Show off your banana!

OMG, your banana is gorgeous. That is definitely going on my wish list.

Are you digging up your other banana for the winter, or are you going to cover it with leaves in a cage? When is the time to winterize it?

Do you dig up your canna lilies?

The bananas in the ground are supposed to be hardy - Musa bajoo, so I don't plan to dig them out. I'll protect them when it starts to get really cold, if it does. I probably do not get as cold here as you do up there, plus, my yard is more protected than yours, so you might want to do things differently. I do not dig my cannas, but I protect them with extra mulch.
In terms of when to winterize, I keep an eye on the weather this time of year. It's hard to say when cold is going to hit, but I generally start winterizing in November. I'm not planning on extensive winterizing this year. I lost most things that were going to die last year and I just don't have the energy to protect things. So many things I lost did well up until that last frost, then bit the dust. It wasn't worth the effort in the end.

Be sure to let me know about the cuttings before the first freeze, though.

Yes, I will try to make some time to get some of the coleous cuttings from you. Do you want some of my coleous cuttings as well? I promised PNWMountaingirl I would get some for her.

I have a dentist, Chiro, and Naturepath dr visits scheduled for next week, so I will be busy. But, the good news is, that will get me jumpstarted to get something done. It will keep off this darn time-wasting internet.

Thanks, Lynn, but I will have enough to keep up with rooting my own coleus cuttings and getting them to survive over the winter. I've never been very successful at that.

Now showing my banana is not proper. For we all know that size does not matter. But rather the style of its use in the garden is everything. We all know that bananas do not do well in extreme cold environment and their longevity is reduced in such circumstances. So knowing all these things the red banana is probably the favorite of all of you who actually look at the product. Just remember I agree with Pix that a blanket of whatever to cover them is the best to keep them happy.

So, based on your personal knowledge of this subject, do they all go dormant at the first frost and stay that way until spring? How do you awaken a sleeping banana?

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!!

What is the life expectancy of the average banana?

Depends on how old it is.
You don't have to do anything to wake them up.. Mother nature does that for you.. just be observant and notice when the thing begins perking up.

Pixydish- Beautiful Banana ..ahhh if I had a GH...
Lynn- in my yard some bananas don't live as long as they should. (Like the one pixy just got) I think that it may make a difference if they able to bloom since the blooming stalk will die, but my Musa bajoos is 12 years old and has only bloomed about 3 times........so I have several dozen stalks, and it just keeps on going without a hint of slowing down!

Linda, when I bought the banana the woman who sold it to me told me she takes hers inside, into her house, and uses it as a houseplant over the winter. I'm going to have to try it that way because there is no room in the greenhouse for it.

I am staying out of anymore banana culture because of my specific requirements in Montana are different than the bananas of your area. I feel each plant needs its own culture.

Oh Soferdig, are you suffering from Banana envy?

I don't have any banana envy, but the idea of keeping one in the house over the dreary winter sounds good to me! Actually, downright a-peel-ing!

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 8:08 AM

I do enjoy a cultured banana. Always such a nice treat! Sofer, I believe I have seen photos of an enviable sunporch or sunroom in your home? Seems like a banana would be right at home there.

Yes my banana loves the warmth of a fire and a cozy blanket in front. It languishes through the long winters holding on to the warmth of its environs.

Without a GH I have so many plants to bring in for the winter, in fact I have very little funiture in my front room just plant stands. Bananas do very well as house plants so mine languishes through the long winter. I have 2 how many are you talking about Sofer?

Only one we have a sun room for a family room so lots of plants came in this year. We have already had several frosts. Snow yesterday. I like it though because we get good color in our plants.

Fall colors in your neck of the woods are wonderfull around here they aren't as bright

Todays colors have been over wridden by some weird weather last PM. Oh well I get to go sledding today. Got down to 14 Last Pm with a frigid snow front from Alberta. Very pretty today in the sun and snow. I love winter!

We're expecting a big drop in temps and lots of sunshine for the next few days. Air is coming down from the Fraser River Valley. Maybe the systems are related.

We'd better not have snow, though.

All of our cold weather in NW Montana comes down the Frasier. If otherwise it goes over to eastern Montana and we don't get it. Our weather patterns are totally similar to Seattle except the pineapple express' they tend to diminish in our high pressure cold fronts that sit here much of the winter.

Interesting. So our temps work in tandem - we just have the ocean to keep us more moderate. I get it.

supposed to be a record breaker tonight. All of my potted bananas are in the garage. Did someone on this thread mention they have a chinese yellow banana? Do you leave it outside all year?

Thank the Japanese Current and you will be OK. Now with global warming the current will swing North and the Seattle area will become more like us in Montana.

I would not leave any potted banana out around here. In fact I just got a great deal 2 weeks ago on a Chinese yellow banana that is spending the winter in the house. They are supposed to be hardy here but seems too late for it to get an established root system this year. (Anyways I have already killed one a couple of years ago)

Good advice. I'll pot it up into a larger pot and overwinter in the garage. It's looking like a jungle in there. I spent hours cleaning out the greenhouse tonight getting ready for the cold weather. Mike helped me move all the pots under cover in preparation for the big freeze, which did not occur at my house, last night.
Soferdig, I do hope Seattle area doesn't start getting as cold as Montana. I'd have to move south I think.

Well my calculations of ocean currents should have the Japanese Current hitting farther north (according to oceanographers) with the Pacific high remaining over your area much later. Then the Frasier artic masses will hit you as well as it does us. Speculation only. Plan on Zone 6 in 50 to 100 years.

Ah, that works for me. I'll plan to be gardening on a completely different level by that time!

Well here we go again ...showing our bananas, although definitely not as spectacular as years gone by. This is my musa Basjoo. It suffered the worst of the cold winter without protection (as usual) and has fewer stalks and only 2 new pups. My Darmera peltata has become somewhat of a thug, but I still love it

OMG. Can I just scoop that whole bed up and deposit it in my yard, please? How gorgeous!

I wintered this Musella lasiocarpa indoors and planted it out in April. I planted it fairly deep, and rimmed it with large rocks in hopes that it will survive the winter.

You betcha Pony but you will have to take the stream with you!! Ha

I can live with that! hehe. ;)

Gorgeous bed, Linda. Love your jungle look. We will have to check ours out and see. I think we only have pups this year.

Azorina, pretty beds! What is the giant cabbage looking plant to the behind-left of your second banana?

That does happens to be a purple cabbage. Great looking landscape plant I had 5 more than I needed so everyone in the nieghborhood got one!

Beautiful garden Azorina. And now I just have to get a banana! And then find a space for it.

If someone can tell me how to successfully dig up a pup, I will give you one of mine, Judi. I overwintered mine last year, in the ground, by wrapping it. Pi y did a better job with hers, and it is much bigger than mine.