Bananas.org

Welcome to the Bananas.org forums.

You're currently viewing our message boards as a guest which gives you limited access to participate in discussions and access our other features such as our wiki and photo gallery. By joining our community, you'll have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos, and access many other special features. Registration is fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Go Back   Bananas.org > Banana Forum > Banana Plant Health And Maintenance Topics
Register Photo Gallery Classifieds Wiki Chat Map Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Banana Plant Health And Maintenance Topics This forum is for discussions of banana plant health topics such as coloration issues, burning, insects, pruning, transplanting, separating pups, viruses, disease, and other general banana plant health and maintenance issues.


Members currently in the chatroom: 0
The most chatters online in one day was 17, 09-06-2009.
No one is currently using the chat.

Reply   Email this Page Email this Page
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-19-2013, 03:49 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
Location: North Carolina
Zone: 8
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 21
BananaBucks : 10,636
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 7 Times
Was Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

I'm sort of new to this whole process after buying a dwarf Cavendish last year. I got a small plant (4") that grew to shoulder height before winter hit. I have to admit I was a little confused by the eBay picture that showed a 4' plant, so I was kind of expecting one of those to come in the mail and not the tiny little plants I got. We got a mild hurricane in October and frost in November and the leaves were shredded and turned brown. I cut them off after they turned brown and left them at the base of the plant. Around that time, I raked up all my maple leaves and piled them around the banana plants and put some spoiled hay around to about three feet, you can see here:


So, they've been like that since late November, left out in the wet winter we've been having with no real attention given to them. I went and poked my finger into the tops since we're almost out of the cold danger and it was all mushy. My questions are:
When should I remove the hay? After the final frost date? How much should I cut back the pseudostem?

Is there any hope for the original pseudostem? Or do I just hope that the corm sends up a new one?

Also, I have been searching for a while on this forum and online for a good description of a "maidenhead sucker" and I don't get much. I believe I understand the difference between a "sword" and a "water" sucker, but this one confuses me.

Thanks in advance!
Chester Copperpot is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Chester Copperpot

Join Bananas.org Today!

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership:
   

Join Bananas.org Today! - Click Here


Sponsors

Old 02-19-2013, 05:43 PM   #2 (permalink)
 
Location: new jersey
Zone: 7
Name: Matthew Brown
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 52
BananaBucks : 11,649
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 30 Times
Was Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 9 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Were do you live and how cold did it get
radar4075 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To radar4075
Old 02-19-2013, 05:51 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
Location: new jersey
Zone: 7
Name: Matthew Brown
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 52
BananaBucks : 11,649
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 30 Times
Was Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 9 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Sorry didn't see your profile till now . I am in nj zone 7 that variety is not cold hardy at all . I have several of them .and they all get brought in before the first frost .
I do have some banana plants like the cala. Gold that your set up may work for but don't no yet my first year trying.if I am corect I would see how far down its soft to and cut it off inches below that than cover it in deep mulch maby you will get lucky . Good luck sr
radar4075 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To radar4075
Old 02-19-2013, 08:25 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
Location: North Carolina
Zone: 8
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 21
BananaBucks : 10,636
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 7 Times
Was Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Thanks. Now that I am looking around a bit more, I see that some USDA maps/zone finders have me in 7b and others have me in 8b. I can't say that I understand this phenomenon, but there you go.

In my town, I think that the coldest I have seen it is in the mid 20s and that was an extreme, so maybe the 8 fits a bit better. Whatever the case, I'll be digging them up in the future. I thought that I would leave them in, thinking that I would be less likely to stress them that way than if I dug them up and disturbed the roots. Lesson learned.

Thanks for the tip, I'll cut a few inches at a time until I get to firm tissue.
Chester Copperpot is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Chester Copperpot
Said thanks:
Old 02-19-2013, 09:23 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
Location: new jersey
Zone: 7
Name: Matthew Brown
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 52
BananaBucks : 11,649
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 30 Times
Was Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 9 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Ya I am in central east nj .some say 7a some say 7 some say 6 . I just try and use the force lol.
There are not many nanners that can handle 20 f that will fruit .
The California gold. Says it can handle that but with some pretection .I read and experiment a lot in nj I 10 difrent variety of nanners .... All types of citrus and papia. They all come in. If you are looking to fruit bananas. They will need 8 to 10 mouths in the 70 f range light food and water. I am older now my kids are grown and on there own .so my hole house is a green house. ( makes my wife sooooo happy)this is my 2nd year trying to fruit bananas in the north .and learn somthing new every day. If you just want the look .the bassuto (didn't spell that rt) will handle 0 temp. There's a lot of info on banana care out there happy growing
radar4075 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To radar4075
Sponsors

