Posted by Austin, Little Rock
on 9/5/2009, 3:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Palms,Bananas,and More From Mass."
70.232.80.224
Hi, Bill. They could flower next year if you can save the pseudostems over the winter. You could cut them back to 5 feet and cover like you describe. Lots of gardeners use this method (or a similar one) and have success. I think you should cut them as high as you can. The top part (say top foot) may not stay firm, but the rest certainly will with a lot of protection like you describe. Even if you save four feet, that's a lot really. It certainly increases your chances of a flower next year.
The temp in the basement will be almost perfect for Orinocos. What concerns me a little is the dampness. Watch the stems over the winter for rot. Chances are you will probably be able to overwinter your edibles down there with very good luck. Orinoco is very easy and can handle it. Raja puri is iffy. Mine looked great in the spring but then the stem rotted after I planted it. So, the plant had to start from the corm. I was expecting bananas from it this year but wasn't so lucky! Maybe next year, right?
I like to dig and cut off the leaves before the first frost. Do this and you won't have to worry about damage to the pseudostem. My dwarf cavendish did not like my garage and rotted back to the corm last year. The same happened with my zebrinas a couple years ago when I grew them. I have zebrinas again and will try to overwinter them in my crawlspace that says around 45 degrees during the winter, but it is sort of damp too like your basement. The dampness may help the plants retain moisture in their stems. I guess we'll both see what we can do with them this winter.
Let me know if you have other questions. Take lots of pics as the season winds up and also of your protection methods. Here's to a warm winter!
Austin
Here was my nice Raja puri stem last year. This was the one that rotted in the garage. 
You could get Musa basjoo blooms like this if you play your cards right with Old Man Winter! 
Mostly Orinocos from 2005. I gave all these away and donated some to school. I'm now focused on dwarf Orinocos due to their smaller size. These overwintered in the garage perfectly.
P.S. If you aren't a member of the ORG, bananas.org, then please join. It's a lot of fun!
Bananas.ORG
Message Thread:
« Back to thread