Viper1436

Ok so I'm getting bananas for the first time, what are some things I should know/do because i'm a bit of a worrywart. We are heading into cold cold weather here in Chicago which scares me even more because I still have the plant outside. Should I move it in or leave it out there? It's gotten down to the high 40s at night the past couple nights here. PLS HELP. I don't want to ruin my first bananas!! ANY BIT OF ADVICE WOULD HELP!

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MATT

Viper1436

What do I do when the flower emerges? Do I keep fertilizing? Do I fertilize more? Should I cut off the 2ft pup thats on the plant? Theres 5 other little 2in pups that are sprouting should i remove them??

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MATT

andy17

Hello Viper1436,
This year has been my first time fruiting a banana as well. There's still so much that I'm trying to learn So I'm no expert by any means Definitely though, you want to protect the plant from frost and temps below 40 F. The fruit can experience cold damage even if no frosts have occurred. If the avg. temps are dipping below 47 or 48 degrees at night, I would definitely bring the plant in. It should actually do better setting fruit indoors because the temps will be more stable and conducive to growth. Once it's indoors, the growth rate will slow some. The best place to put it would be the brightest room with the most sunlight exposure. Adding plant lights will help keep the growth rate up. The best I've heard are metal halide, HPS, and Sodium Vapor plant lights, but members have also reported a lot of success with the much more affordable (not to mention more energy efficient) T5 fluorescent kits as well. Water and fertilizer needs are quite a bit less indoors, but because its fruiting, you'll want to make sure to continue fertilizing, but I would say no more than half to a third of the amount that was used during its most active growth period this summer.
As for the pups, I would leave them right now. After flowering, the main plant will die back and the pups will take over. Leaving one or two of the biggest will help the plant to regrow once the main plant finishes fruiting. The smaller ones don't compete too much with the main plant, and right now, removing them would probably do more harm than good. While fruiting, minimizing shock to the plant is number one. Ditto for repoting. Hope this helps! Best of luck with your fruit!

andy17

Oh, I also found this publication on temperatures and fruiting bananas that might be helpful. The second page on the bottom talks about cold weather. Hope this helps!

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/ass...e-response.pdf

Viper1436

Thanks! Very informative!

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MATT

sunfish

Very good.