buckeye5755

First year with Banana's in the winter. Got them indoors in the garage. I've had them there one month so far. All 4 of the plants have put out 2 leaves since moving them in. Not bad considering the temps at first were falling to 50-55 at night, because it got cold here real early in Central Ohio and I wasn't done insulating the garage yet.

I have them under a 600 Watt HPS system. Have a humidifier in the middle of the bunch that seems to have really helped out since I got it a week ago.

Question for all the Grow Light users. I don't have a Metal Halide Conversion bulb yet. Since these plants (The big one a Gran Nain, two are Dwarf Cavendish and a Dwarf Ladyfinger) are all young (First 3 received as Tissue Cultures 8 inches tall June 10th), will a 600 watt Metal Halide bulb grow the plants better or faster considering the Lumens for the HPS is roughly 92,000, and Metal Halide is 50,000? Since I'm going full blown out trying to overwinter, I definately want to do the best for the plants.

Also, made a mistake with the reflector I got. I got the "Cooltube", hoping that I could hang it vertically in the middle of the plants and have 360 degree lighting. Didn't work quite like I planned! Just not enough light intensity.

Tell me what you guys think!

moonboy87

Definitely a nice set up you got there, and they all look really happy! I don't think you should be too worried about the 360 degree lighting, and if you do, there really isn't anything much better than mylar sheets. You could definitely toy around with that to see if it meets your expectations. I mean, temperatures are dropping here in Denver as well, and even though my apt stays at a warm 76F almost constantly, the growth has still been slowed down a bit; I still get a new leaf from my gran nain once every week and a half. The humidifier is excellent too, I may not have one, but I boil water in my house every night to keep my tropicals (and myself, haha) comfortable. I'd say you are good to go!

LilRaverBoi

Great set-up. Yeah, some reflective sheets around the plants would give you the best use of the light you have. Best of luck! (just look out for those damn spider mites!!!! ARG! I hate them!!!!)

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BANANA RAVE!
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AV1611Corbin777

Nice I wish I had some HID lighting for my naners.
They do make a reflector for the cooltubes or you could make one yourself.
You could also try out a light mover to give you better coverage. I would recommend moving the plants around to give equal light.
As far as the MH goes It would be better for the vegetative growth with its bright blue daylight. The warm HPS light is more suited for flowering, BUT will still work fine for overwintering purposes. Best of Luck! (even tho I don't think you need it)
Looks nice!
Edit: I see you have some plants raised. I would try my best to equal out the height to better utilize the light.

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jwmahloch

I have some of my banana plants in my basement under floresant grow lights. two of them are touching the ceiling now so I might have to cut off the tops so they dont grow through the ceiling. My basement is kept about 68-70 degrees and I have a large humidifer in the basement and keep the humidity about 50-60%. I only water about once a week when my bananas are in the basement. When they are outside I water almost everyday. Dont fertilize banana plants that are indoors since they are resting in the winter, you dont want much growth in the fall/winter. I also have 5 banana plants that are still growing outside that I plan on overwintering in the ground. It seems like every year I triple the number of banana plants that I have. I basically have bananas coming out of my ears (ha ha). Jeremy

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Jeremy

fergus banana

i dont think you need to grow them under metal halide if you already have HPS. i started my banana plants under 600W HPS then added a 400W MH. the 400W MH was nowhere near the brightness of the 600W HPS so i bumped up to a 1000W MH. Currently they are growing under this combo: 600W HPS and 1000W MH. People say that HPS makes em grow tall and lanky, but i dont really think it makes a big enough difference to be concerned about. if they are only going to be temporarily indoors then i would just keep them under the HPS. i will post some picks of my plants soon since they are permanently indoors and will be growing entirely under grow lights.

