Cold damage

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Not a lot of nana keepers on here so I though maybe this would be of interest to some. This is my banana garden a few days after a freak freeze. We were below freezing for about 4 hours that night, pretty rare in these parts. All of these are pretty cold hardy varieties and can manage short stints below freezing and have proven no damage at less than about 2hrs below freezing.

Despite the appearance, these should recover just fine, although it will slow the time of fruiting. One plant is already fruiting and now about 2 weeks after the cold I still have viable fruit on the plant. It will take a while to ripen this time of year, but I have a good chance of getting something edible from it, despite the fact that out has no leaves left and will not regrow any.

Bananas are somewhat fickle, but very hardy so long as the corm does not freeze (ground temp was 54 minimum). This is my first year growing bananas and these were put in the ground in March of this year. Its a fascinating plant to grow and I highly recomend trying it if you have the climate.

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The small bananas that come from this type of trees are far superior to the tasteless store bought monsters you get today. I loved to let them get so ripe that they were just days away from turning brown. That is when they are the most flavorful and sweetest. The tree in the center of the second picture looks like a Travelers Palm more than a banana.
 
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That is a dwarf Orinoco, that's the same plant that is flowering shown in the next pic. Those will be pretty much full size bananas. We get several varieties in store here, these are on par with most (maybe 7-8 inches) but not as big as the really large ones you sometimes see. The tall plant in back is ice cream and produces small fruit (4 inches or so) that is very sweet, but it had to be ripe or is bitter.
 

alp

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I'd like to have a go at yours, @Silentrunning as I have only a small garden. You might need to wrap the centre of the bananas, Having said that, it's nearly impossible as these bananas are so tall.
 
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I'd like to have a go at yours, @Silentrunning as I have only a small garden. You might need to wrap the centre of the bananas, Having said that, it's nearly impossible as these bananas are so tall.


Although the bananas may be small, the plant is still very large and will grow to about 15ft. I would recommend looking into a super dwarf Cavendish. Small enough to pot and move indoors if you have a cold winter. Produces slightly smaller than full size fruit, so I'm told. Mine has not fruited yet as I got it late in the summer.
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alp

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Although the bananas may be small, the plant is still very large and will grow to about 15ft. I would recommend looking into a super dwarf Cavendish. Small enough to pot and move indoors if you have a cold winter. Produces slightly smaller than full size fruit, so I'm told. Mine has not fruited yet as I got it late in the summer.
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Very good idea!
 
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Well, deep freeze has hit the south! Low last night was 26! Very rare around here and I wasnt expecting it for another day and was unprepared. It doesnt help that we are moving, selling a house and that I have to go out of country this week. Needless to say I did not get fully prepared for my bananas. I Had planned to dig a few out and move them to the garage, since I would be moving anyway. But it was cold and rainy all day yesterday, so it just didnt happen. I did manage to man handle a soaking wet superdwarf in a 20gal pot into the garage. I have no idea how much 20 gal of dirt weighs, but bananas retain a LOT of water. especially when its 40 and raining! Sadly, the rest of the bananas are likely done for this year. Corms will be fine I'm sure (ground temp only got to 53, although its supposed to be this cold for the next 4 or 5 nights with highs only in the 40s so that may drop). Im expecting the stems will be mush once it gets back above freezing (still 27 out!!!!).
 
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Well, deep freeze has hit the south! Low last night was 26! Very rare around here and I wasnt expecting it for another day and was unprepared. It doesnt help that we are moving, selling a house and that I have to go out of country this week. Needless to say I did not get fully prepared for my bananas. I Had planned to dig a few out and move them to the garage, since I would be moving anyway. But it was cold and rainy all day yesterday, so it just didnt happen. I did manage to man handle a soaking wet superdwarf in a 20gal pot into the garage. I have no idea how much 20 gal of dirt weighs, but bananas retain a LOT of water. especially when its 40 and raining! Sadly, the rest of the bananas are likely done for this year. Corms will be fine I'm sure (ground temp only got to 53, although its supposed to be this cold for the next 4 or 5 nights with highs only in the 40s so that may drop). Im expecting the stems will be mush once it gets back above freezing (still 27 out!!!!).
:(
 

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Hope the stem is OK. If the stem hasn't caught the chill, a bit of wrapping might save the day. Wet and cold are not a good combination. Shocking that the cold has hit Florida!
 
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Hope the stem is OK. If the stem hasn't caught the chill, a bit of wrapping might save the day. Wet and cold are not a good combination. Shocking that the cold has hit Florida!
Yeah, way abnormal for us to be this cold this long. It's only 38 out right now. I'm worried about ground temp if we don't get some better highs. I'm showing 52 as of now, but it hasn't really gone up from this morning.
 

alp

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@vette-kid I am no expert. But please locate the hottest spots in your garden i,e. concrete or stone wall or grounds and has enjoyed the longest sunshine and then huddle all your pots and bananas there. A fleece or lightweight plastic sheet is always useful. I have such a spot and my dahlias were never dug up and they flowered this year again.
 
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That would be ideal, the only potted plant had been moved indoors for the week. The others are to large to move easily, the tallest is a good 12 feet, the others are 6-8 feet. I did plan to move one stem, but we got a showing request on the house, so getting the house ready took priority. I don't think there is any danger of a ground freeze tonight so hopefully I can dig out a few corms tomorrow and move then indoors. I'm sure the stems won't last tonight...although they look better today than I thought they would.
 

alp

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That's the trouble when you come to showing people your house - there are always toooooo many plants and you don't want to mess up your chance of selling your house. I will have to clean up the lean to and de-clutter all my plants, a nightmare which I don't even want to think about!
 

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