"Colin Malsingh" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 18:55:21 -0000, "Chris Wardman"
wrote:

Anyone have any advice on caring for banana plants in winter, put mine in
the garage to protect from cold but looks a bit rough

The more warmth (or lack of frost) the better. I believe that if
they're wrapped well, they may be ok. Mine is in our unheated
greenhouse, wrapped in fleece. We only started it last year so this is
our first winter.

The only other thing you might consider is some gentle background
heat. I considered a paraffin greenhouse heater, but I think they
generate moisture and I was concerned that could lead to other
problems with condensation freezing, dampness & mould etc.

I guess we'll both know later on in Spring....

Colin
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(Sorry - no direct email. Please reply via the newsgroup)

Well, mine, all bar one, are all in pots and some spend time in the paraffin
heated greenhouse, with no wrapping and a little watering, they seem
perfectly happy. The larger specimins are in the unheated shed, corrugated
plastic roof, they are wrappen in hessian, and fleece. Nothing plastic,
since the plants stems are basically just leaf stalks and even in winter
hold an enormous amount of water you have to stop mould and rot setting in.
Plastics tend to cause the plant to sweat, or cause too much condensation,
when this freezes it kills the leaves, and hence the trunk.

The only outdoor plant, has it's leaves chopped off, an old tyre placed
around the base and two sheets of corrugated plastic placed inside the tyre
and around the trunk. The ample air space is then filled with straw, and the
whole thing is topped with something solid to stop any rain dribbling in on
top.

With these techniques I have managed to keep the plants alive for up to 5
years so far, and indeed am multiplying the number of banana plants I have
every year.

Last year, the first offspring of my first banana plant managed to get to
about 14-15 foot high, in a pot little more than 18 inches in diameter.

All of these are Musa Basjoo by the way, apart from my most recent
acquisition which is the flowering banana, and I absolutely cannot rememer
it's name right now.

Duncan