jwmahloch

You must have tall ceilings to keep your banana plants indoors year round. You should try moving your banana plants outside in the spring and planting them in the ground. They will grow much faster and taller in the ground vs. in a pot because the roots like to spread out. If your soil in Iowa is like what we have here in St Louis MO you probably have a lot of clay. Bananas dont like clay soil so you will need to remove a lot of the existing soil. I dig my planting holes 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide and remove about 75% of the existing soil. I use planting mix, sand and pea gravel and mix it with the existing soil. A raised bed also helps soil drainage. It is a pain in the butt to dig up bananas in the fall but its worth it. I have had success overwintering musa basjoo in the ground here in St Louis using a 2 foot tall leaf cage covered with plastic. I always bring some inside just in case the ones outside dont make it. - jeremy

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Jeremy

fergus banana

i would indeed grow them outside if i could, but i live in an apartment and dont have any outdoor space. i am growing them in 20 gallon smart pots in hydroponic media (rockwool and hydroton). i have 30 gallon smart pots waiting, but am not up for repotting them now. the 30 gallon smart pot will be their final pot to grow in. i have 3 dwarves and one ice cream. the ice cream is already hitting the ceiling with its leaves, but the dwarves are ok for now. lets see what happens...maybe they will grow through the ceiling. i am sure the upstairs neighbor would love that. word.

jwmahloch

I have mine in 15 gal pots in my basement and they are as tall as the ceiling (about 7 feet). 20 and 30 gal pots should work well. Just go easy on the fertilizer or they will grow through the ceiling. Have you gotten any flowers or fruit indoors? Good Luck

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Jeremy

fergus banana

no flowers or fruit yet. this is my first attempt at growing bananas and have had them since april or may. i am having trouble with the leaf margins turning brown and dying. i dont know if it is a humidity issue, fertilizer or what.

fergus banana

Why are the leaves doing this? Sux.

jwmahloch

Its most likely lack of nutrients that is causing the leaves to turn brown. what kind of fertilizer are you using? Bananas are heavy feeders and like lots of fertilizer during the growing season. This time of the year I would use a low nitrogen fertilizer that is high in potasium. Make sure the fertilizer has micro-nutrients (magnesium is very important). you can actully use some espom salts as fertilizer (magesium sulfate) that will help leaves from turning yellow. If you dont have a humidifier I would get one and try to keep the humidity around 50%.

Another posibility is that you may be watering too much. Once a week is enough for indoor bananas especially if the pot is large.

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Jeremy

jwmahloch

Also, what kind of potting soil are you using? I mix my own potting soil: 2 parts potting mix, 2 parts fine pine park, one part sand and also mix in some perilite, kelp meal and slow release fertilizer. Its also good to put some pea gravel in the bottom of the pot. and drill some extra holes in the bottom of the pot.

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Jeremy

fergus banana

i use house and garden aquaflakes hydroponic nutrient with cal-mag supplement. I pH it to 6.0. The EC is around 2.0. i try to water about every third day. i thought this was indeed a nutrient problem and thats why i added the cal-mag supplements and raised the EC to 2.0. i started the cal-mag supplement a couple weeks ago and they seem to do be doing slightly better, if better at all. i dont think the plants look so hot right now. not sure what to do. sux.

fergus banana

the plants are in a 50/50 mixture of rockwool and hydroton.

jwmahloch

I have never used that type of potting soil. as long as its well drained you should be fine. but I am not sure if that type of soil holds nutrients well so you should fertilize often. I know its a pain in the butt but you might try repotting one of you plants. If you want to buy remixed potting soil cactus mix is the best.

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Jeremy

fergus banana

word.

LilRaverBoi

I'm a proud Iowan and can testify that in most areas, we have several feet of rich BLACK topsoil that is very fertile. Works great for bananas in my experience!

__________________
BANANA RAVE!
Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top!
lilraverboi@genxglow.com
RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you!
I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

sirmoebly

try backing off the water, they need to get really dry before watering again..... just a thought..........

moonboy87

Definitely agree with Moe. Even in the small amount of time I've been growing my naner (and not listening to people like Bryan telling me to let it dry out A LOT before its next water), I've noticed the difference in the plant's overall health with less frequent waterings, but making sure to drench the soil as much as possible when it does get watered. The leaves definitely show the first indications of being over-watered.