Fire for Heat
 

I have some bananas that are 20' overall.. just impossible to protect. I'm thinking about building a small fire underneath them (there are some with fruit I want to keep above freezing..)

Any luck with this method? Has anyone tried it before with success?

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Sounds a little risky. What do you have to protect in zone 9b+?

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Yeah, they should be fine. :08:

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Well... If the forecast holds it might drop below 30F.. That is a point where stuff starts getting damaged. If I can set up a heater and just give it a degree or two, it would stay green:) at least in theory? lol

And i am protecting two giant bunches of fruit that opened this month.

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Re: Fire for Heat
 

I'd be worried about the heat of the fire dehydrating the banana leaves. Of course, 30F will do even more damage. Probably just throwing a sheet or tarp over them would suffice to protect them from a drop of temp if it only goes below freezing for a few hours. The plants that have not flowered will lose all their leaves if unprotected, but will quickly grow more. If there are several pseudostems off of the same corm, the regrown leaves on the other plants may be enough to keep the fruiting pseudostem developing, or maybe just the stored nutrients in the corm itself could be enough. Either way, let us know what you do and what the results are. I've heard that you can cut a fruiting pseudostem and put it in a bucket of water indoors to ripen the fruit as well.

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Re: Fire for Heat
 

[quote=enigma99a;148352]I have some bananas that are 20' overall.. just impossible to protect.

Re: Fire for Heat
 

I know that I've build fires to burn off brush that have damaged overhead maple leaves. Admittedly it was summer and the fires were pretty large, but the maple tree was fairly far away and the lower leaves really got fried by the hot, dry heat blowing toward the tree from seveal feet away.

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Try rescuing Musa when the temp. plummet to minus 10 celsius with a bitter northern wind added to the mix! I had to dig mine up four major corms, plant intact, and pot them up, in the green house...
May I suggest, that a set of Christmas lights (not LEDs), wrapped up the staft, and a double layer of tarp should assist your endeavor... good luck!

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Well... this year just sucks. A cold summer, and now setting record cold? I got my fruit bunches wrapped well with frost cloth, and just hope it doesn't reach the forecasted lows. if it does oh well! it will spring back in some form eventually

I see forecasted frost for parts of Los Angeles like Arcadia, so it makes me feel a little better up here. :)

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Re: Fire for Heat
 

I tried xmas lights with frost cover, not much success. I think that the best method is just to build a greenhouse around your plants, but when they get large it isn't that easy to do.. I was thinking the smudge pot might be a good idea for stuff that is just too big to cover. But my neighbors might not be so happy. I'm considering using an outdoor propane heater, but if there is wind at all, the heat will just blow away. I guess I just need to let it freeze and get it over with. This could be our last freeze of the winter, just too bad it came so early

Re: Fire for Heat
 

If it's too big, can't you just cut the thing in half? :o

Re: Fire for Heat
 

I know it is probably too late for the info but here goes anyway..

Next time just go get the largest 4 or 6 mil clear plastic from Home Depot or lowes. Throw it over them and secure it to the ground with rocks,bricks, whatever is heavy.. Get 1 or 2 500watt Halogen lights and just leave them on over night (during frost)... It will be cozy warm in there.. I wrap my Palm trees in zone 7 and use only 200 watts of lights to keep it around 35 degrees in the plastic when it is 10 degrees outside of the plastic..
Good luck

Re: Fire for Heat
 

Yep, Actually I tried this method on some tender palms that can't take much below 32F. Worked very good (had a space heater)

My 20ft bananas though, are a little too big but my BBQ kept them green haha. Next time, I am going to try those outdoor patio heaters that put out 50,000 BTUs.