Old 02-20-2013, 10:33 AM   #6 (permalink)
 
Location: Wesley Chapel, Florida
Zone: 9A
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 30
BananaBucks : 2,496
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 10 Times
Was Thanked 34 Times in 25 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 21 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Chester Copperpot,

A maidenhead sucker is just a large non-fruiting pseudostem. Some people may want to further classsify it as the next sucker that should fruit after the "current" largest/expected to fruit pseudostem in the mat. I hope that provides enough clarification, for you.
bananatech is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To bananatech
Old 02-20-2013, 12:26 PM   #7 (permalink)
 
Location: North Carolina
Zone: 8
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 21
BananaBucks : 10,636
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 7 Times
Was Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Quote:
maidenhead sucker is just a large non-fruiting pseudostem
Does this mean essentially that it's just an over-large pup and I should leave it attached to be the fruiting stem next time?

In other words, at the 3" level, there are only sword and water suckers and a maidenhead is just one that has grown to be very large? I'm sorry that I am slow in getting this, I just want to make sure I get things right.
Chester Copperpot is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Chester Copperpot
Old 03-13-2013, 06:45 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
Location: North Carolina
Zone: 8
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 21
BananaBucks : 10,636
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 7 Times
Was Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Thanks for the replies. I bought a cheap greenhouse to start plants for my garden and put it over one of the plants. It's been getting up to the 90s in the greenhouse during the day and now the leaves are starting to emerge from the cut-down tops. They're white, but it's growth so I'll take it!
Chester Copperpot is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Chester Copperpot
Old 03-14-2013, 09:14 AM   #9 (permalink)
 
Location: Wesley Chapel, Florida
Zone: 9A
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 30
BananaBucks : 2,496
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 10 Times
Was Thanked 34 Times in 25 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 21 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Sorry, I'm so late in responding to you. Yes, a maindenhead is an over-large pup. I would not remove a pup that is over 3ft. It probably would not hurt the mama/fruiting stem plant, is just that they are awfully heavy and awkward to move when they are over that size. If your fruiting stem is in the process of fruiting or close to fruiting, I definately would wait to remove pups, in order to insure the plant provides most of its energy into fruiting rather than repairing the corm that you had to cut into; in order to remove pup(s).
bananatech is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To bananatech
Old 03-15-2013, 07:37 AM   #10 (permalink)
Northern Tropics
 
sandy0225's Avatar
 
Location: Muncie, Indiana zone 5
Zone: zone 5
Name: Sandy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,718
BananaBucks : 353,596
Feedback: 31 / 97%
Said "Thanks" 38 Times
Was Thanked 1,801 Times in 682 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 9 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

sounds like your overwintering worked then...good for you!
__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!
sandy0225 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To sandy0225
Old 03-15-2013, 08:29 AM   #11 (permalink)
Banned
 
Location: San Diego
Zone: 9-11
Name: Tony
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 18,429
BananaBucks : 938,100
Feedback: 8 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 3,210 Times
Was Thanked 20,591 Times in 7,760 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2,716 Times
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

maidenhead sucker is just a large non-fruiting pseudostem

Never heard of this before



Maindenhead town centre | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Last edited by sunfish : 03-15-2013 at 08:37 AM.
sunfish is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To sunfish
Old 03-15-2013, 12:15 PM   #12 (permalink)
Let there be light
 
Dalmatiansoap's Avatar
 
Location: Makarska, Croatia
Zone: 9
Name: Ante
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 9,160
BananaBucks : 604,622
Feedback: 10 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 6,507 Times
Was Thanked 8,381 Times in 3,031 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 720 Times
Send a message via Skype™ to Dalmatiansoap
Default Re: Cavendish 7b, potential overwintering mistake.

Why is that so? I know many ppl much northen than Maidenhead with fruiting nanas.
__________________
https://abnb.me/AXJty518xib
Dalmatiansoap is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Dalmatiansoap
Reply   Email this Page Email this Page






Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Overwintering Cavendish in Zone 6a piesang boy Main Banana Discussion 7 09-24-2012 07:02 PM
frost potential in yorkshire uk wed and fri night eyefi Cold Hardy Bananas 7 06-05-2009 11:25 AM
The Potential of Musa Basjoo austinl01 Cold Hardy Bananas 57 09-14-2008 11:32 AM
Overwintering a Dwarf Cavendish flower over winter karunasagar108 Main Banana Discussion 0 11-11-2007 09:40 PM
Overwintering Dwarf Cavendish in Zone 5b/6 Annie6078 Main Banana Discussion 14 09-09-2007 05:40 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:09 AM.





All content © Bananas.org & the respective author.