricks to get fruit and ideas of other varieties you may be able to fruit before frost there like Veinte Cohol.
Here is your pic:

Re: Newbie with questions
 

any temp below 60 will slow growth to not much, any temp below 50 will shock them and stop all growth for a time?
inside in pots in winter in my opinion you should just try to keep them alive and as healthy as possible. no fert.! water sparingly. be happy with them "surviving" through the winter. next summer when you put them out put them in the ground! out of the pots!
They would never over winter outside where you are!!
Scottu

Newbie with questions
 

Well Welcome aboard.

Re: Newbie with questions
 

The place I bought them from isn't known for their knowledge of plants....just their bulk discount sales. They called them musa cavendishii, or dwarf banana. That's really all I know. We are located just outside Springfield, IL--literally dead center of the state you could say. I never can tell which zone we are for gardening or for Farmer's Almanac forecasts, as all lines seem to go right through us!

So I am attaching another photo of the other tree with my 58" son for reference. Once again, my iPad won't let me access the URL for posting here, so it can be found in my gallery. As you can see, the trees are about 4-5 feet tall, and they have certainly had less than ideal lighting inside my house for 5-6 months of the year. They seem to produce all their growth in the 6months they are outside. They love it there!

All the photos I see show dwarf little plants in way-too-small pots, with bananas growing on them. My pots are roughly 15 x 15 inches (tall and wide at top). What makes getting fruit so difficult. I can't seem to find many specifics on the Cavendish.

I keep seeing the basjoo suggested for our region. Would it winter over better outside? How is the flavor of the bananas?

Would either the Cavendish or basjoo survive if I did the extra-insulated mulch/styrofoam/whatever shelter I have seen folks on her doing for winter? Yes, our ground freezes about 18 inches to 2 feet.

If nothing else, would planting in my greenhouse increase the chance of fruiting since it would reduce the stress? Even if it dropped to cold enough to make it go dormant, it would likely last only a few weeks. The bigger concern I have is that the peak of my ceiling is only about 7.5 feet high. Is it terrible to smash the leaves down a bit if they continue increasing in height? I just don't have anywhere else. I'd love to plant them outside, but I first have to figure out a winter storage option where they won't be frozen or damaged.

Re: Newbie with questions
 

I only made a thread today about Cavendish cold hardiness , lol, if i knew you made this thread yesterday i would have answered it here.

Cavendish need to be kept in warm, bright light conditions to keep them actively growing, you cant put them on hold as they just rot and certainly not in cold conditions.

Musa basjoo is a non edible variety, it has seeds in the fruit.

Re: Newbie with questions
 

You would most likely be better suited for either a short cycle variety like Veinte Cohol, which if you kept pups from one year in a window and planted them in the ground in late April, you might be able to get a ripe bunch by frost time in October.
Another option is cutting the stems and putting them in storage then planting them outside in the ground. There are several threads on here on that very subject. They go dormant through the winter while in storage and begin growing again when you plant them.
The greenhouse idea is a great one if you don't mind the cost of keeping it warm when it's -20 and windy. One power outage for a few hours or even minutes could kill a Cavendish, though. Be sure it will always be above 32, and preferably 40.