Would like everybody's input on what to do next???????

I have a 3yr old Ensete Mur. ,I thought would flower this season,but it didn't,know I have the dilemma,
of either cut off the leaves and try to overwinter it again,this thing is huge,my guess around 250 lbs,20 ft to the top of it's leaves,I can hardly put my arms around it,to even pick up,if I even can.
Or cut off even with the ground,and divide the corm,into several pieces and try to make new plants,for this variety,doesn't make pups.
My greenhouse is not large enough to keep it growing.
I believe this banana is so close to flowering.
I have another one of these about half the size of this one,that is 2 yrs old.

There was someone in Virginia, zone 7, that left a bananna in the ground in front of their house. It was on a slope, so it had good drainage. They'd cut the leaves, and wrap the stub in insulation(I'm guessing, that's what it looked like) having a big blob in the yard, wellllll mulched for ten feet around. It came back year after year.

Good luck!

I tried that with basjo,with no luck!
It gets cold here but takes longer to warm back here as well.

I know you are attached to this beauty, if you need help bringing it in or cutting it let me know I can help you this weekend next. Debra

If you haven't already, you might check out some of bwilliams threads on the Tropicals forum--he's in KY zone 6 and overwinters things that amaze me, so I bet some of his tips & tricks might be helpful (I think you'd have to cut it down in order for his techniques to work though, basically the way I understand it is he composts in place over top of his garden, and the heat generated by the decomposition is enough to keep his tropicals toasty so it would have the most effect at ground level)

Thanks I will ,have not decided on just what I will do!

Yes I've read about his composting,I have done the same for many years,but not with the success that he has had.

In fact my planting beds are so organic,I'm having trouble digging up my tropicals,because I can't get soil to stay on the roots,so I have no root balls,when I dig up my plants,the soil just falls right off,even when I water the night before I dig them up.

Move south.

I live in the south!!!
South of Kansas!!!LOL

Well It's down on a 8x10 tarp,dug up pushed over on tarp and dragged it over to the driveway,don't think I can pick it up yet,letting water drain from it,so maybe I can later.
14 inches diameter,leaves were couple inches under 10ft long.

another

more

Took all I had and them some!

Oh my gosh, Don, You my have to bring her here, and both of us carry her in, if you still want me to foster her during winter.. how tall is she anyways?

She's about 8ft,about 12 ft shorter than she was,after her haircut!!!

awww.. well she will grow back next spring prolly 24 feet! :)

Well I hope she finally flowers too!!!!

dang it Tm ...still trying to break your back I see ^_^
take it easy mate!

busted ;0)

Hi Crissy and KIm,
Still have it!!!LOL
Well I will when I can stand straight up again!!!LOL

Have you just about finished your Winter preparation? I don't know about you but the seasons seem to fly past in a blink these days ...you must feel like you just did all that taking out stuff only a few weeks ago ...now tote it all back in again.Somebody slow the world down will you?
take care ...only one back.

More than you'll ever know!!!!
I worked so much overtime,didn't have time to enjoy it very much,then there was all the rain,51 inches so far,it really was a rainforest this year!!!
Other than brugs,ever thing is inside!
I really must down size,and I give a ton of plants away,already more than 3 truck loads
so far,and greenhouses are stuffed!

I reckon you are probably st*ffed too! ...(an Australian expression for recked ...ruined ...finished and such).

Yes,and it only hurts when I'm a wake!!!LOL

Can i grow dwarf orinoco banana out side. I live east of Joplin mo. Thanks Connie

oops, sorry what size banana do they have? and can u eat it? Thanks Connie

This variety is not edible,but your dwarf is edible.

how big do the bananas get on the dwarf ones?

Mine were about 4 to 6 inches long,very tasty too!

I just remembered--- A fellow commented that he'd left a bananna plant in a five gallon bucket, and didn't get around to putting it into the ground. He was laughing happily that the plant had bloomed a year early, still in the bucket.

Perhaps, if you haven't finalized what you're doing with your baby monster, build a container on casters, just big enough for some roots, then wheel it outside next summer, don't put it in the ground. Plenty of root room= big plant. Restricted root room= blooms? Maybe?

Stressed plants sometimes bloom, hey?

Just a crazy idea I just had.

Yes I have done just that,I planted it in a 20 gallon pot,put it on a cart with wheels and hauled her into the greenhouse,of course I had to cut all the leaves off,but they have already begun to put out new leaves,will give her a try,hopefully she'll make it until next spring.

Too bad you couldn't dig a sunken 'pit' in your greenhouse and grow this 4 ft below ground level.

Too bad,I live in the city,or I'd done that!!!LOL

I kind of meant permanently, like a huge potted plant!

Yep I know,but these types of bananas are huge,and would take up all the room,I have.
In one greenhouse I have a dwarf cavendish in fruit now,and it got 8ft tall and 6 wide,the ensete,would more than triple that,how I would love to though.

Your love of Gardening astounds me and impresses me.. I admire you for your effort and hard work, I wish you had more help with your tasks.. your plants adore you, I can tell...;)

Tropicman,

Hi, pardon the butting in...I am curious, I have the Yellow Siam I think it is called...anyways, can you propagate by roots? I know someone told me you can...especially with taros...not sure on Bananas. Oh, and if you are running out of room... :) :) :) I have room, a truck and the desire to travel......lol. If I were closer, I would offer room for your babies.... but seriously I admire your efforts!! I think we are two of a kind, as I am "roaming" the yard and doing cuttings, and digging things up and so on....to just make sure I can have them next year. I have not decided on the brugs yet...I made so many last year over 100, and they are still sitting in pots in the garden center unsold....maybe I will just keep a few ;0 to many..lol Anybody want some for postage???? NO JOKE!!! Pinks, Yellows, and Whites....trouble is...faded tags. I now use pencil or Industrial Sharpies...

Do you know the lowest they can handle before death? I may just put them under trees, as it is not as cold here. Take care, and for heavens sake, don't hurt your back! Who would take care of your babies then??

Laura

If not for fruit, why do you trouble with the Ensete?

Debra,yes I think they hold on for dear life,knowing just that!!!

Laura,
Aren't you zone 8?
I would think the brugs would return every year,but not bloom until fall,because they need growth and then time to y,before most would bloom.
My love for the tropicals is all I can think about,and it hurts me deeply just to lose one,they are a live just as much as my pets,to me,and I worry so for them,if there not happy!!!
Were expecting a freeze here the next 2 nights in a row,and I'm outside winterizing some palms.
Can anyone tell me how much of a freeze can a lantana take,and a confederate rose?
We might get down to 31* is what there forecasting .

Molamola,the fruit is too seedy to eat,but the shear beauty of this banana is why I grow here,If I can't live where you live,I want it to look like I do,for 6 months out of the year!
If nothing else to drive the neighbors nut!!!!LOL

I hope you live on a busy street! I'm sure folks gawk. Is it one of the biggest, tallest bananas?

Bananas have bit of a problem growing here, when the wind gets up. hmmm.

I've googled ensete mur and found very little. Your post came up first, dog chasing it's tail.

Yes they get pretty tall,this variety,I believe is from Africa,the congo region,if my memory serves me right,up to and over 20ft tall.
Very windy here as well,I had to plant this behind a trumpet vine growing on a trellis to block the wind.