wxman

I'm wondering what the easiest banana to overwinter by digging up and storing in my 60F basement is? I would want to chop it down to a manageable size, and bring it in each fall either storing bareroot or in a dry pot of dirt. I would then plant it back out after the threat of frost has passed in Spring. I know Musa Basjoo's don't overwinter easy indoors, so that's why I want to try something else.

The work of digging up each fall doesn't bother me. I live in Southeast WI.

Thanks!

Bob

Not an expert but you should check out the long running"putting the bananas to sleep for the winter" by bigdog. His are Orinoco.

__________________

Bananaman88

'Orinoco' would be the most common and standard answer, and probably correct. I think there are many others that would lend themselves to this as well. Experimentation is the only way to find out for sure. I would venture to guess that 'Ice Cream', 'Dw. Orinoco', and 'California Gold' might work well too.

just j

orinoco and musella lasicapa i think i live in wisconsin and i have a long winter so i store them bare root in the basement they always come back

Taylor

Stay away from anything Cavendish related...they deteriorate quick.

austinl01

Orinoco is the best, both standard and dwarf. I have successfully overwinter ice cream but sometimes it can rot even when it's bareroot so you have to be careful with it. Musella lasiocarpa is very, very easy too. I would recommend orinoco and musella as the top two.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Bananaman88

Duh! I never even thought about Musella. I guess I thought he was asking about edibles. He did mention M. basjoo, though. Yeah, Musella should be a good candidate.

just j

the musella is one of my favorites i keep them in the pot and have holes in my garden and i just set the pot in the whole and cover with mulch and bring them in the house in winter they still put out a leaf a week all thru winter and they get invasive with looks cool i think kind of like a big bush i leave all the pups on it most of mine have like 20+ pups all about 2-3 foot

Patty in Wisc

Hi neighbor! You won't have to "chop it down to manageable size". Chopping it will only make longer time to bloom. I stored my Ice Cream bareroot laying on my sunroom floor - covered, for winter 07- 08. Temps in there from mid 40's night, to upper 50's - 60 daytime. Potted it in March & it woke up & started a new leaf right away. Then I planted inground in May. Dug it up last fall & this time potted it (tall ceiling).
Just trim leaves off but leave top 2 cut in half so they can get some sun in spring. Lay them on floor. I wrapped the rootball in a old towel & layed the plant on tarp & covered with old sheet. Just don't overwater when potted up.

__________________
Got a lite?
Patty




____
Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.