Banana Trees

[Conan71]

Does anyone else here grow banana trees?  A friend gave me two as a gift last year, and they spent a year in pots before planting them in the ground next to my pool last spring.  I will now be digging up nine of them for the winter since they reproduced.  I just think they are one of the coolest, easy to maintain tropicals.

My friend has so many now that his house is referred to as "Tiki Harbor". [}:)]

[Steve]

I have never grown them myself, but I had a friend that lived in a condo complex here in Tulsa 15+ years ago that grew banana trees in giant pots.  At the first hint of frost, he would haul them into his large 2-car garage for the winter, and then haul them back out in the spring, after the last frost.  His garage was unheated, but he kept a space heater in the garage for very frigid days.  The trees came back year after year, and produced fruit.  His condo patio looked very lush tropical in the summer with the banana trees, and the winter dormant period didn't seem to hurt them at all.

I don't know what variety he had, but apparently the type he had was semi-cold hardy.  They got pretty ratty looking in the winter in his garage and died back some, but always came back to their full beauty in the spring.  His largest tree was about 12 feet tall.  I don't think a permanent planting of banana trees outside would survive our winters, but they will survive in pots for many years if brought in from the extreme cold.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

I have never grown them myself, but I had a friend that lived in a condo complex here in Tulsa 15+ years ago that grew banana trees in giant pots.  At the first hint of frost, he would haul them into his large 2-car garage for the winter, and then haul them back out in the spring, after the last frost.  His garage was unheated, but he kept a space heater in the garage for very frigid days.  The trees came back year after year, and produced fruit.  His condo patio looked very lush tropical in the summer with the banana trees, and the winter dormant period didn't seem to hurt them at all.

I don't know what variety he had, but apparently the type he had was semi-cold hardy.  They got pretty ratty looking in the winter in his garage and died back some, but always came back to their full beauty in the spring.  His largest tree was about 12 feet tall.  I don't think a permanent planting of banana trees outside would survive our winters, but they will survive in pots for many years if brought in from the extreme cold.

You can burlap wrap them with insulation and they will survive the winter.  the tops won't survive, but they will grow out next spring.

[spoonbill]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Steve

I have never grown them myself, but I had a friend that lived in a condo complex here in Tulsa 15+ years ago that grew banana trees in giant pots.  At the first hint of frost, he would haul them into his large 2-car garage for the winter, and then haul them back out in the spring, after the last frost.  His garage was unheated, but he kept a space heater in the garage for very frigid days.  The trees came back year after year, and produced fruit.  His condo patio looked very lush tropical in the summer with the banana trees, and the winter dormant period didn't seem to hurt them at all.

I don't know what variety he had, but apparently the type he had was semi-cold hardy.  They got pretty ratty looking in the winter in his garage and died back some, but always came back to their full beauty in the spring.  His largest tree was about 12 feet tall.  I don't think a permanent planting of banana trees outside would survive our winters, but they will survive in pots for many years if brought in from the extreme cold.

You can burlap wrap them with insulation and they will survive the winter.  the tops won't survive, but they will grow out next spring.

Yup.  I do it every fall.  I used to dig em up and store in my garage for the winter but they are about 95% water and got so big that they weigh several hundred pounds now, so I just wrap.