beautiful ensete's glad to see someone else cares to bring them inside and doesnt just leave them out to die back all winter! thats beautiful being u are in a zone 4. Great Job!

You could have avoided that by drenching your potting soil with a growth regulator such as Arrest, Bonzi, or Sumagic.

struwwelpeter, are there any side effects by using these growth regulators? How long does it last in the soil?

struwwelpeter, are there any side effects by using these growth regulators?

None, unless you consider the plant growing more leaves per unit time, or darker green, a side effect. If you overdose, the ensete will look like a bromeliad. You also need to apply several weeks before decapitation.

How long does it last in the soil?

It will last long enough to shorten growth for a month after you plant in the ground next spring, which is a good thing if your springs are windy and likely to blow over spindly plants. Of the three growth regulators I mentioned, only Arrest can be completely counteracted by applying gibberrellic acid but Arrest has less bang for the buck.

Those enestes are amazing!!!!!! I bought one in october and It could bearely stand up. Now it is standing up as best as it can, but the leaves are reverting back to green and they arent growing very fast. It has been about 3 weeks since Ive seen a new leaf come up. lets say it looks a little pathetic. Bright side is it is one of the few plants not infested by bugs (I say about half have something eating it that has to be treated). Hopefully mine will pick up the pace during the summer.

I still cant believe you live in a zone 4. I can understand beautiful plants outside, but inside too... wow, that takes a lot. Good thing you have high celings! That snow outside probably makes a good reflector of sunlight into your house too. Are you going to give them a head start inside, or chop them up in the spring so they can fit through the door easier?

Good luck and keep up the great work! Hopefully one day mine will at least slightly resemble that!! :)

Absolutely beautiful!!...What size pots are they in??...I have mine in my heated greenhouse...Hope they survive!!

I don't have enough light in my house to bring mine in :(

knotz

{{gwi:49686}}

{{gwi:49687}}

{{gwi:49689}}

{{gwi:49691}}

{{gwi:49694}}

I start to let my banana's go dormit. When the temp's here start hitting night time 45 I move mine into the shade for two weeks. After that I move them into deeper shade for another two weeks. After that month I take them inside to a cool room and let them sit in low light. They'll last a good 3 month and start to loose their lower leaves slowly over the next 3. So by the time Spring arrives just reverse the process. This is my water method of seperating the pups.

Knotz, the largest one is in a 21-22" pot. The other ones are in 16" pots (about 15 gallon containers).

Georgeiii, where do you live? It sure looks warmer than northern Utah! We've had -18 F. already, and have over a foot of snow on the ground. What kind of musa are you are growing?

I happen to live in zone 6 or 7 depending. It seems it's changing. And yes I've heard ya'll are getting hit pretty hard. I think it's a musa basjoo. Currantly I'm growing about 8 different types. Those are all seedlings right now. Only the basjoo has any size to it.