Bananas.org - View Single Post - Time to put the bananas to sleep for the Winter

saltydad · 10-22-2010, 11:01 PM

Well, I'm sitting down after watching the Yankee game and the weather report comes on. I haven't paid much attention the last few days as I was bringing my Mom back and forth to the doctors. I hear the weatherman say something about it going down to 34 F in the suburbs, which is where I live. I immediately start pulling in the plants on my patio. I got all the smaller plumeria inside in the basement where they will winter. I brought in all the potted palms- pygmy date palms, a Sabal tamaulipas and an unknown palmate palm that I took home after my sister's 50th birthday party. It was the table decoration, and was bought from HD, but no one remembers what variety, and it's not in one of their blue pots that denotes cold hardy. The sago got pulled in, along with both brugs (both have buds on them). The bougainvillea also came inside; I expect it to drop it's leaves as it usually does when I bring it in. It's in full bloom too. Now I have to see what else I can fit inside at midnight. Normally I spray everything a day or so in advance of the move, and lay down plastic over the carpet. This time it's just pull them inside. The irony is that it's going up to the 70's tomorrow! I've not dug any of my gingers, palms ( European fan palms and a large Butia capitata) or 12 varieties of bananas (not counting the basjoos, needle palms and windmill palms which stay out) yet. The caladiums and cannas and ee's are OK; they need the frost to help start the corm into dormancy. I also have a very large plumeria (7 foot tall) that is in bloom now. I winter it bare root on the basement floor, but I'll have to see if I can bring it in without knocking off all the leaves and blooms as I guess I'll be keeping it in the pot. I have a large double vertical wrought iron planter that has my mandevilleas in it. Guess they'll have to take their chances tonight as the planter is too big for me to bring in by myself. Wish me luck; it's already 39F. I really was caught short this year by the 1st frost. :-(

10-22-2010, 11:01 PM	#269 (permalink)
saltydad saltydad's Photo Gallery Location: Silver Spring, Maryland USA Find me on the map! Zone: 7a Name: Howard Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 4,552 BananaBucks : 306,802 Feedback: 2 / 100% Said "Thanks" 14,712 Times Was Thanked 4,662 Times in 1,778 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 824 Times	Re: Time to put the bananas to sleep for the Winter Well, I'm sitting down after watching the Yankee game and the weather report comes on. I haven't paid much attention the last few days as I was bringing my Mom back and forth to the doctors. I hear the weatherman say something about it going down to 34 F in the suburbs, which is where I live. I immediately start pulling in the plants on my patio. I got all the smaller plumeria inside in the basement where they will winter. I brought in all the potted palms- pygmy date palms, a Sabal tamaulipas and an unknown palmate palm that I took home after my sister's 50th birthday party. It was the table decoration, and was bought from HD, but no one remembers what variety, and it's not in one of their blue pots that denotes cold hardy. The sago got pulled in, along with both brugs (both have buds on them). The bougainvillea also came inside; I expect it to drop it's leaves as it usually does when I bring it in. It's in full bloom too. Now I have to see what else I can fit inside at midnight. Normally I spray everything a day or so in advance of the move, and lay down plastic over the carpet. This time it's just pull them inside. The irony is that it's going up to the 70's tomorrow! I've not dug any of my gingers, palms ( European fan palms and a large Butia capitata) or 12 varieties of bananas (not counting the basjoos, needle palms and windmill palms which stay out) yet. The caladiums and cannas and ee's are OK; they need the frost to help start the corm into dormancy. I also have a very large plumeria (7 foot tall) that is in bloom now. I winter it bare root on the basement floor, but I'll have to see if I can bring it in without knocking off all the leaves and blooms as I guess I'll be keeping it in the pot. I have a large double vertical wrought iron planter that has my mandevilleas in it. Guess they'll have to take their chances tonight as the planter is too big for me to bring in by myself. Wish me luck; it's already 39F. I really was caught short this year by the 1st frost. :-( __________________ Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men" "Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon "If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal." John F. Kennedy, September, 1960 http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/ Last edited by saltydad : 10-22-2010 at 11:24 PM.