Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I just received a Mekong Giant and an Ice Cream in the mail the Giant is 6-8" and the Ice Cream is 3" maybe.

I live in Kelso, WA zone 8

Should I plant them in the ground, in 5 gallon buckets until they get bigger or should I put them outside at all right now?

(I am also getting a praying hands soon too.)

Thanx all! Alrighty then all your most awsome info will be so apreciated!!

Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work I go.....................:0519:

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Plant them if you want in the ground, and in the autumn put it in a bucket.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Are they TCs? If so, you might want to let them grow in their pots some more before planting them in the ground.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

if they're that small I would pot them up.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

If it was me I would plant in pots.1gal or smaller.Once they have filled the pot plant them in the ground

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Ditto. You live in a pretty cool, damp place. You want lots of healthy roots before you plant them in the ground. And like Sunfish said, avoid over-potting, which can also lead to root rot, by starting them in small pots.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Thanx everybody for the good advice!:woohoonaner:

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I agree, pot them up! When I got my ice cream banana in spring 2010 it was 1 foot tall and I potted it in a 3 gallon pot. It did really poorly at first (couldnt support itself and even made a pup because it probably thought it was going to die). It made it through though and I dont think it would have survived if it was planted in the ground. It grew well that summer and the following summer it was tall enough to go in the ground. Now, 2 years after I first got it, its 6 feet tall and definitely strong enough to go in the ground!

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Thanks for the advice. Your weather looks kind of like ours. Except it probably gets colder.

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So....since I tend to feel safe with "recipes," how tall should a pup be before putting it in the ground? How about a TC plant?

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Nick could answer this question with authority since he grows commercially often using TC'd plants, but I think the recommendations I've seen for commercial growers suggest about 1' of p-stem before planting out. Most important, I think is a big bunch of healthy roots, which you can check on by taking your plant out of its pot to examine the roots. With natural pups, I've seen mention of 4-6" diameter p-stem being ideal for suckers being planted out.

All that aside, if you are not in the tropics, I think having the right weather conditions are more important than plant size. Even big healthy pups can die if you plant them in cold, wet soil.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

:bananas_bHey "Kelso", I'm also in Kelso!!!...Small world!!...I've grown my basjoos in the ground for a couple years now with no problems...All the other bananas I have go out in pots in the Spring/Summer, and in the greenhouse Fall/Winter :)

I also grow lots of different palms, Alocasias and Colocasias...Of course, other than the Windmill palms, they are kept in the greenhouse over the winter.

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I bought the Mekong Giant which is suppose to be just as hardy as the Basjoo. I don't think I will leave that outside this year unless it starts growing and gets really big. not sure about the Ice Cream or the Praying Hands either at this point. Hopefully we have a summer.

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I haven't tried any of those here "yet"...I winter the rest of mine in my greenhouse...Too scared to leave them out...LOL

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I planted them in gallon size containers as suggested in a soil mixture off of another thread and fertilized with Alaska fish fertilizer. I also kept them inside in a window. Both are getting new leaves. So far so good!

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Oh that's GREAT!!...I just added a Bordelon to my collection...We'll see how that goes :)

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Yup, nights during the wintertime here are usually a bit cooler than your part of the country. Summers are very muggy and hot here though (upper 80s, low 90s) and Autumn is often mild as well because the ocean temps are still warm so NYC is a bit warmer than most of the PNW that time of the year.
Good luck with your banana plants!

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I let my ice creams freeze this winter (got down to 26F three times). They're fine. About 5 feet tall.

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Did they die all the way back?
And will they still fruit if they freeze?:coldbanana: