Bringing the tropicals in for the season.....

Would anyone care to offer words of wisdom, advice, tips and techniques for overwintering some of my tropicals.

I'd like to bring in some banana's and some Alocasia as houseplants through the winter. I drove by an office building the other day with a huge banana in the window - do they do that well? Are there tricks to growing banana's and ears inside through my zone 5 winters?

I hate to see summer go......

Thanks

Hey vs71099; I would think building a "Hoop-house" or geodesic dome structure with Pvc pipe and connecter's and covering with greenhouse plastic would be a much more logical approach.

Hi, i dig mine up and put in a heated shop at 55 degrees, I throw them under my boat that is in storage and forget about them until time to plant. I have banana's that are three years old, they get very large in the summer here, this year they reached over 10'. I do the same with the canna's, brugs, plumarieas, and all the other tropicals I have. I will on occasion go around and spill some water on them. Unless you have a lot of lights, or a green house it's pretty tough to grow year round here. Just let them go dormant and you will have them for next year.
Dan

zebraman, I think that unless the structure you mentioned is heated, and cooled during the day, that the plants will freeze at night and die in that zone.

I keep bananas in the house during the winter-they survive ok-not a lot of growth, and sometimes mealybugs get on them, but doable-the more light the better. Some of the alocasias (sarian, frydek, polly etc I keep going and the larger ones I either have in the ground in the winter or dig up, cut back the roots and store in damp peatmoss in the crawlspace under the house. I also keep some of them going ok in the grhouse. Again-if you have good light (big windows on the south side) and warmth-they should be ok. May have to spray for bugs-I just spray Neem right in the house.

Neem in the house? Are you kidding? The smell!

I agree with TL, there is no chance of keeping bananas in a structure in 5b without considerable heat. With bananas, most people do what diamond123 is doing, allow them to go dormant for the winter...Google that and you'll find plenty of details.

I happen to like the smell of Neem...not like I am spraying Orthene (now that stuff smells)! What I hate the smell of is rubbing alcohol-

The first Neem oil I got smelled nice, but the pure, straight stuff I use now stinks like crazy.

I must have the nice stuff- :) I have, at any given time in the winter over 70 plants inside the house, and I am not dragging them out to spray. I use a mister bottle and selectively spray as I see bugs.

Hey Guys: I was going to mention a heater/soil cables,but I figured you would be able to figure that out on your own.

lol zebraman-you have been in zone 10a too long! You are talking about a fullblown grhouse in zone 5b-it would be more logical to buy new plants every year than build a grhouse and heat it for the winter-thousands of dollars to do that.

I am talking about the intitial cost of building a grhouse in that "thousands". Heater, shutters, fan, thermostats, water, electricity, 2 layers of plastic, squirrel cage fan, gravel, shelves (pressure treated) etc and the structure. I am talking about a structure that is bigger than 5x8.

Hey Guys; I have friends in Eagles Nest, NM (11,000 ft above sea level) and they heat a 10 x 12 ft greenhouse with rabbits.They have 2 large cages of rabbits living in the greenhouse all winter long, eating pellets and greens that are grown inside.Mostly Asian stuff as they grow at lower temps.
The reason rabbits have big ears is to allow them to get rid of excess body heat.They also produce great fertilizer.The temperature inside during winter isn't the same as august in Houston, but it is 20- 25 degrees above freezing,which is all you are looking for.
Also the only place rabbits are expensive is L.A.( to discourage people from buying them as food for their pet pythons).
Get E.Coleman's 4 Season's Harvest, He does this in Vermont,although sans the rabbits.

This message was edited Sep 20, 2007 8:20 PM

VS, I've kept nanners in my basement, dug in fall, plopped it in a big grocery bag, watered it a couple times during winter... I've also kept a basjoo outside, mulched well with a bag of leaves on top to keep out moisture... it returned both times but I couldn't seem to get any heighth to them afterward. I keep other tropicals and tender perennials in my basement, which has some light and never freezes. I win most and lose a few, but I always have more than I did the year before.... A greenhouse is my dream! I don't care what it costs to heat in winter... Sorry if I've duplicated anything, I need to get to work, will read entire thread later, but I saw you were over in Osage City.

I am in Osage City AuntB...... is that near you......

I'll be doing a little of everything suggested ..... What prompted my question was the folks at work asked if I'd bring in a banana to grow in the office - I don't want to just bring it in to die.

I'm in Eskridge, I'm over your way, frequently. I like the nursery there, one of my seasonal favs!.. Hey if you work on the main drag, I'm so envious of those storefront windows that get that southern sun! The old grocery store downtown and one of the car dealers on the other end have hibiscus hugging the glass and I make sure to go slow and drool over the bright colors. If your work has sunny windows, your naner will do fine.. Just watch for bugs and don't over water.
I like that rabbit idea, zebraman, that's what I call multi-tasking! I had bunnies as a child, kept them outside yr round, Mom used the fertilizer... But heating a greenhouse? Doesn't it ... smell? Maybe not in winter and in summer, you'd have to relocate them in shade...... hmmmm... wonder what my neighbors would think of that?.........Nice to meet you vs! Did you just find DG? Oh, hey, we're having a central midwest Fall RU, you're welcome to attend.. should be a great time... Eggs? Stressbaby?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/767180/

Not sure if it'll will help or is practical for you, but since we cannot build a greenhouse here in our property in a neighborhood, we're basically converting our garage to a arboretum for the winter. It already maintains a lot of the house heat, plus I'll be lighting it with two 1000W metal halide systems. To control humidity (and not damage my dry wall) I've purchased two portable greenhouses. One is 9x9 and the other 8x8 (fairly nice size really). See here: http://www.teakwickerandmore.com/Flowerhouse-FHFH700-XJ1010.html

We have to bring in approximately 53 tropicals this year (many of which are 6-9' in height), so we're hoping this does the trick. One palm we have will have to be outside the GH's unfortunately. These GH were the only solution we had, and trust me, I mulled over this subject a long time. If you don't mind giving up half your garage, it's worth considering. Certainly will save you some money. Running the lights shouldn't be nearly as expensive as heating an outdoor greenhouse, especially in your location - which gets much colder than here.

This message was edited Sep 21, 2007 12:49 PM

AuntB, next time your headed my way take a peek into the window of the Senior Center - they have AWESOME plants...... and make plans to stop by my part of the country..... I'll be glad to share seeds and stuff......

For overwintering EE, check out:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/773186/

I think there are so many factors that have to be taken into consideration here when determining the most economical way to heat a grhouse.
The size of the grhouse
what is covering the grhouse
what kind of heater-elec or propane
what temps are the thermostat set at for nighttime
which would then determine how long the heater ran for (as well the outside temps that night-which flucuate from night to night at times) as well as what zone you are in...probably forgot a few considerations

I don't even know how to figure out all that compared to the cost of halide lights....SB?

Ack, I had it all typed out and my message got lost!

1000W * 18H/d * 2 lights * 30d/mo * 1KW/1000W * $0.075/KWH = $81/mo for the lights

Assuming and outdoor GH, single layer poly, 8' x 8' with surface area of 262 sq ft, GH temp of 60F and average outdoor Jan temp in Columbia, SC of 45F, you use 4952 BTU/H

4952BTU/H * 24H/d * 30d/mo * 1KWH/3413BTU * $0.075/KWH = $78.35 to heat a single outdoor GH.

This assumes that no extra heat would be needed in the garage...possibly true in SC, clearly not true in zone 5b.

