meizzwang

If that's potted and it flowers after August, you'll probably still be okay if you can bring it indoors whenever you have extreme cold.

Slightly off topic: In case you are a complete tomato nerd, you might enjoy this thread: The TOMATO thread | The Sarracenia Forum

ChocoTaco369

The problem is because of the pot, the banana is so tall it won't fit in the garage. I don't have a good way of protecting it.

I think the flag leaf came out today, but I've never seen a flag leaf in person. Is this it, guys? I've never seen a whole leaf come out of a banana like that.





Yes, I am a big tomato nerd. I'll have to check it out.

JCA433

It is only mid summer and the warm weather should continue for several more months. The sun declination +11.28 today in the northern hemisphere is very similar to April 19 and that is still high although not as high as July, June or May. It is higher than every day this year prior to April 19. Still a very long time before frost is a problem. Banana plants in the south should be fine until at least December.

ChocoTaco369

I will see frost likely the first week of November. The problem is I need time and heat for a bunch to mature. I've read it takes about 60 days for a bunch to ripen, so that means I really need the flower to emerge by Labor Day to have a shot. I think last year it frosted around November 7, and remember, in October we are quickly losing growing degree units. I need the heat of September to really get some maturity...not to mention we are losing daylight quickly. I'm not THAT far south.

meizzwang

FYI: you don't have to stand the plant up in the garage, you can lay it on its side or place it slightly sideways temporarily (ie. lean the p-stem on a bench or box) until the threat of freeze has past. In case the family doesn't mind, it can also go into the house somewhere, just cover the bottom of the pot with plastic so that it doesn't get dirt everywhere.

Looks like you still have a few more leaves to go before you get the flag, you have a cigar leaf emerging right now. It's hard to say where your plant is at developmentally:If I had to guess, it's either really close to flowering, or still has a few more months to go. Pot bound plants that have been in there for a while tend to flower at shorter p-stem lengths.

You can definitely get bananas on this plant, so don't sweat it! People on this forum will for sure help guide you through it! I'm very curious to see if that TC plant is in fact Orinoco.

ChocoTaco369

My fear is, say, I get a bunch of bananas 30 days before my first frost - I cannot just lay it down because the bunch will rot. I'd prefer it not flower and I'd just keep it in the dark to promote dormancy until mid-March.

I'm starting to think this isn't an orinoco because it is so tall despite being pot-bound. I'll have to take a picture with a tape measure. The pseudostem must be 5-6 feet, and my understanding was that dwarf orinioco's are about 5 feet, meaning wouldn't a pot-bound plant be even shorter? Hmm.

I did purchase this on Amazon, but from Wellspring Gardens. They're pretty reputable to my knowledge, and I don't see any reason to mislabel a dwarf orinoco. They're not very good tasting - I've purchased burro bananas before and they're very underwhelming. I purchased it because they're supposed to be cold hardy and easy for beginners. I didn't go for taste, so if this turns out to be another variety, I won't be all that upset unless I get an inedible variety!!

It does look like a cigar leaf coming out, but I've never seen a leaf come out like this. It did get blown over in a windstorm twice, so maybe it shocked the plant and twisted it up internally. I was holding out hope because it took so long to push the last leaf. I feel like something is going on because I was getting a leaf a week consistently, and the last took more than 2 weeks. It's not a temperature issue, nights are still 75 and days 90. No change.

kaczercat

A bigger pot might have prolonged what is starting to happen now. Just a thought. For such a small pot it's in great shape, well done. I know it's colder up here over winter but that is scary we have a very similar first frost date. Usually end of Oct early Nov in the greater Toronto area.

It's a dwarf something for sure. it it doesn't look abnormally stunted. Enjoy the bloom when it comes and see how far it gets by mid to late Nov. One of mine shot up a flag leaf on Aug 16 and just takin' it day by day.

__________________
Matt

ChocoTaco369

Fish emulsion and potash crystals with a handful of 5-5-5 applied every other week in the warm season, nothing but small amounts of water in the cold season. I don't know all that much about bananas, but I have a lot of vegetable gardening experience. To me, this is just a giant tomato with a preference for more potash and less potassium. Treat it the same. Feed and prune it regularly, give it the sunniest spot possible and let it go.

I don't understand how we can have similar frost dates. I would imagine our zones are nothing alike. The problem with my area is the average temperatures are very mild, but the extreme minimums are ridiculous. Our coldest average low is only 35F, but our absolute minimum is usually around 13F. Deduct 2-3 nights a year and this place would be a 9a. We are 2 Arctic jets away from a radical landscaping change. I think we only average about 40 days where it touches freezing or lower a year.

JCA433

Summer like weather conditions are predicted to linger into the early fall and probably even into mid fall if I remember correctly. If this forecast is right, the banana flower first appearance in August has a good chance of filling out before a significant cold wave.

ChocoTaco369

I don't believe any of that crap. They predicted an above-average hurricane season in the Atlantic back in June, too. All you need is one minimum temperature to kill the banana back. I wish plants grew off of average temperatures

You can have a frost 2 weeks early and still have above-average temperatures.

The worst part is going to be moving this behemoth. I am going to have to put it in my garden cart and literally pull it half a mile from this house to the new house when I move. I'm going to look like a crazy (crazier?) person.

anita

What I do it's simple, because of the tall leaves I cut them inhale when I put the banana inside the house. They grow they I cut more. It's better then let it die outside.