My neighbor got me into Musa in a big way a few years ago.
I've added M. basjoo, 'Bordelon' 'Dwf, Cavendish' and Rojo since then.
I've been wintering mine indoors.
For the last two winters he's done his basjoo outdoors unprotected.
Not a bad stand of bananas for the 4th of July here in Cincinnati eh.....
Ric
Very nice,I love Nanas!
That's great!
Say, do you know if there is a way to ID bananas that are not blooming size yet? A friend gave me some unidentified teensy-tiny pups a few years ago and they have been very slow growing in spite of year-round growing conditions (greenhouse in winter). They are getting very crowded now in the largest pot that 2 of us can drag around, so I am considering putting them in the ground and just *hoping* that they are Basjoo. Are there any plant characteristics to look for that might tell me if that is what I have? I fear it may be the dwarf Cavendish, since it grows so slowly. It is about 4 or 5 feet tall and there are 3 big plants and 2 pups that I could not manage to dig out this year. Any comments would be appreciated. I can take some pics if you tell me what part I need to look at for identification. (Probably the flowers!)
Thanks!
I'm by far not a Musa expert.
I just know the ones I have well. lol
There are so many all green 'nanas it could well be anything.
As far as I know it's the flowers that make the ID.
I've had 'Bordelon' and 'Zebrina' flower.
So them I'm sure of.
Ric
That's really neat....have they flowered to give you some home-growners?
Hap
Not yet Hap but this year they should be big enough to flower.
The problem is the season is so short they would never ripen.
But they are pupping like crazy.
This stand was one plant two years ago.
Ric
If you get a flower and it is got fruit by frost, cut them off and they will ripen in the house...Here they have to be pretty big, though...but they do ripen..Keep me posted..This is a hoot...LOL
Yep we're always trying to grow what we can't.
I've a friend down your way who does tulips.
They winter in her 'fridge.
We've had success w/ figs and nanas.......
Our next project is Palm Trees and EE's.
Ric
There are quite a few palms that grow in the snow...or do you want a tropical? The EE would be treated as an annual for the least amount of cold they will go dormant..
How about some bamboo? There are snow bamboos too....
Hap
We are testing out cold hardy palms.
Bamboos I do in spades here and they actually seem to love our areas.
We are going to play w/ some of the cold hardier aroids in a section we have out front.
The ground never freezes more than a few inches and w/ mulch we may get a return from the tubers.
Ric
Well I finally got back to this thread. I figured the ID would depend on the flowering. I may put the nana out in the ground anyway, because otherwise it is just too darn heavy to put in a bigger pot. Thanks for your comments, anyway.
Speaking of overwintering plants that are not for our zone....this last year I had giant calla lilies, holly fern, wax begonias, fancy cannas, and some succulents that I was very surprised and pleased to see bounce back after a zone 6 winter. It got down to zero at Christmas, but we had 8 inches of snow on the ground, so that is probably what saved them. I guess one of these years I am going to lose a lot of stuff, but it sure is fun trying to see what I can get away with. One of my friends always leaves her colocasias in the ground. All of us leave our gladiolus bulbs, and one friend has amaryllis that not only survives, but blooms. (I was very skeptical but verified it myself this year.) I also have some agapanthus that has come back every year and is blooming now. It might be the 'Headbourne Hybrids' but was not labeled as such. I am going to try overwintering my amaryllis and a crinum lily out in the ground this winter, along with the nana and some EEs. I would be interested in learning how your experiments fare.
I've seen Canna and regular EE's come back in our area in several places.
Lots of mulch, close to the house of wall and little or no water seems to be the ticket.
The zoo here does bamboos hardy to 7b and 8 here.
They pile up sawdust to about 3' thick then tarp it.
It's worked for years.
Obviously you have to cut it WAY back but hey it's only bamboo. lol
Ric
You are certainly right about keeping some things dry...I lost a good canna from rot one winter.
Are you getting rain up there in Cincinnati? We are having a terrible local drought here. We've had less than 6 inches of precipitation all year, and usually have about 20+ inches by now.
Needless to say, I am watering nonstop.
Very little rain since Spring when we got far too much.
We only watered about 2 times last year.
It's been raining about every 2 weeks or so and then gulley washers.
So like you it's been a lot of hose dragging,
As we are in line to get visted by Dennis I'd say we should be rather wet by mid-week.
Ric
We have family in the Navarre area (evacuated now), so I really hate to see another terrible hurricane headed into their path. But, like you, I will gladly receive some rain here!
Have you ever spent time in the gulf area around Pensacola? We've made regular trips in the last 12 years, but twice now a hurricane has demolished our reserved lodging and cancelled our plans. It is very beautiful when allowed to bounce back from the destruction. As much as I love staying directly on the beach, I think the government should probably make the barrier islands uninhabited and just allow day visits. Save us all a bundle on insurance premiums.
My Family are in Naples and Tampa/St Pete so are out of this one.
I'm more of an east coast FL lover but have spent some time in Ft Walton and Pensacola.
It appears rylaff is at ground zero for the landfall down there in Niceville.
Last post last night says he was riding it out.
Would NOT want to be there when Dennis hits this afternoon.
Looks like we'll just get T-Storms out this.
We can use the rain but definitely not the wind.
Check out Dennis thread on the Weather Forum here.
It's as up to date as power and weather conditions allow.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/527801/
Ric
Thanks for the link, Ric. Now that my computer hawg DH is off the computer (nap time), I can check up on the threads.
Still watering....
Susan
