Vickie H.

I got 2- Ae Ae bananas this spring. They are still in the house in a south window. I have not put them outside yet because of our 60*F nights. I will soon though. So far they have set there and did nothing. I water only when dry. I mist them every day. But now both are putting out new leaves. The small one has a new leaf and it is verigated. The big one has not uncurled yet. So I am happy. Will post pictures when they are outside.

kaczercat

sounds good . You should be able to put them out i have my dc's and basjoo in the ground and it gets down to mid 40's- 47 F . has done no damage they've been out for 3 days now. Good luck with yours

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Matt

Vickie H.

harveyc

Vickie, I don't know where you are located, but if your nights only get down to 60F I think at least the larger plant should be moved outside. Your window is rather small and they'll grow stronger with much more light. I planted mine outside in early April and had a surprise frost the next morning but had several days of mid-40s and even now when mid to upper 50s it is growing fine and putting out its third new leaf. Just my $.02!

Best wishes,

Harvey

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Vickie H.

I am leaving town next Tuesday for 4 days. I am waiting until I come back then I will put them outside. I want nothing to happen to them while I am gone. I am zone 6 Missouri. We are still having cool nights. But after I come back it will be June 6 and the Ae Ae bananas and the coconut palms will go outside. And at $150 each I could loose $300 while I am gone. Coconut Palms were not cheap either.

conejov

Wow $150? is that how much AE AE"s go for? I think I might have a to wait a few years before I consider getting one of those then.

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harveyc

Vickie, I'm in zone 9 but my summer evening temperatures are cooler than yours, on average. I've bought 4 Ae Ae, two of them costing me $100 each, 1 a little over $200, and another about $130. The most expensive and one of the cheapest died while inside, either from over-watering or under-watering.

I'm not trying to talk you into something you're not comfortable doing, but 60F night temperatures is not a good reason for planting them in the ground, IMO. SteveL was encouraging me to plant mine in the ground when I had temps in the 40s and he's been growing Ae Ae for a long time.

Good luck,

Harvey

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Vickie H.

Hum. I don't plan to plant mine in the ground. I have no room here. I have about 28 bananas. I just know untill I get back they will be better inside. I need to guard them. LOL So far I do not over water and I mist every day. It keep raining here and cool weather. I hope we don't have another cool summer.

just j

i would set them out side if you get a nice hard rain i do that with mine and they love it nothing beats rain water they put up a new leaf in days to show how happy they are for it lol

harveyc

Vickie, I'm curious as to what your long term plans are for your Ae Ae. I think we mentioned in a prior thread you started that Brent, when in St. Louis, worked at botanical gardens which grew their Ae Ae in the ground in the summer and dug up the plant each October, potted it, and moved it into a greenhouse. This practice produced lots of pups for them.

My own largest Ae Ae was in a greenhouse for 16 months but became very challenging as it was pushing up against the 16' ceiling before I moved it outside and planted it in the ground 7 weeks ago. It did produce some small pups while potted (pot was made from half of a 50 gallon plastic barrel) and I hope that some of these are large enough for removing by the end of the summer so I can pot them up and start a new round in my greenhouse, leaving the mother plant in the ground next winter (it might flower this summer and I'll have to just wait to see what happens as there might not be anything left to over-winter).

The Ae Ae is a very large variety to be growing permanently in a pot so you'll need a large pot later on. Maybe Patty can come down with her Bobcat and move it around for you!

Good luck,

Harvey

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Vickie H.

My long term for my Ae Ae banana. I guess my idea was plants grow to the size of their pot. My other bananas that can grow 10 ft and 12 ft tall ( that includes the leaves). I cut off to the size we can bring into the basement. My bananas are potted in 5 gallon buckets. They seem to be fine. I guess I will just have to wait and see how it goes. I also dwarf other plants like my Asian water lily euryale ferox. But maybe my Ae Ae will be different.

harveyc

I can't recall anyone ever mentioning it before, but maybe a banana can be kept in a small pot for quite a while if it is removed from the pot every once in a while and some roots pruned. When mine became root-bound it needed watering at least twice per day since there was no room for water as the roots had filled the entire pot. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out for you and I hope to have some pups to put into pots sometime this summer.

Best wishes,

Harvey

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Lagniappe

That's why I've considered the air pruning pots. There was a thread on them some time back. I wonder if a series of holes drilled into the side of the pot would do the same thing.

Vickie H.

My biggest bananas are from the Phillipines. Their root ball is not very big even when we plant them in the ground and dig them up. But remember we have to dig every year in the fall. This banana grows like weeds. Pups everywhere. Because of it I have 28 bananas or more. LOL Some of the 28 are different ones.. I am going to try a water banana out of one of the bananas.

Vickie H.

Please expain air pruning pots? I have never heard of them. We drill holes in the 5 gallon buckets because in the winter in the basement I don't want them to rot.

Vickie H.

harveyc

You must have been reading my mind, Vickie, as I was thinking about asking you to post a current photo of your back yard!

Rootmaker is a highly-regarded manufacturer of air pruning pots. Their web site used to be easier to find things and had prices, but this should get you started RootMaker, The Original Root Pruning Container System.

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Vickie H.

So the holes make more roots because of air? Strange. My bananas this year are still not looking good yet. They just came out of the basement about a week ago. they will look a lot different in about 3 weeks. They will look better. Today we had to move the lotus plants. Remember I have 11 water gardens beside bananas. I have been potting up some tropical lilies. And repoting some hardy lilies. I am too old for this much work. I figure I will done about August. LOL

musaboru

Vickie, I can't help but notice the lotus pond there. I am growing lotus also (Momo Botan and an a no-name tuber) but in containers. I wonder if the lotus in the blue container was able to flower for you or no?

Vickie H.

Yes I have lotus everywhere. In ponds and in tubs. They bloom. I need to repot so they will not be as big of blooms like they have when I repot. Too much to do here.