Re: [SG] hardy banana
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] hardy banana
- From: F* C* <g*@PDNT.COM>
- Date: Fri, 27 Nov 1998 02:00:50 -0600
When they refer to a banana hardiness they are either referring to the corm
hardiness or the stem hardiness but not leaf. In your climate you could
only hope for corm hardiness. This means that new shoots will come up each
summer. If a shoot freezes to the ground every winter there is no chance of
fruiting. Years ago I remember my uncle in northeast Arkansas overwintered
a banana next to the foundation. In otherwords it means that you basically
just have to keep the corm from freezing or rotting from excess moisture.
Total dryness is adequate because bananas store an incredable amout of water
in the plant. I take mine and cut the leaves off so I can get the into the
heated garage. Then I dig it up and put it bareroot, with some dirt on it
in the cool garage; the benign neglect for cannas method. If you start
getting black rot at the base, simply remove the tissue to let it dry out.
I did this last winter and I was surprised to find that the roots didn't
even dry up. Next year I probably will have to cut it to the ground. I
have three varieties. The dwarf cavandeshi, the blood banana and a 16 ft
cold and wind tolerant variety from northern India. What is the variety
name of the Japanese banana?
Frank Cooper
east central Illinois
zone 5
