Ontariobanana

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any experience overwintering an E. ventricosum indoors in a pot (not dormant). I moved my E. ventricosum inside to keep it growing over the winter so I would have a large plant by next spring. It came in just over a month ago about 5' tall (to tip of top leaves). Now it is 6'5" and putting out a new leaf every 7-10 days. It's in a 20" pot with plenty of room. I have 8' ceilings. It won't go outside until next May. I think everyone can see the problem here.
I don't want to do anything drastic and I have no place to force it into dormancy. Is there any way to slow its growth? I have cut back the watering. The room location (the only room available for this behemoth) is SSE exposure sunny and very warm.
I'm basically screwed here aren't I? Anyone ever have one reach the ceiling? What happens in this case?

Suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig

__________________

damaclese

mine started growing fast after i brought them inside for the winter I'm afraid theirs not much you can do don't feed them for sure

__________________
Helping to foster understanding for the learning disabled

buffy

Can you cut ensete's the same as musa. I've cut half a Dwarf Brazilian off for this reason last year. It did fine.

damaclese

Ev are vary long lived in the Banana family some times up to 10 years though the average is 5ish and you can cut them off. but and this is just my opinion its traumatic to the plant and i would never do it i know that there are people here that have done it many times and have good luck with them growing out I'm just not a person that would deliberately injure a plant. can't you find some place were it can go for the winter how about a relatives House or a trusted friends place? they will survive in zones 9 and 10 so you could try tenting it with plastic and some kind of gentle heat sours lots of people use Christmas lights rap the p-stem before you put the lights on it they get kinda hot to the touch just some of my thoughts on the subject i have 23 ft ceilings so i have not had to deal with this problem i was also think Scot got a 6x12 green house of ebay for under $200 US really cheep if you ask me I'm thinking about getting one my self that could be another solution? also and this will affect the p-stem you could lay it on its side turning it every couple of days to keep the p-stem from bending up and you would have to set it up to water it some how but that sounds like a lot of work to me but i guess it depends on how much you love this EV

hope iv helped Paulo

__________________
Helping to foster understanding for the learning disabled

Richard

There are growth inhibitors on the market but this could have a negative effect on bananas or bulbs/corms in general. Your best choice would be a cooler room and some inexpensive artificial light. For example: 3 compact fluorescents (100 watt equivalent) each in a cheap "clip light" utility holder made for positioning lights just about anywhere: a mostly plastic light socket with a cord and spring-loaded clip. Position these to the side of the plant at least three feet (1 meter) away, no more than 2 meters, and at about 3/4 of the plants height. They only need to be on eight hours per day.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

Bananaman88

Pauly,

I do hope you meant gentle heat and not genital heat. I think that would raise some eyebrows! Sorry, just having a little fun with you!

Bob

Had to go there didn't you!

__________________

dablo93

i have the opposite problem, they are dying slowly here:'(

__________________
-=

Bananaman88

Hi all. I want to publicly apologize if my comment was taken wrong. I certainly didn't mean anything personal towards Pauly. I value my relationship with everyone here and I hope I didn't offend anyone, most of all Pauly.

damaclese

Ops typ-O sorry guys i meant "Gentle" but it was funny! Np Banana dude i think i know you well enough to know when you are just joking around

__________________
Helping to foster understanding for the learning disabled

Bananaman88

Thanks, Pauly.

buffy

Dude. Don't take yourself too seriously. It was funny as heck. I thought the exact same thing. Maybe Texans are pervs?

saltydad

Naw, we Marylanders laughed too.

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

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





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

Patty in Wisc

I laughed too, but when I went to look for it, it was fixed!
Craig, how about a garage floor? Cool basement? It's OK to cut the top leaves maybe 2/3 - 3/4 back ... that will slow it a little. And, keep it out of full sun. Cooler & darker will slow growth.

__________________
Got a lite?
Patty




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

Bananaman88

Hey, Craig. Sorry I temporarily messed up your thread. Hopefully you will get some good advice from the folks here on overwintering your Ensete.

Ontariobanana

Thank you everyone for all the ideas. I guess I was looking for the "keep it growing slowly in situ" answer. This seems not possible as it is just the end of November...May is a long way away and my ceiling is not. I think I will likely allow it to grow to the ceiling then cut the leaves off and haul the monster into the basement. It has been cloudy here for a while so the sun and heating of the room has diminished and growth is slowing. I'm still projecting ceiling by sometime in January.
I'll start more seeds in January and I still have my 2' E. ventricosum downstairs to enjoy for the winter.

Thank you all again for your replies.

Cheers!

Craig

__________________

Chironex

If you can lower the temps in the room at night and cut way back on watering, it may slow its progress. It also needs light to grow, so......perhaps cutting back its available light may slow it down.

__________________
Scot