SB

I will track you down, VS, thank you, that will be fun! (oh! SB I HATE it when that happens)....I see what you are saying and it seems a toss up IF you are allowed to build..Some neighborhoods don't allow new "structures" temporary or permanent... and there are SO many variables... my garage is at the east end of my full (mostly, unfinished) basement. When we have stretches of single digit temps, I have a woodstove down there to keep the chill off. But my garage is below ground level... just wanted to make that clear and I need to realize garages can be ground level, as well. Our average temp in January, I'd guess is 25 and that is probably high. I think it stays above 50 with out side temps around 20, plus I have the small southern window to bring in daytime warmth. (gotta go, company)

Thanks SB! Did I read your figures correctly-that you have the heater on 24h/d*30d/mo? Does that mean the heater is running 24/7 for the month?

I would think that two of those lights on 18hr/d would provide quite a bit of heat. I would run them at night.

Obviously the heater won't run 24 hours a day. The calculation is made using the average temperature. Sometimes you will need much more than that amount, sometime much less. But the average is over 24 hours, so you have to figure that into the calculation.

Knowing the average Jan temp at each hour of the day, you could make a more precise calculation, including time on and time off. Let me know if you ever find such information. ;-)

SB

Oh, that's EASY! The average temp in Jan, at each hour of the day is: cold. =)

When you coming to wine country? =)

Thanks for clearify SB-theres a reason why I don't come near those calculations that you do...:)

Hrm, maybe now I wish we could put the GH outside. Unfortunately we can't as I'm fairly positive our covenants won't allow it. It's a new neighborhood, and they've been fairly strict on stuff thus far.

things like no greenhouses in peoples yards that really dont matter. reallly hack me off

if we have a rule about no gh's in my neighborhood, ill just camoflauge it... if i had one!
we arent allowed to have flags up more than one day in my neighborhood!

Heck, I might just try it now to see what happens. We had a fence installed this weekend, and we do have woods behind us. I might can pull it off. The neighborhood is still under construction behind us, and the company currently overseeing things are just really strict... they've given our neighbor fits on stupid stuff. I'm sure once everything's said and done, and WE (the residents) have control of the review board, it'll be a lot better.

I do still think the quote for the halide's is a bit high given what I've seen on them stats wise, but it was a eye opener regardless. I hadn't really thought about using a gas heater. I had been thinking of electrical, which I do think would be more expensive that way. The gas is worth some thought. We may yet give this a shot. We still have to keep at least one halide in the garage... the 8' palm can't fit in the greenhouse without me raising it up (not something I want to try just yet). But it would free up the garage a bit and cut costs (especially on equipment - darn halides cost $500 a piece all said and done).

what development do you live in? i used to live up there, and may be familiar with it.

Hey Guys; If you live near a large city check out Police auctions as they almost always have "seized" Halides.And sell them at a fraction of actual cost.

diehrd, it's a new subdivision in Lexington called 'The Mill.' I think it's in the third phase now, and was started sometime in early 2006 - maybe late 2005. Our home was part of the second phase.

It's located off Barr Road, right behind the Lexington Country Club property.

So, vs, what's going to happen with your nanner?

I think I'll bring a few in and I'll leave a few out - I like a good experiment......

I sort of forgot about the original reason for posting after reading everyone's comments about living under the rules and restrictions of a development..... I live in the middle of nowhere (sort of) and put whatever I want up...... I have my little plastic greenhouse (to expensive to heat but good to start seeds in) and what would they say about all my satellite dishes.... LOL I'd be kicked out of the neighborhood for good.....

It's good reading, VS, but I wondered what you decided.... I have 2 satellite dishes, 1 small one that is functioning for Direct tv and 1 of those BIG solid fiber glass ones from a l o n g time ago.... I would make a gazebo, or something just not quite sure how I want it to look.... but next year I'm going to put some netting or something over it and cover it with morning glories... they about took over my deck this year, so they should love it. I'm right out there in the middle of no where, sort of, with you!

yeah pretty sure i heard of it... i miss l-town soo much. Hilton Head Island will never be able to replace it!!!