frankthetank

To me it seems like when you store corms they take FOREVER to wake up. I put mine back in april and only now are they unfolding leaves. These aren't small plants, these are 6ft+ corms. They did get very dry over winter and i think i probably damaged some of them (some seem to be throwing up only pups).

On the flip side, a pup i potted up last summer, and kept inside the house over the winter, which then went in a small unheated greenhouse this spring (late March where it took nights in the low 20's with just a blanket covering it) is uncurling very large leaves.

I'm thinking this year i toss the big corms and just overwinter pups and greenhouse/plant out.

My guess is that when you keep them growing through the winter, they don't lose those roots and when you give them early heat/water/sunshine (greenhouse) they can just take right back off vs a dormant corm that has to regrow roots/etc...

Am i off here? Not saying there is anything wrong, its just annoying looking at a big dead looking brown stick for 2 months.

Abnshrek

Sounds like a more active approach to enjoying or having the look you want come mid-spring up there. :^)

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Jack Daw

I too found out that waking up from dormancy takes forever. Plus you have to add that the plant has to make new roots (once dry, they need to be replaced) and voila, we get 2+ months of regrowth. That's why I wanna try something else this year and keep 2 plants outside with hell of a good protection. Or, you could always use some sort of special, wide pot, pot the plants for winter and put it inside. That way they will go dormant, but will be easier to wake up (only 1-3 weeks).

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saltydad

Jack-that is what I plan on doing this year. I have some that still haven't broke dormancy! (Or they're dead :-( ). Same with my ee's . Cannas will still be stored as dormant corms.

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Dean W.

Here are two I bought from a nursery this spring. They are just starting to take off now. Seemed like forever.

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blownz281

I found out storing mine they got too dryed out bare root and lost all but three nanners. Yellow seemed unfazed,Orinoco-ice cream came back but took forever and were tiny. Lost laterias,brodelon,Sikk. Next year they will all be potted up in potting soil and brought inside.

How does anyone keep bugs out of the house bringing the nanners inside?

LilRaverBoi

I've never overwintered plants in dormancy before, so I really can't compare, but I can say that overwintering them alive has been fairly successful for me. I had a few friends on here with plants ~the same size of my plants last fall. They overwintered theirs dormant and I kept mine growing indoors. Theirs gained no growth over winter and had to take time to come out of dormancy. Mine kept growing all winter and were massive by spring. Mine are now much larger than theirs. Not everyone has the space to keep large plants growing indoors all winter (and I don't really either to be honest ) so it's very possible to just chop the plant off (at the base or anywhere along the pseudostem) and pot up the roots/corm. The main plant may keep growing from where you cut it, or pups may come up to replace it. Either way, you still have the main corm intact down below the soil to keep feeding the new plants with nutrients. You will likely notice a significant difference between pups growing off of a mature corm and pups you separated off. The pups off the corm grow much faster and healthier than separated pups with more limited root systems.

Hose them down really well several times before bringing them indoors. You'll probably still end up with spider mites later in winter, but this should reduce them quite a bit.

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blownz281

What about bugs in the soils though?

Abnshrek

I hit them w/ liquid sevin dust :^)

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blownz281

Good idea! Guess its doesn't hurt the plant at all?

frankthetank

Here are a couple of what i'm talking about...Do remember that the second pic looked like a corn stalk for the last 2 months... it is looking good now.

This one was a pup/overwintered/greenhouse in late March/planted out late April

This was my biggest corm from last year, stored in the basement...put in mid April

LilRaverBoi

Honestly, they look about the same size right now. Keep us posted and let us know what they both look like come aug/sept.

To be entirely honest, keeping things alive all winter will ensure they take off in the spring right away, but if you are talking a very large plant, say 10+ feet tall, a pup kept alive in a greenhouse all winter in NO WAY will EVER overtake a corm/pseudostem overwintered dormant all winter. That's the main difference.

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frankthetank

Corm is bigger..but it was a pig last year... Corm is about a hair over 5ft, the pup from last year is roughly 4ft... It will be interesting to give them another month...and see what happens...

Like i stated..i'm just annoyed by the way the corms look for so long (dead)!

Here was the corm banana above, last summer:


I'm going to be drowning in pups...everything is already pupping like crazy.

LilRaverBoi

Just to clarify, the 'corm' is a root structure only found BELOW the surface of the soil. I believe the heights you are referring to here are pseudostem, not corm. Here's a link to a wiki page that has a nice picture labeling all the parts of a banana plant.

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frankthetank

Yeah..i know..just keeping it simple. I'm not the greaetest with spelling so Pseduwhatever isn't part of my vocabulary (ouch)! I did attend public schools

I'll see what we have in another 4-6 weeks...