GeorgiaBoy66

Hey guys, I am getting two gran mains on Wednesday and am putting them in large containers. What is the best way to get them to fruit? I live in middle Georgia and it does get pretty cool here in the winter, so the plant would die. I. Concerned that if I put them outside and they do well then they would be too big to get inside in the winter. These are my first plants.

andy17

Hey GeorgiaBoy66,
I also live in the central Southeast and grow all of my bananas in containers because of the cold (and not enough space haha). After a few years of growing them I've learned that bananas do well with:

*wider rather than taller containers due to their shallow, wide-spreading root systems

*plenty of fertilizer and water when actively growing

*keeping the roots from getting too hot during the summer, which really stresses the plant, by placing the containers on the ground (rather than a deck) or shading the containers with cloth

Most bananas will be shorter in containers than they would if they were in the ground, so that's certainly a plus if you are bringing them in. Because of this, they will also fruit at a shorter height as well. I believe the Gran Nain grows from 6-8 ft. in height or comparable to that of the Dwarf Cavendish. They should fit at the end of the first growing season indoors; however, they may not after the following year. The real two tricks I've found is growing them in a very large container and preserving the pseudostem during the winter. If those are accomplished and the plant grows to a good, healthy size, getting fruit should be possible. Hope this helps!

__________________
"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." --Francis Bacon

GeorgiaBoy66

Update: Gran Nains are doing very well and are growing one leaf right after the other opens up. One of the mother plants has three pups sprouting up and the other has one.