Waltjg

Hello Everyone, Very new to this, and what a great site! I have some questions, and like I said, I'm really new to the banana world! These may seem silly but, we get 2 or 3 frosts a year, which really burns alot of plants around here, and I've seen some pretty poor looking banana trees after a frost. I have purchased two dwarf cavandish they are about 3ft? tall each,(one has two pups already) and I am thinking about putting them in pots so I can move them around and put them inside if it is going to frost, as I would like them to do well and produce fruit of course. Is this a good idea or am I all wet here???? I have seen people alot further north on this site with them planted in the ground so I really don't know. In ground would be better as I'd like to get several other different kinds going too. Also, what medium would be good for them? I have some compost/manure also planting soil, and of course LOTS of sandy soil here to mix in! Thanks in advance!
walt

Nancy

We get more frost than you do, and my bananas are very happy planted in the ground. Mine are all planted near the house, which helps. If the overnight temperature is likely to drop to 28-32, I'll cover the small the bananas, and that's usually enough. If it really gets cold, I just give up and cut the plants down. They'll come back again. Sometimes I cut a tall banana down ahead of a hard freeze and just protect its pseudostem so that it will bounce back faster in the spring.

In my opinion, the superior growth you'll get in the ground is worth the risk of freezing back to the ground.


Nancy

Dean W.

Yes, I would agree with Nancy!

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austinl01

Hi, Walt. Are you the same Walt in Orlando that posts on the Hardy Palm and Subtropical Board? Just trying to make any connections. Regardless, welcome to Bananas.org! This site is great, and you'll learn a ton of information.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Richard

Hi Walt, be sure to put your location in your profile, and a quick intro here: Member Introductions, Social Announcements & Good Wishes - Bananas.org

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Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

Waltjg

Hi All,
Austin, nope, I'm not the Walt in Orlando, I live in Crystal River,(real close to Inglis Fl), Richard, I updated my profile, we'll see if my location appears. Well, looks like I really need to put these boys in the ground instead of pots! How does everyone deal with the frost though, yeah yeah,,we get 2 or 3 ayear,, also, do they need to be in full sun? or do they like partial better... How's about that compost and stuff for them?, use it?.. This really is a great forum! have been reading on here.. w.

Nancy

I suspect most people will tell you full sun. I'm guessing your summer conditions are fairly similar to mine in Tallahassee, though: hot and not as much rain as we used to get. Most of my bananas are to the east of my house, where they get direct sun all morning and then are protected from the afternoon sun where it's really hot. They're quite happy. My other bananas are to the west of my house, which is not nearly so good when they're small. However, the tall varieties pretty quickly grow beyond my roofline and are able to get plenty of sun while their roots spend most of the time in shade. The banana trees around my neighborhood that are in full sun all day routinely look pretty droopy when it's hot; mine look good as long as we get normal amounts of rain. I'd recommend looking around your immediate area and see how bananas look under various conditions. I routinely get flowers; if we don't get frost too early, I also get fruit.

As for the soil, I added quite a bit of peat moss and I make sure they get some compost (especially banana peels). Bananas like to eat and drink quite a bit.

Good luck!


Nancy