sandy0225

a guy from the Chicago area called. His ice cream banana is also throwing a flag leaf, but unlike me, he doesn't have a greenhouse to keep it in overwinter. He said he overwintered it under his house last year and it did fine. But now with it starting to bloom, if he puts it under there, is that just the end of it? Will it just kind of stop and pick up in the spring if he puts it down there and it survives? or is it just doomed?
He called me and I didn't know at all. Has anyone put one away for the winter with a bloom on it? and what happened.
A friend of mine here in town had one that was blooming and had fruit formed on it in the fall and he dug it up and had it in his heated garage near a window and it finished maturing most of the fruit when it was dug up. But that's not the same as putting it in a dark place.

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
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planetrj

This hits close to home. I have Blue Java (Ice Cream), and I often get racemes during the winter. If we don't have a particularly hard winter, those fruit will stop growing then pick back up where it left off. If we have a danger of frost (occasionally happens at night in January-February), I have to cover the top with a double layer of burlap and tarp to make sure the frost does not directly come in contact with the fruit or foliage. If it's a light winter, the Blue Java plant and fruit will be in suspended animation from late December - late February, then start growing when it gets over 70 degrees or so.

What I might recommend for your friend given what I know, you may want to recommend to him to tightly wrap the entire plant with poly foam sheet wrap once there are frost warnings, because I am sure in that area, the winds get pretty fierce, and even if it's against a house under the awning, that it won't matter once the winds kick in. Fruit is a little different than the tree, I believe. I've noticed even when I've covered the winter fruit, there will be some hard spots in the bananas, like a rock.

Good luck to your friend!

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you will never have enough bananas ^_^

Eric

Might be having the same problem myself. Def have a flag leaf up on a 12-14' Blue Java. RJ's advice sounds good. Might also wanna check with Jack Daw. He has a thread, somewhere, about ways to cut the bunch early & finish ripening indoors.

D_&_T

Problem with Chicago area is is gets -10F over the winter!!

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