Pics of this year's outdoor ensete bananas, zone 4

arctictropical

12 years ago

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Comments (4)

eclayne
12 years ago
Amazing! OK, please share secrets.
All right I see Alocasia and what's that in the distance, Colocasia and Canna and Musas beyond the Hibiscus?
arctictropical
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi eclayne. Yes, I grow about everything tropical that I can. I grow over 1,000 cannas, lots of elephant ears (I sell quite a few cannas and elephant ears to local nurseries), musa, tropical and hardy hibiscus, plumeria, desert rose, bamboo, voodoo lilies, pineapple, cacti (barrel, saguaro,yucca, etc.), angel trumpets, citrus, bromeliads, tropical vines, outdoor palm trees (5 of them. One is 15 tall), arundo (giant reed).... you name it!
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Pics of outdoor ensete bananas, zone 4
Q
Comments (13)
I actually just recently bought a Ensete Maurelii off ebay. I heard they grow the fastest in the ground, but I wont be putting mine in the ground until next spring because by the time their roots get settled they will have to be chopped up for winter storage. Also how do you store your bananas for the winter? I heard of alot of techniques, but most of them dont tell you how to cut off all those roots. Do you use a shovel to break the roots up? Im looking forward to working with this banana. So far I have a dwarf cavendish and a little prince banana and both dont really get alot of size on them (since their dwarfs they get alot of leaves but gain very little height with each one). This will actually be the first banana I have that has the potential of growing to monster proportions. Also I did a search for E. superbum on ebay. There is one and its a sprouted seed for only 13 dollars. Im not sure if I can give a seller's name on this fourm so ill just tell you that you have to search ensete superbum to get it. Their is only 1 day left as of now. The plant is about a foot tall. The seller is also reliable and does have superbums selling from time to time. Good luck!
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Pics of putting 12-14' Ensete bananas to bed for winter, zone 4.
Q
Comments (26)
arctic, thank you for sharing your pics and your knowledge. Your photos inspired me to get my first Ensete maurelli last year. I've never grown a banana before and I wasn't sure what to expect the first year from a TC start, so I potted it. Wanted to make sure nobody stepped on the wee thing. I kept it awake this winter, since it still fits in a 10" pot. I've only got one unshaded south window, and the banana dominates it. I've enjoyed looking up at those leaves while the snow flies outside. I think this summer I'll plant it in the ground. Time to get some size on this critter. Will small Ensetes survive a long dormancy? I live in a small apartment and have lots of other plants. But I'd love to get another one... or two...
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This year's pics of outdoor palms, zone 4
Q
Comments (26)
Mike. I started with two 4x4 Styrofoam boxes made out of 2" thick blueboard and pine. After about 15 years, I refurbished and improved the design several times, and built an additional 8' box for the tallest palm. I used to have a clear acrylic panel to let light in the top of the boxes. Bad idea. It leaks, it is not energy efficient, and is not neccessary. Improvements: I now put a solid plywood or waferboard panel over a solid Styrofoam panel on the top of the box and use treated fir 2x4's as a base so that the pine does not rot on the bottom of the box. I cover the boxes with clear plastic to keep the weather out. I have 3 screw-in florescent light bulbs in the top of the boxes for a little heat. Here are three pictures of how I prepare the 14-15' foot palm for winter. You can see one of the smaller boxes in the background of the last two pictures.
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Pics of this year's outdoor tropicals, zone 4
Q
Comments (12)
donaldb, in my climate (I've seen -40 F. and -45 F. in the last 15 years), I must protect the palms well. I have built 2" thick styrofoam boxes with 2-3 screw-in flourescent light bulbs at the top to keep them warm. If you caulk the boxes well, they let the heat from the light bulbs build up, and so these boxes keep them nice and toasty. I'm still using all of my boxes since I built them about 18 years ago. I have refurbished the oldest ones and added an extra couple of feet on them as the palms get taller. My tallest (Windmill palm) is probably 12' now. I have an 8' box on top of several railroad ties. It grows over a foot each year. The bananas I dig up and put in 15 gallon pots and take inside. I have an A-frame house with a 30' ceiling. Sometimes I cut the leaves and stalk back to a three foot stump and let them start over, especially if I stick them in the basement in an unheated, unlit room for the winter. Scully931, the cannas multiply quite nicely each year. Each of these canna beds started from one or two cannas. I sell extras (over 800 rhizomes to a local nursery each year) and give some away to the neighbors. Store your cannas by putting them in plastic garbage sacks with peat moss. This will keep them from drying out or rotting, as long as you put them in a place around 50-55 degrees or slightly warmer. I put the bags of cannas in wax covered grocery produce boxes and stack them up in my storage room in the basement. Kevin
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tropicalzone7
12 years ago
How do you overwinter your cannas?? I just cant seem to winter mine over right! Im thinking about just mulching them in the ground and hoping for the best because I rarely am able to dig it up without breaking the roots to a point where it wont grow back!
Your pics are amazing like always!! I think your yard alone should be a tourist attraction!
-Alex
arctictropical
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Alex. After many trial and error experiences, I found that the very best way to store cannas is in some large plastic garage bags, placed inside some wax coated produce boxes you can usually get for free at the grocery store. Make sure you mix a little peat moss in with the rhizomes as you fill the bags. This peat moss absorbs the moisture from the roots and keeps the rhizomes from drying out. It is critical that the rhizomes are neither too soggy or too dry. I store them in my "fruit room" in the basement which is an unheated room where I store canned goods. The optimal temperature to store cannas is about 50-55 degrees. They will rot if the temperatures are much lower. Good luck!

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Pics of this year's outdoor ensete bananas, zone 4

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eclayne

arctictropical
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Pics of this year's outdoor ensete bananas, zone 4

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eclayne

arctictropicalOriginal Author

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tropicalzone7

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