amantedelenguaje

I built a greenhouse to store some of my plants because I ran out of room in the house. I noticed that the leaves of the bananas are turning yellow where as the bananas that I have in the house are still a healthy green. The green house is on the south side of my house and gets full sun all day. I have a temperature probe inside and the temperature ranges from 95F on a sunny fall/winter day to 40F at night. I have a heater inside, but I do not wish to run it anymore than necessary because electricity isn't cheap.

My goal is to keep the bananas alive and the pseudostem in tact. They do not necessarily have to grow throughout the winter. They don't have enough clearance anyway. Even if the leaves turn yellow and die, do you think the pseudostem will be o.k.? FYI, I have Dwarf Cavendish, Gros Michel, Dwarf Namwah, and Orinoco in the greenhouse. I have one plant of each (minus the Orinoco) in the house just in case the others kick the bucket. At least I have something to start over with.

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Abnshrek

I don't think you going to have to worry about the orinoco.. I think they would survive a nuc blast like cockroaches. :^)

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LilRaverBoi

Low 40's are about the limits of a lot of varieties in seeing cold damage (leaf damage, not pseudostem). Below this, leaves don't tend to fare so well on many types. That's the 'general rule' I go by when deciding when to dig things up around here. Pseudostems should be fine slightly below 40's, but I would be running the heater below 40 anyway to be safe.

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Abnshrek

The one's (especially the cav's) in the GH will tell you they are unpleased with leaves turning yellow (the non-lowest) if temps don't suit them. The one's I have outside are on their own this year. :^)

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venturabananas

Based on what happens in my yard during the winter, when we have nighttime temps in the mid-30's to mid-40's during the coolest parts, and temps in at least the 50's during the day, I would guess that the p-stems and corms of all of them will be fine, but the Cav and Gros Michel are going to have sad looking, yellowed leaves, and probably some small, malformed leaves that grow. Be very careful with the water. Too wet and they will rot with those cool, nighttime temps.

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amantedelenguaje

Thanks for the info. I will cut back on watering. I'm having difficult knowing exactly how much to water. I've tried watering once or twice a week, but the temperatures soar so much during the day and evaporate all the moisture to the point that the soil starts separating from the edges of the container. Other plants in the greenhouse (peppers and tomatoes and even a nopal cactus pad) started wilting and falling over. I stepped up the watering a bit, but I don't want my little nanners to rot. Any suggestions?

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caliboy1994

Maybe some ventilation? I'm no greenhouse expert, but just a suggestion. You could allow for ventilation in the daytime and close it at night.

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sunfish

venturabananas

As long as it is still getting very warm in the greenhouse during the day, I wouldn't worry too much about overwatering. Most likely the soil temperature is staying pretty warm. It's probably worth investing a few bucks in a decent soil thermometer and checking the soil temp in morning to see how cool it is getting. If the soil is staying warm, then keep watering, provided you are seeing a decent rate of leaf growth. If the leaves aren't growing and the soil is consistently wet and cold, you are asking for trouble. Good luck.

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bananas101

Ventilation would be good. I leave a digital thermometer in my greenhouse to monitor my high and lows. In winter I have to guess how much to open the roof vent to allow excess heat to escape. If you leave the greenhouse closed all day, then you will see temp's of 110 and up. If the greenhouse well built, then you could bake your plants. LOL no kidding, Ive done it. I use a 50 percent shade cloth even in winter to cut down on the exess heat. But wow, its really pleasant to walk through the greenhouse on a cold cold day.